Laserfiche Enterprise Content Management Review

Laserfiche pioneered the paperless office with enterprise content management more than 30 years ago. Today, Laserfiche is innovating with cloud, machine learning, and AI; to enable organizations in more than 80 countries to transform from paper-based into digital-based businesses.

No matter what the industry, Laserfiche can boost productivity, scale business, and deliver digital-first customer experiences. Whether you’re involved in government, education, financial services, or manufacturing business, Laserfiche has you covered with their solutions.

Laserfiche has more than 500 employees in offices worldwide that are committed to the company’s vision of empowering customers and inspiring people to reimagine how technology can transform lives.
 

Plans and Prices

Choosing the right ECM is not an easy task. Many factors must be taken into consideration, including the features provided per plan and how much it would cost your enterprise. The type of the ECM plan you need depends on how large your enterprise is. Laserfiche offers a different set of plans and features that might be more appropriate for you and your company, depending on how many employees you have and which features you might need. 

Available plans by Laserfiche include:
 

• Laserfiche Cloud solution

Laserfiche Cloud is a cloud-based implementation that doesn’t require on-premises server maintenance. 

The cloud-based implementation makes sure your data is backed up multiple times per day, which means in the event an emergency occurs, your data is backed up in a robust TLS 256-bit encrypted format.

Furthermore, daily scanning with an intruder detection system makes sure no outsider can get hold of your data.
Laserfiche cloud has 3 sets of plans with increasing prices and features, including:
 

• Laserfiche Self-Hosted solution

Laserfiche Self-Hosted solutions are the perfect products for those who require complete control over the servers Laserfiche runs on.

Self-hosting means that the servers on which Laserfiche is hosted are under your nose with complete control of the servers, including the security and management of servers.

It also gives the freedom of choice on when to backup your data allowing for more flexibility. In certain conditions, the self-hosted solution is a regulatory requirement rather than a luxury.

Laserfiche self-hosted plans include:
 

Laserfiche Features

The features provided by an ECM can improve the enterprises' interdepartmental communication, acting as universal access to information, with minimal amounts of training.

The interface saves time, effort, and money in various forms, including time spent searching through papers, which can be used in something more productive than money spent on papers.

In addition, the scalability of the software means as the enterprise grows, the software can meet the needs and include more departments.

This adds up to provide superior enhanced operational efficiency by placing the right tools and information in the hands of the right people. In this section, we will dive further into the features provided by Laserfiche and explain what they do, how you can benefit from them, and which plans include them.
 

1. Document management

On top of the features often sought after is the advanced granular searches that can include or exclude a wide set of attributes allowing for easy content retrieval, which takes only a few seconds when compared to physical retrieval of documents.     

Version History: Stores previous versions of documents. This allows users to revert back to prior versions in the event they find themselves in need of retrieving lost content, for example.

Annotations: Collaborate on and edit Microsoft 365 content at the same time with other users. This allows for centralized spreadsheets where the whole team can monitor progress and edit in real-time.

Simultaneous editing of Microsoft 365 content allows for the addition of searchable comments, callouts, highlights, stamps, and more to images and text on the document of choice to alert users where and what to focus on in a document.

Direct file sharing with external users: This allows users to share content via secure links within and outside of the organization. Direct file sharing allows for secure, fast, and efficient business-to-business communication.

Customizable metadata templates: This allows for setting metadata templates, which are similar to keyword markers allowing for easy and fast search of content set under different meta tags that can be automatically populated to support keyword search, document classification, and more.

Mobile app with offline sync Access and update files on the go, even without internet connection using offline mode. File publishing via a public portal provides read-only web access to documents for a population outside your organization with a user-friendly public portal site.
 

2. Process Automation
 

Workflow automation allows for the automatic processing of documents and content based on preset rules, which cuts down on time wasted chasing paper.

Workflow automation includes automatic routing of content to the appropriate person, in addition to ensuring that business rules are followed thoroughly.

A few features provided by Laserfiche regarding process automation include:

• No-code process designer: Uses premade drag-and-drop shapes embedded in code to automate processes similar to how a flowchart works.
  This can help with email alerts, document routing, approvals, and much more. These processes can be customized to include third parties as a part of the automated solutions.
   
• Rules management: Centrally define repeatable decision logic, formulas, scripts, and more that can be defined once and used across multiple processes as relevant.
   
• Task management: This allows for the addition of tasks to individuals and teams, which keeps all employees on track to ensure higher productivity. Tasks can be assigned priority levels and deadline dates.
   
• Reports: Laserfiche process automation can provide users with the ability to receive many forms of reports, including areas with insufficiencies and bottleneck workflow congestion, allowing for better strategizing and planning in the future. Reports can be customized to include different forms of data.
   

3. Content capture

The first step in dealing with any content is getting a hold of the content; therefore, when dealing with the Laserfiche capture solution, multiple flexible options are available for users to get hold of content.

Methods of Laserfiche content capture solution include:

• Drag-and-drop: The simplest and most basic method of capturing data is a simple drag and drop into the interface to store data in certain places.
  
