The future of digital government is AI-powered IDP

Government agencies manage countless documents and tons of data.

The information overload is complicated by most government data being in semistructured or unstructured formats — from emails, faxes, forms, reports and images to audio and video recordings. Processes can be further burdened by the need for multiple documents, signatures, approvals and reviews for even the simplest requests.

Intelligent document processing (IDP) has emerged as a solution to processes that, historically, have been tedious, time-consuming, costly and prone to errors.

In a report for Hyland, AI and automation experts Pascal Bornet and Kieran Gilmurray describe IDP as “a cutting-edge, AI-powered digital solution that is transforming how organizations handle documents.”

IDP “surpasses traditional optical character recognition (OCR) and robotic process automation (RPA) technologies by using advanced, business-focused AI models to understand the text and structures within documents. With machine learning, IDP systems ‘learn’ to interpret and classify data, significantly improving the accuracy and speed of document processing,” Bornet and Gilmurray wrote.

IDP can bring many business benefits. The most common improvements cited by experts:

• Accelerated processes

• Increased efficiency and accuracy

• Reduced paper usage

• Time and cost savings

• Compliance and risk management improvements

• Unlocked insights

• Better security

• Seamless integration

• Enhanced citizen/customer experiences

> Read more | Maximizing government efficiency with content intelligence and automation

To get the most out of IDP, agencies, according to Bornet, need to “capture/ingest documents and then process, classify and validate them, verifying them either digitally or with a human in the loop.” Next, the data should be intelligently processed and embedded into government systems and applications.

The AI and automation expert has cited many potential IDP use cases for agencies. The following are 20 of the most notable:

• Background checks and clearances

• Criminal investigations

• Facilities and equipment inspections

• Tax forms

• Audits and appeals

• Benefits applications

• Employee onboarding

• Resume screening

• Application processing

• Benefits management

• HR records

• Passports

• Visas

• Workers’ compensation

• Records ingestion and classification

• Invoice processing

• Bank statements

• Customer and vendor onboarding

• Customs declarations

• Bills of lading

Take the assessment: Where is your agency on its automation journey?

Is it time your agency invested in IDP? (Here are seven signs it’s time to evolve.)

Let’s look at key criteria that should be part of your modernization strategy.

• How accurate is it?: Most IDP solutions have an accuracy rate ranging from 80% to 99%.

• Is it user-friendly?: According to Bornet and Gilmurray, “the solution should have an intuitive, web-based user interface that’s easy to use and integrates seamlessly with existing business applications.”

• Can non-technical users use it?: “The ability to program and extend an IDP platform using low code is crucial for gaining widespread support for an organization’s digital transformation program,” the experts said.

• Is it AI-infused and trainable?: Bornet and Gilmurray advise organizations to understand the extent of the solution’s AI capabilities and limitations, along with how effectively it can incorporate human input.

• Does it work with multiple files, documents and language types?: AI-enhanced IDP should minimize operational bottlenecks and help your agency unlock new efficiencies.

• What are its data governance and security policies?: “Ensure the solution has robust data logging and structured document retention policies in place for compliance and auditing purposes,” the AI and automation experts said.

• Do you have access to technical support?: Comprehensive technical training, an online learning platform and expert advice should be part of the onboarding process.

• Does it have process automation capabilities?: “The IDP platform should offer a portfolio of complementary platforms and products, such as case management, workflow, intelligent automation or robotic process automation (RPA) to support your automation and digitalization programs,” Bornet and Gilmurray said.

You’ve discussed potential benefits, use cases and challenges. You’ve asked, and been asked, a lot of questions about IDP. As you seek leadership buy-in, there are plenty of numbers to help state your case.

• Forrester Consulting’s fifth annual Content Services Pulse Study found that 69% of decision-makers have realized or expect to realize improved operational efficiency and effectiveness by augmenting content-centric processes with intelligent automation.

• According to Fortune Business Insights, the global IDP market is projected to grow from $10.57 billion in 2025 to $66.68 billion by 2032. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 30.1%.

• Forrester Consulting asked decision-makers to what extent certain trends led their organization to evolve its content management approach. Of the respondents who said they have “significantly” or “completely evolved” their approach “because of this trend,” 66% cited AI and 57% chose automation.

• Yet, only 56% said they have automated most routine tasks related to creating documents.

• According to a recent IDC survey, 52% of organizations have invested in intelligent document processing (IDP) solutions in the past year, with an additional 44% planning to do so within the next 12 to 18 months.

> Read more | Why intelligent content management is the solution

Automation has become a critical capability to helping agencies reduce paper and storage costs, expedite processes and improve communication with citizens, all while freeing up staff for more value-added tasks.

With Hyland IDP, government agencies can revolutionize how they work and deliver faster, secure and more accurate services.

Rethink the way you manage records and take the first step toward smarter workflows and innovative solution-building. Chat with Hyland about IDP.