Four years ago, almost two floors of the 22-story home to the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Conn., were devoted to paper file storage. The sheer weight of some 60 million documents was creating minor structural issues on the floors housing the files. "We also knew there were tangible risks associated with the continuing use of paper files," says William F. Howard, manager, business analyst, for the Knights of Columbus. The paper files were potentially in danger from physical perils including fire, water damage, age, and weather-related threats such as hurricanes. While there were other issues, too–for example, lost files and privacy–Howard indicates the company realized paper files were not compatible with the future vision of office automation.

When the decision was made to image 1.8 million insurance files, the business analysis group, working closely with the senior vice president of IT, spent six months evaluating vendors. Company representatives made site visits to see the products in operation, spoke to references, attended user meetings, and eventually selected Captiva's InputAccel for document capture, Vignette (Tower) IDM for image repository and retrieval software, and Tibco Staffware for workflow. The user effort was led by Lynn Hussey, VP of policy service and support services, and Gary Havens, director of central records and in-house imaging. "Our users and IT worked collaboratively throughout the project," says Howard. "Without that mutual cooperation, it would have been impossible to complete the project successfully."

Getting the people and equipment in place and having the project variables mesh at the same time was a daunting task, according to Howard. "We tested the entire process extensively and had a few false starts, but while we had a number of issues to work out, we were pleased with the end result," he says.