   

• Laserfiche SnapShot: This is a virtual printer; it takes e-documents that aren’t images and creates an image file of them, the same way a printer creates an image of a physical document.
   

• Laserfiche Import Agent: Provides easy content importing and management within a Laserfiche repository. Businesses generate a constant influx of documents that must be accessible at all times, regardless of the content source.
  These documents come from different sources and devices. The Import Agent negates risks of misfiling documents and false indexing.
   
• Laserfiche Quick Fields: Laserfiche Quick Fields is a scanner with an automation function. It is capable of capturing physical and digital documents, and automates a number of processes, including metadata entry, images, and text enhancement, classify documents, and extract info from barcodes.
   
• Laserfiche App: Available on the Apple store for iOS, Google store for Android, and Microsoft store.
  Laserfiche app integrates mobile cameras as input devices to capture images and directly upload them, along with information concerning metadata regarding when (date and time) and where (GPS co-ordinations) a photo was taken.
   
• Smart Invoice Capture: Uses machine learning algorithms to capture and store relative information from invoices, including the purchase order number, invoice number, total cost, and date. This saves time and cuts down on effort.
   

 4. Electronic forms
 

Using electronic forms consolidates the jump from paper to digital. This advantage is the fluidity of the workflow. Digital forms can be processed in a centralized manner more easily, with the automated submissions, routing, and reviews. 

More importantly, progress and tasks can be followed through more accurately, allowing for reports and performance reviews. There are different templates you can choose from to suit the style of your enterprise. In the event you want to customize your own forms, you can do so using CSS/JavaScript.

Laserfiche allows for sharing electronic forms with public users securely.
 

5. Integrations and integration tools
 

Laserfiche allows users to integrate a number of APIs to include and incorporate them as part of the system, thereby acting as a connecting link between multiple different applications gathering the data in one place.

The most important integrated CRM APIs include Microsoft 365, Redtail, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, DocuSign, Ellucian Banner, SAP, and many more.

In regards to third-party API integration APIs, Laserfiche, at the time of writing this article, has 120+ APIs.
 

6. Compliance

When dealing with corporate-related information, security is of the essence. As a top-rated ECM solution, Laserfiche provides compliance solutions that ensure sensitive data to be tracked and audited, certain information is restricted, and any stored info remains encrypted.

Further features regarding compliance solutions by Laserfiche include:

• Redactions: Provides the ability to restrict access to documents from certain individuals or allow access to certain individuals only.
   
• Audit trail and watermark tracking: Provides a log of activity trails, who did them, and when the activity was performed. In addition, a user-specific watermark is added to exported documents.
  An advanced audit trail is available in premium subscriptions, which provides users with further information, including attempted changes to access rights, settings, and passwords.
   
• Cut off features: Laserfiche provides multiple ways users can limit information reach and editing, including Legal Holds, which preserve all forms of relevant information and halt retention policies to avoid evidence tampering or accidental removal when litigation is possible.
  
  Strict compliance mode WORM (Write Once Read Many) is another example where automated cut-off criteria, including retention schedules, holds, and instructions, are set in place. In addition, users can create reports on retention and disposition schedules whenever needed.
   

7. Administration and Security

Security-wise, Laserfiche ensures a secure connection between peers using TLS security which creates a secure tunnel between two users and encrypts data with 256-bit encryption that can only be decrypted using a key that the receiving party has.

An attempt to hack a 256-bit encryption key requires 2^256 different combinations, which would require more than 40 years to decrypt a single message when using the most advanced supercomputers of the modern day.

Administratively, Laserfiche allows for the configuration of authorization and access rights. Coupled with the comprehensive audit reports previously discussed, a secure and controlled environment is born in which the admin sets the rules on who gets access to what.

A cloud-based intruder detection system also adds to the security by detecting organizations and individuals attempting to steal data.

Vulnerability scans continuously scan and monitor for possible threats. As discussed previously, administrators can use redaction to keep specific information confidential.
 

8. Scalability

Laserfiche uses a multi-tier architecture build which simplifies scalability. Laserfiche is Optimized for the Windows-based MS-SQL database. The flexibility regarding hardware allows organizations to scale repositories using any storage devices that best suit their needs, including a cloud-based option.
 

Integrated Solutions
 

Laserfiche provides integrated solutions that are better modified for certain businesses and corporations. Integrated solutions by Laserfiche include:
 

1. Healthcare

Among the solutions Laserfiche can provide users with are healthcare solutions. 

In the healthcare setting, a lot of different types of data are required when assessing the patient, including accessing the patient's history, labs, imaging studies via PACs, EKG stripes, follow-up notes, and more are part of the day to day routine in medicine.

Dealing with paper-based records is old-fashioned, time-consuming, and less secure compared to integrated digitized records. The digitized records with Laserfiche are HIPAA compliant, ensuring patient confidentiality.

An example of a hospital incorporating Laserfiche in their hospital setting is Montgomery County Hospital District.
 

2. Education

When it comes to education, two main subdivisions can be made. One is the higher education and universities, and the other is K12 schools and districts.

