Digital transformation – are you ready?
One of the most important trends in business communication today is going digital. This means leaving traditional paper documents and physical mail. Among other benefits of electronic communication we can mostly find the efficiency and control of further digital information processing throughout the organization between all responsible employees, usually inside of an enterprise information system, including possibility of full automatization.
Nowadays there exist many channels through which the electronic information can reach your organization:
- fax
- EDI
- web form
- perhaps even a social network
Information System of Data Mailboxes – ISDS
Specialty of the Czech Republic is then another communication channel between private companies and civil service organizations: Information System of Data Mailboxes – ISDS (from Czech “Informační Systém Datových Schránek”). This is a technological environment financed by Czech Ministry of the Interior as a part of eGovernment initiative, which radically changes way of delivering (receiving or sending) official documents. Using the Data Mailboxes you can send electronic documents to civil service organizations and receive them the same way.
Most of private companies are according to the Legal Act no. 300/2008 Coll. obliged to use the Data Mailboxes for reception of official documents from civil service organizations and such electronic documents are being granted equal to the traditional documents in paper form.
However, the Data Mailboxes can be also used for B2B communication between two commercial subjects providing secure environment compliant with legislation for exchanging important business documents including invoices, purchase orders and other contractual documentation.
This communication channel is ready now and can be used immediately with relatively small initial costs. Since the electronic form of document delivered through Data Mailboxes is clearly granted by the legislation, you are definitely free of any discussions with auditors or official authorities regarding its validity.
Document processing
Czech Post, as the Data Mailboxes system operator, provides relatively simple user interface for delivering the official documents through the Data Mailboxes. This is a web portal where you can, after log-in, read or dispatch your official documents. More important is however technical interface of the Data Mailboxes which allows your internal information systems to download/upload documents from/to the Data Mailboxes in appropriate form.
This is extremely interesting giving the fact that once document in electronic form is delivered to you and being legally equalized to the paper form you are able with relatively low costs to enjoy all the benefits of processing digital information inside of your organization rather than moving papers.
Using appropriate information system according to your needs (email as the simplest form, SharePoint, enterprise Document Management System such as OpenText, or even SAP) which is connected to your ISDS Data Mailbox means that all the Data Mailbox content is being fully controlled, respecting user rights of each individual employee, as well as electronically archived in compliance with legislation.
Documents can be processed inside of your organization with full workflow audit trail which can be reported anytime now or in the future. Processes can be further optimized to even enhance efficiency of your organization giving you competitive advantage as the ultimate goal.
Future – ISDS Connector
According to different studies, volume of corporate information content will increase by 50 times today’s numbers until year 2020 and all of the major operating functions of enterprises will be digital at that time. Technology will create more and more data. And this enormous volume of data, big data, needs faster information systems, or better equipped information systems to be more precise. Majority of workforce in 2020 will be digital natives, which means, with a bit of exaggeration of course, that they were born with computer, tablet or smartphone in their hands already. Those employees will require modern technology to support their work.
Therefore technological equipment of a potential employer becomes one of key decision points for each new job applicant and for enterprises one of the key ways how to attract new qualified workforce.
Czech eGoverment initiative and Information System of Data Mailboxes provides you with capability to switch to compliant electronic communication already and, when connected to powerful information system or application on your side, to also process efficiently official documents inside of your company.