About 18 years ago when Byron Aulick first began working in data imaging, he believed office automation was the way to go. His inclination was on target, as automated office systems, such as computer word processing to telephone voice messaging systems, are becoming the norm. But the file cabinet -- the dinosaur of the office -- was never automated.
Aulick, Chief Technology Officer of DataVault in Worcester, MA. offers businesses a way to rid themselves of that dinosaur and save money and time.
DataVault is an application service provider that electronically stores paper documents on electronic files that can be retrieved within minutes from an underground secure Internet Web server.
As high speed and high resolution imaging processes improved, and Internet technology advanced, the next step in electronic filing moved from storing data files on CDs to storing files on the Internet, Aulick said.
He says businesses can save about 40 percent of their annual filing operating costs by converting those paper files to electronic files. The cost to store and retrieve documents in a four-drawer file cabinet runs about $6,200 per year; the cost to retrieve those same documents electronically from DataVault is about $1,500, Aulick estimates.
"We're not selling technology," explained April Aulick, Byron's wife and President / CEO of DataVault. "We are selling a business process that will save businesses money."
And being able to access documents within minutes not only saves businesses money, it saves time. "In this fast-paced world we live in, the faster the better," April Aulick said.
Byron Aulick compares the company's service to the fast-food industry, where data images can be retrieved as quickly as a click of a mouse. 'The bottom line is that an employee shouldn't have to leave their desk to retrieve a document," Byron Aulick said. Each time an employee leaves his or her desk and walks over to a file, what could be a two-minute task -- if retrieved on the Internet-- can become a 20 minute break in the real world, he said.
DataVault established its business in 1993, but relocated from Virginia to Stafford Springs for family and business reasons in 2000 and have recently in 2005 relocated the company to Worcester, MA. The Aulicks are happy to back in New England, having spent most their youth in Massachusetts.
Their operation, while headquartered in Worcester, MA. includes an underground Web server located in Columbus, IN, and an outsourcing company, DataGraphics Ltd, that indexes files in Kingston, Jamaica.
DataVault first collects the paper documents from its clients and then scans them to create digital images at their Stafford Springs location. The paper files are then returned to the clients. The company in Jamaica then does the data entry based on those digital images. The database is then merged with the digital images in Worcester. The last step is when the files are transferred to the Web server in Indiana.
"The database is never online," Byron Aulick said. Only the document that is requested is online, and is sent to the client encrypted. The client must enter a password to view the requested document.
DataVault promises to convert files and create an Internet-ready database less than five days from the time its employees pick up the files.
Though charges vary depending on the volume, the cost to convert a filing cabinet with 8,000 pages includes a $250 one-time setup fee. The scanning conversion and indexing fee totals 13 cents per page. Businesses can purchase a variety of monthly retrieval packages, starting at $180 per month.
For nearly two years, Virginia Natural Gas Co. has been one of DataVault's clients. It created a database of the utility's more than 300,000 service cards indicating where gas lines are installed that serve its customers.
"Before we did this, we kept the records in a single location and a dispatcher would have to physically find it," said Les Flora, manager of engineering services for Virginia Natural Gas.
Flora said the employees are pleased with the speed of being able to access their gas service cards over the Internet. This was their second attempt to convert service cards electronically. The previous system wasn't accessible in the field via the Internet, which limited access to their records to those employees and contractors who needed it, Flora said. With Internet access, not only has DataVault saved the utility some labor costs, it also has prevented potential damages [from construction projects] by having the information about gas lines readily available, Flora estimates.
Training is another component of DataVault. Byron Aulick is a certified document-imaging architect, who teaches data imaging. He has set up a training facility in Worcester, MA.
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