What are the stages involved in IDP?

The enterprise IDP process consists of five phases:

• Collection

The first stage of IDP is focused on gathering paper and digital documents from a variety of available content sources. Hardware and software integrations allow IDP tools to perform collection processes at scale.

• Pre-processing

Before the documents can be fully analyzed, they must meet certain quality standards. Document pre-processing automatically applies a range of techniques to improve document quality, including cropping, binarization, deskewing, and noise reduction.

• Classification

Next, the IDP tool reviews the digitized document, detects its beginning and end, and divides the information it presents into various categories based on type, content, structure, and/or format. This stage may apply computer vision algorithms to recognize visual patterns and NLP techniques to group information based on subject.

• Extraction

With the information in the document correctly classified, textual data must next be extracted and digitized using OCR and ICR technologies combined with ML capabilities to ensure consistency and accuracy.

• Validation

Finally, the extracted data is authenticated using a series of validation rules and AI-enhanced techniques, enhanced with RPA technologies. This helps ensure that the extracted data is accurate and reliable. Some organizations prefer to include a human authenticator in this step to help the AI improve and learn more quickly.

Often, organizations that are interested in intelligent document processing may confuse it with other related technologies, such as document capture or robotic process automation.

IDP vs. document capture

Document capture technologies, including OCR and ICR, are designed to convert physical documents into digital formats. These technologies are an essential part of an effective IDP solution, but on their own cannot perform the more analytical functions of intelligent document processing.

IDP vs. RPA

Robotic process automation is another technology that can be applied towards intelligent document processing. But where IDP is AI driven and capable of learning from experience, RPA is rule-based and typically used to automate simple, repetitive tasks that would otherwise need to be performed by a human worker. RPA supports IDP solutions but cannot understand the content within the context of the document.

There are few things as important to the success of modern business organizations than reliable, actionable data. Unfortunately, it is estimated that the majority of available business data is contained in unstructured formats, including paper documents, images, emails, and PDFs. Without proper formatting and analysis of this data, organizations in all industries may miss out on vital insights.

IDP empowers organizations to turn unstructured data into structured data, without the major time and cost investment that naturally accompanied manual data transfer. And by incorporating advanced AI solutions, these organizations can likewise automate the classification and analysis of said data, turning raw information into a clearer understanding of the business, its industry, and its customers.

Intelligent document processing offers several key advantages for modern organizations looking to streamline operations and extract more value from their data. Below are some of the top benefits businesses can expect when implementing IDP solutions. 

Faster processing

It is theorized that as much as 80% of business data currently resides in unstructured formats. This represents massive volumes of information. For a single employee—or even a large team of employees—to reformat that data manually would take a significant amount of time. 

IDP, on the other hand, can digitize, classify, extract, and analyze large amounts of data in microseconds, without ever having to worry about getting tired. This not only allows businesses to more quickly transition unstructured data into more usable formats, but also frees up valuable employees to perform more strategy-relevant tasks.

Reduced costs

Going hand in hand with faster document processing, the savings associated with IDP are another major advantage. By reducing processing times, businesses can begin putting newly structured data to work almost immediately to inform decisions and improve returns. At the same time, IDP tools help organizations save on costs related to operational processes and allow them to accomplish more without having to hire more. Together, this amounts to a better return on investment for IDP than is traditionally possible with other document processing solutions. 

Improved data quality

Human data digitization specialists are not only limited in terms of how much they can accomplish in a given amount of time; they are also hampered by human error. A simple slip of a keystroke can render otherwise-valuable data completely unusable—or even misleading.

IDP cuts out the need for manual data input. This means that data errors are virtually eliminated, and human review is only required when issues or anomalies within the data present themselves. With the improved data quality made possible through IDP, organizations can act on data insights with confidence.

Simplified security and compliance

Cybersecurity is a major concern, not only for modern businesses and their customers, but also for regulatory bodies tasked with ensuring that data-security best practices are being followed. IDP simplifies security and compliance, applying automation to ensure that data-protection regulations are always properly implemented.

Additionally, digital records associated with IDP processes make compliance auditing a less-complex task, providing a clear ‘trail’ that auditors can follow when verifying that the digital system and the data it contains has the correct safeties in place to meet regulatory standards.

Easier integration

The most effective IDP tools and solutions are designed to integrate easily with existing programs and hardware. Rather than having to make costly, time-consuming adjustments to an existing tech stack, companies can often use IDP out of the box, connecting seamlessly with the systems they are currently using.

Seamless integration removes a major hurdle of IDP adoption and makes it easier than ever to begin enjoying the benefits of intelligent document digitization and processing.

Increased scalability

Unlike human teams that must grow and hire new talent to meet increased work volume, IDP is capable of operating at scale without significantly increasing costs. Applying automation to vital processes across the organization, IDP expands to meet business needs, and continues to prove its value regardless of how much data is sent its way.

Intelligent document processing has the capacity to improve any business that regularly works with unstructured data. In other words, most organizations in most industries can expect to see advantages from investing in IDP solutions. Examples of industries that are distinctly well suited to intelligent document processing include:

• Government

Many government agencies around the world rely on legacy systems and manual documentation processes. IDP can help these entities achieve digital transformation, easily pulling important data from analog records and classifying it for later use and review.

