7 Compelling Benefits of Optical Character Recognition In Businesses

Candice Spencer
Shufti Pro
Published in
4 min readMar 14

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OCR reader extracts information from handwritten, typed or printed documents and transforms them into a computer-readable format. It is an ideal solution for data extraction processes in different businesses. Optical character recognition automates repetitive tasks and enhances the ability to meet all corporation's requirements. During 2022–2030, the OCR market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16% and reach $39,655 million by 2030.

Collecting information from documents has become easier because modern technology has replaced older laborious methods, including manual procedures. Optical character recognition is at the top of the list for data extraction services due to its quick, accurate and goal-oriented assistance.

Let's discuss how OCR services will help organisations enhance their financial business growth.

Optical Character Recognition — The Key to Efficient Data Management

Nowadays, having an online portal for products is becoming an option as companies become digital. Every firm wants to retrieve data from documents and process it in less time to provide their user with a more incredible experience. However, their efforts will only be successful if they have access to the appropriate tools. One such innovation is optical character recognition technology.

Certain firms use advanced technologies such as AI-enabled OCR systems to assist them in data-handling operations. Moreover, old-fashioned invoice processing costs $2.7 trillion annually, but automation can reduce costs by up to 50% to 80%. Optical character recognition services now use machine learning and AI algorithms to retrieve and process data more efficiently.

  • Multilingual OCR

This technique is multilingual since it supports a wide variety of languages. Multilingual OCR is advantageous for many companies and has grown in popularity worldwide.

  • Unstructured Data

Unstructured data documents include handwritten notes, obsolete corporate files, paper invoices, receipts, etc. Optical character recognition simplifies extracting data from papers with no fixed layout or format. The method can extract information from documents with poor file types.

  • Structured Data

Additionally, an OCR document reader processes documents that contain structured data. It extracts the information from the document and then saves it digitally. Documents with structured data include government-issued identity cards, university diplomas, licences and passports, bank checks, financial records, and debit or credit cards.

Perks of Optical Character Recognition

The OCR system that uses artificial intelligence is a perfect option for all corporate requirements. This cutting-edge technology has many advantages. The following are some significant ones:

  • Data Security

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems offer extremely high protection for the information that it extracts. It enjoys the trust of numerous firms due to its robust compliance systems.

  • Less Staff Required

Because the optical character recognition software handles a large share of the job or process, hiring any staff is necessary. This saves their money, reduces human error, and efficiently finishes the task.

  • High Accuracy

This technology's excellent precision assurance is crucial in making it commonly used. The analysis of the extraction of information achieves high precision.

  • OCR Brings in Automation

The use of data accurately is the success of modern enterprises. On the other hand, swift and secure data access is a significant competitive advantage for companies.

But what if a company's data still resides in PDF or, even worse, paper documents? Would they waste their time manually searching these databases for information? That's not the right thing.

Now, it is time to give up the laborious, time-consuming procedure.

Automation is the most significant advantage of optical character recognition, which simplifies long-due data entry tasks, eliminating the risk of human error. However, error rates in manual data entry typically range from 0.55% to 3.6%, with outliers as high as 26.9%. Moreover, Financial services and pharmaceutical industries, which handle sensitive data and have significant fines for mistakes, can also suffer from little errors. Thus, adding an AI-powered OCR system to a business's operations reduces manual entry risk and makes workflow more efficient and scalable.

  • Maximum Storage Space

It has a large storage capacity to save or download the information retrieved from the files to avoid any difficulties experienced later when regaining the collected data.

  • Support Multiple Documents

OCR is a great character recognition technology that supports a variety of documents. It makes many different types of documents, including written and typed ones, IDs, electric bills, credit/debit cards, etc., computer-readable for the user's benefit.

  • Time Saver

Another benefit of using optical character recognition technology in different sectors is that it saves them much time to use it for urgent tasks. Finishing the procedure within no time is considerably quicker than the conventional manual data-gathering services that would take significantly longer to perform.

Final Thoughts

With the help of data, businesses can make better-informed decisions. To improve services, companies survey consumers and then evaluate the results. Most of the data is listed on paper because clients physically record their survey results. Information is also entered into the system to create charts and graphs. Robust OCR services allow businesses to take a sigh of relief by simplifying and digitising the data collection process. Because such services are time-saving, companies are now employing them worldwide. Optical character recognition technology aids businesses in streamlining their data-handling processes. It automates their operations and helps them make their mark in this digital age.

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Candice Spencer
Shufti Pro

Researcher, Fraud Preventer, Traveller, Reader, Writer, Thinker :)