The Imagine Service provides a document management, imaging, and workflow system that enhances how the campus manages paper, document processing and integration with campus systems of record through a set of APIs. The service provides hosting and support for a document imaging system that enables customers to reduce or replace paper-based storage and business processes with more efficient and cost-effective electronic storage and business processes. The service helps customers to update business processes, preserve documents, determine retention periods, eliminate physical storage, collaborate with colleagues, and prepare for business continuity in the event of a disaster.

The Imagine Service uses the Perceptive Content product (previously ImageNow). Perceptive Content has its own workflow functionality - allowing routing of documents, approvals, exception handling, permissions setting, and document retention management. Easy annotation tools allow stamps, sticky notes, and text messages to be added to documents. Perceptive Content can be integrated with DocuSign, PeopleSoft/Oracle financial, HR, and student systems' workflow management or other host applications. See Service Features and Benefits (below) for more details about Perceptive Content functional options and benefits.

As of FY 2024-2025, AVC CFO has provided ongoing operations funding for the service. This means application licenses, document storage and user support costs are covered. Departments are responsible only for costs relating to scanner licenses and custom implementation services.

The Imagine Service is part of the Berkeley IT Campus IT Experience (CITE) department. The service began in 2007 and continues its expansion to additional campus departments.

We welcome you to the new Imagine Ask IT Service Catalog Portal. Please take an opportunity to browse and become familiar with who we are and what we do. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Imagine Listserve

We use the Imagine Users Listserv to send announcements to Imagine customers. Staff who are subscribed to the listserve receive emails about system upgrades, system changes, system availability and hours, training classes, system problems, etc. All Perceptive Content users are automatically added to the listserve.

Service Features and Benefits

Imagine solutions are customized to your needs. We can provide everything from a simple scan, index, search and store implementation that can be up and running in a few days to complex implementations that are integrated with your backend systems and databases such as PeopleSoft and DocuSign.

Key implementation functionality can include, but is not limited to:

Document intake via:

• Automated document indexing and metadata input

• Document scanning

• Website upload

• Bulk import from a server or another system

• Integration with DocuSign

• Document annotation tools such as stamps, sticky notes, and text messages on tiff files

• Permissions management:

  • Group based

  • Can be applied to document access, routing rules, documentation annotation options

• Form input. Data can be entered via:

  • Metadata exchange with backend system

  • Manually

• Reports

• Retention Management and Archiving

Key benefits include:

• P4 compliant central storage

• Improved effectiveness and efficiency in managing documents

• Automating workflows and business processes

• Business Process Improvement while designing the new solution

• Reduced physical storage space requirements and costs

• Sustainable practice

• Campus product expertise

• Experienced campus user group

• Integration with system of record/backend/host applications

• Support for business continuity and disaster recovery

Perceptive Content can be implemented more quickly than many other solutions at lower costs:

• Backend/host integration without programming

• Low user training costs

• Zero costs for server, maintenance, administration tasks

• Minimal departmental IT resource demands

• Workflow and extended functionality with minimum scripting, programming

• Streamlined indexing

• Reduced manual data entry

• Improved accuracy

• Perceptive Content can be integrated with a myriad of host systems through a set of APIs

Rapid ROI

Moving to an electronic document management system provides very fast return on investment (ROI) from the most basic savings obtained through not purchasing paper to increased efficiency and reduced risk.

Paper

• Associated paper costs such as copying, printing, postage, disposal, recycling and storing can be as much as 31 times the purchasing cost. Translated, a $5 ream of paper could actually cost up to $155-and that doesn't include labor. [Source: Green Life]

Filing

• 45% of the files in filing cabinets are duplicated information, and 80% is never accessed again. [Source: IDC]

• US companies spend an estimated $20 on labor costs to file a document, $120 on finding a misfiled document and $220 to reproduce a lost document. [Source: Coopers & Lybrand]

Time

• 7.5 % of all documents get lost, 3 % get misfiled, and the average professional spends 50% of their time looking for information. [Source: Gartner Group]

Invisible, intangible costs

There are many invisible and intangible costs you can reduce by implementing the Imagine Service technology. Research from the Association for Information and Image Management ( AIIM) shows that scanning and capture improved the speed of response to customers, suppliers, citizens or staff by 6 times or more. Funneling incoming documents through a digital mailroom enhances this benefit, ensuring that all customer or supplier documents are immediately available to anyone who needs access whether on site or off. Overall AIIM research found a return on investment within 18 months, often less. Since campus already has the system in place and it is paid for centrally, a specific unit or department's ROI is almost immediate.

Customer Engagement Process

Working in Partnership

The Imagine service provides planning and scoping, analysis and design, implementation, training, and maintenance and support.

All projects are based on a close, active partnership between the customer and Imagine teams.

For simple projects, for example scanning and retrieving projects that do not require much customization or workflow management, we have project templates that will enable us to get your project up and running very quickly. More complex projects require deeper analysis and a longer time frame.

Nevertheless, both simple and complex projects will follow the same overall trajectory:

1.Scope and Plan

During the Scope and Plan phase the Imagine and customer teams focus on identifying enough of the project specifics to develop a project plan and the Imagine team prepares and conducts a brief bootcamp session to introduce users to the document management process and terminology with the goal to prepare them for the analysis and design phase

1. Confirm Scope and Business Objectives

2. Initial meeting

3. Users fill in the Business Process Discovery Assessment Document

4. Kick Off

5. Bootcamp

2.Analysis and Design

Since much of the implementation detail cannot be known until work is underway, we undertake a more in-depth analysis and design phase with iterative hands-on prototyping during which the customer works side-by-side with our team.

1. Analyze Business Processes

2. Gather Business and Technical Requirements

3. Define Functional and Technical approach to meet customer goals

4. Iterative prototyping

5. Train the Trainer

6. Technical and user testing, revisions on the QA Server

3. Implementation Preparation and Verification

During this phase we move an approved implementation to the Production Server. Both Imagine and customer team members are responsible for testing. The customer is responsible for their user training.

1. Implementation Preparation

2. Software Deployment, Configuration and Testing

3. Training Before Implementation

4.Deploy and Support

1. Go Live

2. System Transition to Support Phase

3. Project Closure

Current Customers

Perceptive Current Customers | PC Service Catalog

Onboarding Process

Going Live with a Perceptive Implementation

Getting Started with the Imagine Service

If you would like to get started with the service, please take a look at the documents below which will give you an idea about what is needed to begin a project with our team.

• Service Level Agreement

• Business Process Discovery Assessment

• Recommended scanners

  • Please note that campus departments purchase equipment such as scanners based on Berkeley IT-CITE and vendor recommendations. Brand/model recommendations are based on the Imagine team's experience with the product. Although other hardware might also work, alternative selections should be verified with the vendor, Hyland, and with the Imagine team prior to purchase.

Business Case Histories

If curious about how Perceptive Content looks please take a look at the short videos below:

• Perceptive Content Intro

• Perceptive Content Demo

Contact Us

• Vahid Nadi - Data Systems Service Manager
• vnadi@berkeley.edu
• Patricia Juárez - Imagine Senior Business Systems Analyst
• pjuarez@berkeley.edu
• Technical Support - imaginehelp@lists.berkeley.edu

Service Details