A Xerox commissioned research study highlights the key driving factors influencing businesses in the purchase of Document Management Solutions

Dubai, United Arab Emirates- 4th October, 2010 - Xerox Corporation, the leading document management technology and services enterprise, has just released the results of a survey it carried out in August 2010 across the GCC region that focuses on the growing importance of Document Management solutions (DMS) in the SMB sector (Small to Medium Businesses). The survey conducted by Panaly Consulting and commissioned by Xerox involved senior management in over 120 SMB businesses in the GCC from various industry sectors.- Banking / Finance, Healthcare, Education Media/Advertising, Manufacturing and Government.

Xerox investigated how and why organizations were deploying document management solutions to contain costs and realize other business benefits critical in achieving a solid path towards economic recovery.

One key finding uncovered by the survey is that a significant number of companies in the GCC plan to increase their spending on effective document management solutions: Eighty one percent (81%) of the survey respondents said that their organization's document management budget will increase while nineteen percent (19%) said it would remain the same. Organizations are finding that document management solutions lower the cost of storing and managing the growing piles of paper-based records while improving document retrieval and disaster recovery capabilities.



The volume of documents exchanged between employees in any organization, has rendered keeping track of them an impossible fete for any single business unit or department to deal with.. What was once the responsibility of IT, records management, or legal departments, is now a focal point for many GCC businesses, particularly those dealing with high volumes of documents--both hardcopy and digitally.

The study revealed that only eight percent (8%) of businesses manage their documents digitally while seventy two percent (72%) manage their documents both digitally and paper based. Furthermore fifty six percent (56%) of the respondents' said that they print more than 50 pages a day, while twenty eight percent (28%) stated that they required to print more than 150 pages a day for office use. In order to stay competitive, executives assert that they are utilizing document management processes like document imaging, which helps improve regulatory compliance and reduce costs and physical space required for paper-based records.





"Today, almost every organization has to deal with a growing pile of paperwork.  In order to manage the increasing amount of documents and information, it is imperative to have an innovative and efficient system that allows easy storage and quick search along with efficient retrieval facilities," said Dan Smith, General Manager for Integrated Marketing, Xerox, MEA (DMO).

 "As any organization's survival is 100% reliant on data, the management of this data--whether it derives from a hardcopy, a blog, and email, or online--is integral to success and growth," added Smith.

The study also found that about forty percent (40%) of businesses did not fully understand what the complete benefits of a document management system are.  For those businesses who were familiar, thirty nine percent (39%) stressed the importance of trusted brands as their provider of choice for document management solutions followed by flexibility (29%) as being the second most important factor when making their purchase decision.

Surprisingly, only eleven percent (11%) of IT Professionals consider 'Pricing' to be the primary factor affecting their IT purchase decision.  This is understandable considering that effective knowledge and information sharing is vital to any organization to help businesses manage and distribute information faster and more efficiently.

"There is a significant requirement in the GCC for an affordable DMS solution with a user friendly interface for small or medium level businesses. We expect to see at least two trends emerge in the next three years where organizations will consider outsourcing document management activities more and the adoption rate of document management solutions will increase consistently," added Smith.

-Ends-

About Xerox
Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology and services, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business.  Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 130,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries.  For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com or http://www.acs-inc.com.  For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor. 

About Panaly Consulting
Panaly is a boutique consulting firm that was established in 2007 by Rana Haddad and Rafi Tavitian. Recognizing a strong need in the market for reliable and quality market intelligence, they created Panaly and brought together a complementary mix of cultures and backgrounds to provide dynamic and unchartered results in the field of market research, feasibility studies and strategy consulting across the GCC. For any inquiries, visit Panaly at www.panalyco.com.

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© Press Release 2010