Document Understanding Tools are pivotal in modernizing document management
practices, streamlining workflows, and enhancing organizational efficiency. By leveraging technologies such as RPA, Machine Learning and AI, businesses can optimize document processing, improve accuracy, and unlock valuable insights from data.
In this article, we take a closer look at the top Document Understanding tools available in the market, analyze use cases, and present the model Document Understanding process.
Let’s dive in!
Document Understanding: Definition and Advantages
Document Understanding involves utilizing advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to process, analyze, and extract information from various documents. By embracing Document Understanding Tools, businesses can achieve enhanced accuracy, reduced manual effort, faster processing times, and improved compliance with regulatory standards. The benefits extend to optimized operations, streamlined workflows, and data-driven decision-making.
Implementing Document Understanding in Your Company: A Step-by-Step Guide
1. Assess Document Processing Needs:
- Identifying the document types: physical/digital, volumes (number of documents that are processed monthly)
- Processing requirements within your organization (data accuracy, compliance, and security, integration, and scalability)
2. Define Objectives
Determine the goals you aim to achieve through Document Understanding implementation.
3. Research Document Understanding Tools
Explore available tools that align with your requirements and objectives.
4. Choose the Right Tool
Select a Document Understanding tool based on features, integration capabilities, resource needs, and real-life use cases.
5. Implement the Tool
Design and implement the document understanding flow within the selected tool
6. Training and Testing
Provide training to users and conduct testing to ensure optimal tool performance.
7. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization
Regularly monitor tool performance, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments to improve efficiency.
Exploring Various Document Understanding Tools
1. UiPath Document Understanding
A frontrunner in RPA, UiPath’s Document Understanding combines RPA with AI to automate the processing of complex documents. It excels in extracting, interpreting, and processing information, catering to various industries like healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and more. UiPath is renowned for its ease of integration and scalability, making it an ideal choice for businesses aiming to enhance operational efficiency and leverage AI-driven insights.
As our tool of choice for automation, UiPath’s Document Understanding module offers high accuracy in data extraction, making it ideal for organizations seeking to streamline document processing workflows. With its customizable features, UiPath empowers businesses to tailor document automation solutions to their specific needs, driving efficiency and productivity gains.
Category: On-premise available
Key Traits: Combines RPA with AI, excels in data extraction, interpreting information
The Case Study
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Global Business Services unit faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in managing vendor invoices and payments efficiently. To address these issues, they implemented UiPath Document Understanding to automate the process of Purchasing-to-pay (P2P) invoices. This solution, leveraging RPA and AI, significantly improved operational efficiency by automating the extraction and processing of data from PDFs. The automation led to a 70% reduction in invoice processing time and allowed 53% of invoices to be handled without human intervention, alleviating the workload for the finance team.
Want to learn more about UiPath Document Understanding capabilities? We are an official UiPath Partner, and our developers know this platform inside out. We provide solution consultancy and licensing discounts. Contact us to learn more.
2. Base64
Specializing in data extraction and analysis, Base64 offers tools that excel in converting documents into actionable insights. Its capabilities include advanced OCR technology and Natural Language Processing, making it suitable for industries requiring detailed document analysis and data extraction. It enables secure data transmission and storage across different systems and applications.
Among its pros, Base64 has efficient data encoding for secure document handling and is suitable for data transfer and storage requirements.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Specializes in data extraction, advanced OCR technology, and Natural Language Processing
The Case Study
A leading bank in Turkey sought to enhance the accuracy, security, and speed of its document processing workflows. Together, the bank’s credit operations team and Base64.ai created custom document models for the bank’s internal forms and other government documents commonly utilized within the industry. This partnership resulted in significant improvements in document processing efficiency, faster loan application processing, cost reductions, and heightened security, positioning the bank as a more competitive player in Turkey’s banking sector.
3. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
OCI’s Document Understanding tool is part of Oracle’s vast cloud services, which have AI and Machine Learning capabilities for document processing and analysis. It’s designed for seamless integration with other Oracle services, offering a robust solution for enterprises invested in the Oracle ecosystem. It includes document recognition, text extraction, and intelligent data handling functionalities.