• Healthcare

Keeping accurate and up-to-date patient records is a major concern within the healthcare industry. Using IDP technology, hospitals and other healthcare organizations can automatically capture patient records from unstructured sources and export relevant data to other systems.

• Financial services

There is little room for error where money is concerned. As such, financial services such as banks and mortgage-lending institutions rely heavily on documentation to ensure that everything is being handled appropriately. IDP can assist with processing the considerable number of documents associated with mortgage pre-processing, opening and servicing accounts, and more.

• Insurance

Insurance claims and payouts depend on pages and pages of forms, supporting documents, and unstructured data in a variety of formats. Likewise, insurance enrollment and underwriting traditionally depend on manual data processing and classification. In each case, IDP solutions offer faster, more accurate ways to streamline the process of turning this unstructured data into something more easily available for review and analysis.

• Transportation and logistics

As goods move from one location to another, they generate enormous amounts of unstructured paperwork—often in inconsistent formats. Transportation and logistics organizations can improve their operational agility and save on costs by applying IDP solutions to automatically streamline and standardize this documentation.

Selecting the right intelligent document processing (IDP) solution is a critical step in optimizing business processes and ensuring a successful digital transformation. Before choosing an IDP, it is essential to assess the organization’s unique needs and the types of data it needs to process. Different industries work with varying data types, from structured forms to unstructured content like emails or images. Identifying goals—whether improving productivity, reducing costs, or enhancing customer experience—will guide decision makers toward the most suitable IDP solution.  

Once these key factors have been addressed, look for a solution that includes the following features: 

• Flexibility 

The IDP should integrate seamlessly with existing systems and workflows. Whether this means using on-premises solutions or cloud-based platforms, the IDP software must be adaptable enough to support different document types and processing needs without requiring major changes to the current tech stack. 

• Scalability 

As the business grows, so will the data. Choose an IDP solution that can scale with the organization’s evolving needs. The IDP should be able to handle increasing document volumes without sacrificing performance, allowing the business to expand document processing capabilities as required without a significant cost increase. 

• Built-in analytics and reporting 

For ongoing optimization, the IDP tool should offer real-time analytics and reporting features. These capabilities help track processing accuracy, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that the solution is providing measurable value. Real-time dashboards can give valuable insights into automation rates and data quality. 

• Ability to learn and improve 

An effective IDP solution leverages AI and machine learning to become smarter with use. The algorithm should allow the system to adapt based on the data it processes, learning from previous interactions to improve accuracy and efficiency over time. 

• Functionality that includes complex unstructured data formats 

Ensure the IDP solution can handle not only structured data but also complex, unstructured formats like images. The ability to extract and analyze data from diverse sources enables the software to deliver more comprehensive insights and process a wider range of documents. 

As technology advances, intelligent document processing is becoming more sophisticated. Recent innovations are reshaping how IDP solutions handle data, making them more integral to digital transformation efforts. Looking ahead, IDP will continue to evolve in ways that further enhance its capabilities and expand its role in business operations. Here are some key trends to watch for:   

• Improved data extraction from diverse sources 

As AI and machine learning algorithms improve, IDP systems will become even more adept at extracting data from a wider range of documents and formats.  

• Advances in NLP

Future IDP solutions will leverage NLP to better understand and interpret the content within documents. This will allow systems to classify and organize unstructured data more effectively, identifying complex information such as context-specific terms. 

• Integration with hyperautomation strategies 

As organizations adopt hyperautomation—where multiple automation tools are used in tandem to create a comprehensive automation strategy—IDP will play a crucial role in automating end-to-end processes. When integrated with technologies like RPA, IDP can manage multi-step workflows, automating complex processes that involve both data extraction and decision-making. 

• Continuous learning and adaptability 

With advances in machine learning, IDP platforms will become increasingly adaptive. They will learn from every document processed, improving accuracy over time. This continuous learning will enable the systems to stay aligned with evolving business needs and document formats, ensuring continued effectiveness without the need for reprogramming. 

• Enhanced compliance and data security 

As data regulations become more strict, IDP solutions will evolve to include more advanced compliance features. Future systems will automate regulatory checks and offer stronger security measures, ensuring that sensitive data is processed, stored, and used in accordance with evolving legal requirements. 

As modern businesses become ever more dependent on critical data insights, unstructured data represents a major blind spot for many organizations. IDP provides a solution, empowering companies across all industries with the ability to convert those untapped data resources into something actionable. But to do that, businesses need a reliable IDP tool capable of intelligently extracting data and applying automation solutions to a variety of document formats and doing so without the need for user coding experience. 

ServiceNow Creator Workflows offer a flexible and powerful approach to intelligent document processing across any organization, industry, or process. Building on the advanced AI capabilities of the ServiceNow AI Platform, Creator Workflows faccelerate and optimize document processing. ServiceNow Workflow Data Fabric further strengthens this approach by connecting document data to live enterprise systems, removing the need for manual connectors and ensuring that insights from documents can immediately support downstream workflows and decisions.   

And, because IDP should be available to everyone, ServiceNow applies low-code solutions to help democratize document automation by allowing users of all skill levels to easily build custom workflows for handling complex document formats.  

Streamline operations, reduce manual data entry, improve overall efficiency, and unlock the potential of your unstructured data; request a demo of ServiceNow today!