As an advocate for advanced imaging technologies and standards, I'm often asked why information management practitioners should care about imaging standards like those developed by the TWAIN Working Group. The answer is simple yet profound: these standards are crucial for efficient, accurate, and secure information acquisition and management.
At its core, information management is about acquiring, processing, and utilizing data effectively. For many organizations, a significant portion of this information still originates from paper documents. How this information gets into your system is of paramount importance. It needs to be quick, accurate, and secure. This is where imaging standards come into play.
Imaging standards, such as TWAIN Direct, offer several key benefits:
One of the most compelling reasons to care about imaging standards is the control it gives you over the user experience. Traditionally, when you open a TWAIN driver, the manufacturer dictates the user interface. With modern standards like TWAIN Direct, you as a technology manager or software developer control the experience.
This means you can:
- Customize the interface to match your organization's terminology and workflow
- Show or hide features based on your users' needs
- Create a consistent experience across the organization