It’s great for seamless integration with Oracle cloud infrastructure. Suitable for organizations using Oracle services for document processing.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Features AI and Machine Learning capabilities for document processing and analysis
The Case Study
eCOMEX NSI developed the eCOMEX Digital Assistant using OCI Document Understanding to automate the monthly processing of thousands of foreign trade documents, such as commercial invoices and bills of lading. This solution enabled extracting critical data fields like supplier and recipient information, pricing, and merchandise details, significantly reducing or eliminating manual data entry. Automating these processes resulted in cost savings, streamlined operations, and enhanced compliance, effectively addressing the challenges of handling large volumes of documents and scaling global operations.
4. AWS Textract
Amazon’s offering in Document Understanding, AWS Textract, goes beyond traditional OCR to accurately identify document contents.
It is particularly effective in processing forms and tables, making it a powerful tool for businesses dealing with vast amounts of structured data. It requires an AWS account and integration with AWS services for document analysis.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Accurately identifies document contents, effective in processing forms and tables
The Case Study
Paytm, India’s largest digital payments platform, partnered with Amazon Web Services to revamp its KYC process by integrating Amazon Textract. This solution significantly improved the efficiency of user onboarding by extracting user data from identity documents with 97% accuracy and reducing the authentication process from months to minutes. Amazon Textract’s technology saved costs by 75%, avoiding the need for expensive third-party software. The successful deployment has enabled Paytm to explore further enhancements like facial recognition to continue advancing its service capabilities for over 24.4 million merchants and millions of users daily.
5. Azure AI Document Intelligence / Azure Cognitive Search
Azure AI Document Intelligence offers AI-powered document processing within the Azure cloud ecosystem. Microsoft’s Azure platform provides a comprehensive suite for document understanding and search capabilities. It integrates AI and machine learning to offer advanced data processing, supporting a wide range of document formats and languages.
It includes text extraction, entity recognition, and language detection capabilities.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: AI-powered document processing within Azure ecosystem, advanced data processing capabilities
The Case Study
Emaar Malls partnered with Data Semantics to integrate Azure Cognitive Services into their loyalty points collection process. This digital transformation allowed for automatic scanning of purchase receipts with over 92% accuracy, enabling customers to earn loyalty points more efficiently and track them through a mobile app. The initiative resulted in more than 50% cost savings in receipt processing and saved over 8,000 hours of manual work in six months.
6. Google Document AI
Google Document AI is Google’s solution that harnesses the power of its AI and machine learning expertise to provide a highly efficient document understanding service. It excels in processing and analyzing documents to extract valuable insights, suitable for businesses that leverage Google’s cloud services.
This tool provides document analysis, entity extraction, and natural language processing functionalities.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Leverages Google’s AI and machine learning expertise
The Case Study
Resistant AI developed Document Forensics, an API integrated with Google Cloud’s Document AI, to automate document fraud checks, addressing a significant challenge for FinTechs and financial institutions in adhering to KYC and AML regulations. With the high risk of fraud, such as fake accounts and tampered documents in financial services, Resistant AI’s solution ensures rapid, accurate verification of documents, identifying up to 17% of tampered bank statements and 15% of fake company registration certificates. The API improves document processing quality, accurately classifies documents, and verifies authenticity, reducing manual document fraud reviews significantly. For instance, Payoneer saw manual reviews drop to 18% of document intake. Habito detected 32% more fraud, reducing investigation time by 52 minutes per case, showcasing the API’s effectiveness in combating fraud and streamlining the customer onboarding process.
7. IBM Watson Discovery
IBM Watson Discovery is an AI-driven tool that specializes in uncovering connections in data across documents. Watson Discovery is ideal for complex document analysis, offering deep insights and trends that can drive strategic business decisions.
The tool’s features include text classification, sentiment analysis, and entity extraction functionalities. It’s ideal for organizations seeking in-depth document insights.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Specializes in uncovering connections in data across documents
The Case Study
IBM business partner ContractPodAi offers an end-to-end contract management solution designed by lawyers for lawyers. Implementing IBM Watson Discovery allows efficient management of potentially millions of contracts through a streamlined, centralized repository that aids in creating, signing, and managing contracts. With Watson Discovery’s AI capabilities, ContractPodAi empowers legal teams to quickly search and analyze vast amounts of data to find specific clauses and assess contract risks, thereby reducing the time for contract renewals by over 50% and aiding in compliance. This AI-enhanced approach minimizes the risk of non-compliance and associated costs.
