In a developed society where people are obsessed with online usage. In an effort to eliminate manual labor, companies are looking for methods to digitize processes. The trend of consumers using digital platforms to complete their daily tasks was also influenced by COVID-19. Consumers prefer to conduct all of their tasks online, from banking to shopping. Customers have become increasingly more aware of online usage in recent years. Businesses are being compelled by this new norm to have a digital presence for their goods and services. OCR technology is being used by businesses to automate data extraction in no time.
An Overview of OCR Technology
A technological approach called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) extracts data from images and converts them into machine-readable form. Optical character recognition software can be used with a variety of documents, including printed or digital images. OCR systems can read handwritten documents and convert them into an editable format, which was considered an impossible task.
Conventional vs Digital Data Entry Techniques
Businesses used to enter data manually with the help of human labor before technology became available. These processes require a lot of time, are tedious, and have huge chances of being inaccurate. Data entry was considered to be a time-consuming and tedious process.
Finally, though, modern technology has made it possible for OCR technology to share the workload as new trends have emerged. Data entry is no longer a chore in modern times. Any type of information can be extracted from numerous documents using OCR technology and transformed into searchable and editable data.
OCR Technology – The Process
OCR solutions use AI and OCR technology to convert different scanned documents into machine-readable formats. To provide customers with accurate results, it uses ML and machine vision to analyze the text contained within the documents. In order to digitize documents that are in the form of images and printed text, digital OCR technology evaluates the documents’ images and contents. This helps the software compare pictures of actual characters to those kept in the database of the OCR readers.
- Pre-processing The procedure for extracting data from the source file is carried out. Linear text alignment, light adjustments, and sharpness enhancement are all applied.
- After examining the various styles of information, extracting the text
- Post-processing Ultimately identifies the data in various formats
Industries Using OCR Technology
OCR technology can process any kind of document, including multilingual, structured, and unstructured documents. It is important to take into account that it can retrieve data from URLs that the customer has delivered.
Legal Industry
This sector uses OCR technology extensively because it handles a lot of paperwork. Affidavits, rulings, and statements are just a few examples of the types of documents that can be transformed into digital forms by organizations.
Banking Sector
One of the most common industries using OCR technology is banking. Payslips, checks, educational certificates, and a variety of other documents can all be used to extract information.
Healthcare sector
OCR is being used extensively in this sector. OCR allows for the examination and storage of patient medical data, including reports, previous illnesses, and test results. Although the data is conveniently digitized, manual labor is drastically reduced.
Tourism
Travelers can self-check into hotels digitally with the help of OCR, which allows them to read their own documents.
Benefits of OCR Technology Service
The benefits that businesses receive from AI-based OCR Services include the ones listed below:
- Making use of this software can cut down on labor costs and manual workload. Additionally, it saves money by reducing additional operational expenses.
- Companies can focus on tasks that require greater attention. The time and work saved by eliminating manual labor can be put to better, more creative, and more productive use.
- As the information is entered manually with the help of human hands, there is a probability that the results will be inaccurate. Reduces the chances of error in the process. Reducing the amount of manual work can reduce the errors in the outcome.
Conclusion
In OCR technology, documents are converted into machine-readable formats by extracting the data from printed papers and images. A searchable and editable format can be created after the extracted data has been transformed. Traditional methods of data extraction were time-consuming and expensive for businesses. Companies’ workloads have been made easier by automated OCR technology because it requires less human input. Several industries, including banking, healthcare, and tourism, are utilizing this cutting-edge technology to provide the best services to their customers.