Laserfiche helps switch your enterprise from paper-based into a digitalized environment, which saves space and time and improves effectiveness. Furthermore, Laserfiche can integrate with many of the popular CRMs, ERPs, and SIS applications.

A popular example often integrated into the education solution is Ellucian Ethos system integration, which automates and supports the student registrar forms use by allowing for a smooth exchange of student's data and course information between Laserfiche and Banner SIS.

In the event, none of these options suit you and you find that your enterprise might benefit more from a custom-made solution, then Laserfiche’s software development kit (SDK) can help you tailor a tool to reach your goal.

An example of a satisfied enterprise that used Laserfiche in higher education is the City University of Hong Kong. Using Laserfiche, they solved issues regarding human resources management and finances, which helped them to grow further.

Mercer Island School District is an example of a K12 school that also gained a lot of benefits and can be found as a case study.
 

3. Governmental solutions

Governments deal with registries that include thousands if not millions of citizens. When considering the number of personnel in charge of taking care of this data, the decision to move to a paperless solution, saving space, time, and resources, sounds intuitive.

Take, for example, the Isle of Man Central Registry, which started providing citizen services online, which released workflow bottlenecks and congestion, and helped in streamlining the internal processes, adding a higher level of efficiency to their work.

The governmental solutions are subdivided into state & local government solutions and federal government solutions. Each solution has better-tailored tools to suit functionalities better.
 

4. Financial services

In financial services, whether it’s insurance companies, banks, wealth management, or broker-dealers, compliances become a breeze.

Using Laserfiche, work can be more structured, planning the work staff capabilities becomes clearer, and multiple human errors when dealing with documents such as dealing with customer sent mail is solved by capturing and distributing all data efficiently.

An example of a bank that had huge success and improved its work and profits is the South African Standard Bank Group.

Laserfiche allowed them to comfortably expand their business without the need for a sudden increase in the workforce, saving them resources on personnel and increasing their business opportunities.
 

5. Manufacturing solutions

The manufacturing solutions make it easy to organize data regarding production and invoicing, creating charts to monitor activities, costs, orders, and much more. The data stored remains organized and secure with DoD certified records structure archiving.

An example of a manufacturing company that used Laserfiche and grew is Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. Laserfiche organized their processes and scattered documents, creating a proper flow of data.

By using Laserfiche’s organized repository, they cut down on time required to access content and information from a whole month to less than a minute.
 

User Experience
 

No matter how good a program is, if it’s impossible to use, then it’s regarded as obsolete. Finding the perfect balance between simplicity in use and advanced features is what provides the perfect user experience.
In terms of user experience, we check:
 

1. Ease of use 

Based on reviews of users, using Laserfiche seemed easy and intuitive to most users. Those with IT expertise could commence using Laserfiche immediately. Others with less experience took up to a week to get used to the software.

Comparing this data with reports of different institutes which had issues turning over employees due to difficulties onboarding staff with no knowledge of the internal structure, an improvement from a previous 6 weeks' period to 1 week time difference in the onboarding process was noticed.

The simple user interface makes data entry a simple job, and in the event your employee has modest computer experience, Laserfiche has multiple certified courses for users to learn how to use, ranging from basic to advanced.
 

2. Customer support

Laserfiche provides multiple forms of support for users to solve their problems in the event an issue pops up. The first line of support comes through their knowledge base, which is full of articles, tutorials, and videos. 

There are courses where users can take and gain certificates to ensure they went over the required material to know how to work around Laserfiche. These include Capture, Records Management, Business Process Design, Administration, Gold, and Platinum courses.

If you find yourself still stuck and unable to figure out a solution to a problem after searching their knowledge base, then you can send them an email to which they will respond within 24 hours. In the event you need an immediate answer, phone call support is also available.
 

3. List of Important Clients
 

An on-paper report is one thing; seeing the actual product in action is another thing. Laserfiche has a 30-day demo which can be requested. However, we found checking how a product is perceived by different companies and integrated solutions an important point to talk about.

The list of satisfied clients Laserfiche includes:

• Sky Telecommunications (25,000+ employees)
• Kensington Mortgages (500+ employees)
• Isle of Man Central Registry (40+ employees)
• Frisco ISD (9000+ employees)
• Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (10,000+ employees)
• Oakwood University (500+ employees)

The list doesn’t end here; there are many more enterprises that benefited from using Laserfiche and were capable of growing further.
 

Final Verdict

Laserfiche is a recommended ECM product for all enterprises, regardless of their size.

Although it may appear pricy at first glance, however, further calculations when taking into account the cut down on costs of storage space for physical files, paper cost, and time wasted by employees on tasks that can be automated using robotic process automation more efficiently. 

The digitalization and automation processes add more time for workers to focus on money-making tasks. Adding up all the previously mentioned factors together leads to cost reduction and increased work efficiency, which translates into a net gain.

Laserfiche provides multiple features that not only ensure better workflow, automation, and productivity, but also other security is an important aspect that is addressed, which is addressed by encrypted storage of data, admin authorization to view data, and constant intruder detection scanning process.