Document Capture and Cost Recovery

As many professional services organizations are recognizing the high costs associated with producing documents on paper, there is a continuing shift toward cost recovery solutions for in-house document scanning and imaging production.

Law firms are among the major drivers of the trend toward cost recovery for in-house scanning and production, motivated by the desire to keep document-related costs from spiraling out of control. Industry analysts predict that law firms will continue to be a major consumer of cost recovery technologies in order to better manage, track, and account for their in-house document production moving forward.

Recent research from global market intelligence firm IDC supports this growing trend. In a report, IDC projects that the cost recovery market for the legal industry will continue to show strong growth through 2009. The 2009 revenue figure for this market is projected at $234 million, representing a 25% compound annual growth rate for the past five years.

Source: IDC

Photo Messaging on the Rise for U.S. Vacationers

Market research conducted in 2008 shows that photo messaging is eclipsing the postcard as a key communications vehicle for vacationers in the United States. According to a ComScore survey, photo messaging has risen 60% in the United States over the last year, as the camera phone substitutes for the postcard sent to friends and family.

According to the study, photo messaging growth in the U.S. is seen among all age groups. The fastest growing segments are teens and people older than 35. About two in three American owns a camera phone, noted ComScore in its survey findings.

ComScore also reported photo messaging growth in Europe, where the technology got an earlier start than in the U.S. Here the rate of use is up 16% over the last year, according to the study. Europeans send photos by phone during the summer months only slightly more than average. Among age groups, the heaviest users of photo messaging in Europe are people 55 years old and older, noted ComScore.

Sources: ComScore, Information Week

IMFA World Workplace 2008: Oct. 15-17, Dallas, Texas

The annual conference and exposition of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), World Workplace encompasses the vast educational and networking opportunities available through the Association year-round. IFMA's knowledge and resources are consolidated into a three-day, world-class gathering of facility professionals, educators, students and companies for the continued advancement of the profession.

IFMA designed World Workplace as a collaborative forum for facility managers and those in related fields to discuss, evaluate, share and grow, both personally and professionally. The World Workplace experience includes a conference focused entirely on education and a unique tradeshow that incorporates product demonstration and instruction.

World Workplace draws attendees from all over the world and from a variety of workplace-related industries, including technology, engineering, architecture, design, security, real estate, and facility management. Attendees are able to experience the best of what IFMA has to offer in one location.

The enduring success of this event is based both on IFMA's reputation as the ultimate resource for facility management and the variety of industries represented in the educational sessions and on the Expo floor. IFMA partners with other highly respected organizations in order to bring attendees the most well-rounded educational experience available.

World Workplace is scheduled for October 15-17 in Dallas. Visit www.worldworkplace.org/2008/ for more information.