8. Rossum
Focusing on eliminating manual data entry, Rossum’s AI-driven approach to understanding documents automates data extraction from invoices and other structured documents. It’s designed to adapt to document variations, ensuring high accuracy levels. It’s very suitable for businesses that are processing extensive invoice data.
Category: On-premise available
Key Traits: Automated data extraction from invoices, adapts to document variations
The Case Study
Faced with the challenge of processing 150,000 invoices annually, NFI Industries sought to optimize its Accounts Payable (AP) operations. Collaborating with Rossum, it automated document processing, leveraging advanced AI to extract and validate data seamlessly. By integrating with Coupa and customizing solutions to match its business logic, NFI achieved enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and embraced innovation in its AP processes.
9. Hyperscience
This tool offers a Machine Learning-based solution to automate document processing and data capture. Hyperscience distinguishes itself with its ability to continuously learn from data, improving its accuracy and efficiency over time.
The tool specializes in document classification, data extraction, and intelligent processing functionalities. Hyperscience is ideal for organizations looking to automate document workflows.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: ML-based solution for document processing and data capture, continuously learns from data
The Case Study
Faced with challenges in processing incoming fax images, divvyDOSE sought to streamline its document processing. By implementing Hyperscience’s Hyperautomation solution, divvyDOSE automated text extraction from fax images, significantly reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. The collaboration between divvyDOSE and Hyperscience ensured a seamless implementation, resulting in remarkable efficiency gains and enhanced productivity in document processing operations.
10. ABBYY FlexiCapture
ABBYY’s FlexiCapture is an intelligent data capture and document processing platform renowned for its powerful OCR capabilities and flexibility in document processing. FlexiCapture excels at handling various types of documents, from forms to unstructured texts, making it versatile for multiple use cases. Its exceptional accuracy in data extraction is particularly beneficial for businesses with complex document processing needs.
Category: On-premise available
Key Traits: Intelligent data capture, powerful OCR capabilities, flexibility in document processing
The Case Study
Companies House, a public sector entity managing large volumes of paper-based documents, sought to digitize and streamline its processes. As a result of the integration, staff at Companies House can now extract data from forms and documents and directly embed the information into workflows to automate, separate, and classify documents quickly. With reduced paper handling, improved accuracy, and cost-effective solutions, ABBYY FlexiCapture empowered Companies House to transition into a fully digital organization, setting a precedent for future enhancements.
11. Docsumo
Specializing in extracting and processing data from financial documents, Docsumo leverages AI to streamline financial operations. It automates the extraction of key data fields from invoices, receipts, contracts, and other documents. Its focus on finance and accounting documents makes it a valuable tool for businesses in those sectors.
Category: Cloud-platform only
Key Traits: Specializes in extracting data from financial documents, AI-driven
The Case Study
PayU, a multinational fintech company processing over 100,000 loan applications monthly, faced challenges handling unstructured verification documents and bank statements. Docsumo seamlessly ingested various types of documents, including bank statements, checks, and identification proofs, through API-based integration. Its advanced OCR module efficiently extracted data from unstructured text, even from documents with varying layouts and image quality. Additionally, Docsumo’s intelligent categorization framework rapidly learned from documents, accurately identifying key-value pairs and line items. By implementing Docsumo, PayU achieved a 99%+ data extraction accuracy and 10x faster unstructured data processing, significantly reducing manual effort and improving efficiency.”
Leveraging Document Understanding for Business Optimization
By adopting advanced Document Understanding Tools, businesses can optimize document management practices, streamline workflows, and unlock valuable insights from data. Automating document processing workflows and extracting critical insights enables organizations to enhance operational efficiency, improve accuracy, and drive innovation.
Choosing the right Document Understanding Tool involves evaluating factors such as document complexity, integration capabilities, and business requirements. At Flobotics, we help you navigate this process by collecting your requirements, analyzing your needs, and selecting the perfect tool. We ensure that the chosen solution aligns with your objectives and document processing needs, and we assist you in setting up the document understanding workflows.
By carefully analyzing the features, resource needs, and advantages of each tool, businesses can make informed decisions that drive efficiency and productivity. Empower your organization with Document Understanding Tools to enhance document management practices, streamline operations, and unlock new opportunities for success.
At Flobotics, we are committed to guiding you through this transformative journey. We provide personalized support to help you achieve your business goals effectively and efficiently. Contact us today to embark on a path to success with advanced Document Understanding solutions tailored to meet your unique needs.