The Oklahoma State University Registrar’s office, Admissions operations – and other departments – had been capturing documents digitally for over a decade in a centralized scanning environment. They were using large, high-volume units from another manufacturer. These heritage scanners were showing their age and came with a high annual cost due to increasingly expensive annual service/maintenance contracts.
This centralized capture workflow also didn’t fit the evolving needs of OSU and the many departments at its main campus in Stillwater or those of the nine other campuses throughout Oklahoma.
After listening to feedback from his clients at the university about their requirements and unmet needs, OSU Database Administrator Erin Girton explored options, including talking with Tommy Tsaboukos, Account Manager with Kodak Alaris, a Kodak Alaris business. And what he heard from Tsaboukos was music to his ears.
One of the key advantages Kodak Alaris brought to us, along with the versatility of the Kodak S2070 scanners, was the ability to receive three years of service and fast scanner replacement with our purchases. The annual maintenance costs we were paying on our older scanners were becoming quite a burden. Erin Girton OSU Database Administrator
“We knew that more accessible, flexible scanning was needed by departments including Human Resources (HR), the Registrar’s office, and Admissions,” Girton said. “When we learned that we could also save significant dollars on maintenance and service costs – compared to what we were spending on our old scanners – this added another very compelling reason to go with Kodak Alaris and their solution.”
OSU initially purchased Kodak S2070 Scanners for the Office of the Registrar and the HR department. With most employees already familiar with scanning and sending documents to various locations and the ECM system, on-site training was fast and adoption easy. In HR, users quickly praised the small footprint, easy-to-use interface, graceful paper handling, and quiet operation.
In the Registrar’s office, a diverse mix of document sizes and weights come in as part of the onboarding process for new and transfer students. These include transcripts, receipts, ID cards, and financial aid forms. The ability of the Kodak Scanners to handle whatever the OSU staff feeds them has delighted employees here. “These scanners have been excellent for folks like receptionists, who deal with students as they walk in,” Girton noted. “They’re able to quickly scan and return documents, get the information into the system, and efficiently serve more people without wasting any time.”
Plans are in place to purchase more Kodak Scanners for Admissions and Financial Aid departments, and to continue to roll out the solution at Stillwater and other campuses.
An Ideal Combination of Better Warranties and Forward-Thinking Technology
The included three-year warranty with Advanced Unit Replacement (AUR) – whereby a scanner will arrive the next day to take the place of one requiring service – fits beautifully into today’s ‘do more with less’ mandates at the University. State budgets have been reduced, while OSU enrollment has increased, meaning efficiency and cost savings are more critical than ever.
OSU is a very sophisticated institution when it comes to technology. They are already using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate processes and working on related projects, such as using AI to assist in providing transcripts in multiple languages. Thanks to Kodak Alaris’ involvement and investments in AI, and the superb capture accuracy possible with their scanners, the University believes that Alaris’ capabilities will enhance their AI initiative and another project aimed at improving Intelligent Character Recognition. Kodak S2070 Scanners support resolution settings up to 1200 dpi, and use Perfect Page technology significantly improving captured image quality and legibility.
Future Plans Include More Scanners from Kodak Alaris
“I’d say that everyone involved here at OSU is delighted with our Kodak S2070 Scanners,” Girton concluded. “Users love the speed, the high-quality images, and how quiet and small they are. (Note: the S2070 Scanner measures 9.1 by 12.3 by 10.6 inches [HWD] and weighs just 7.2 pounds.) And we tech types appreciate the smooth integration, reliability, and savings. One of the key advantages Kodak Alaris delivered was the ability to receive three years of service and fast scanner replacement with our purchases. The annual maintenance costs we were paying on our older scanners were becoming quite a burden.”
Girton also mentions the expertise and guidance provided by OSU’s software partner, supplier of their Grouper ECM System, and Kodak Alaris’ Tommy Tsaboukos. “Informed, insightful people are a big part of any upgrade process and purchase, and they provided great recommendations, counsel, and technical know-how.” Along with plans to purchase more scanners from Kodak Alaris, Girton also expects OSU to take greater advantage of software from Kodak Alaris in the future as the University embarks on building new applications, such as a lightweight, Web-based interface, as well as additional AI-related capabilities.
Want to see more success stories like these? Visit the Case Studies page on our Insights section to keep reading.
*Warranty and Service options vary by region.
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