Arch outsourcers its bill printing to multiple shops, and this, too, presented challenges. Now the streams are indexed, compressed and stored by the software. Whether the images come from computer reports or bit-mapped scans, they are all part of the document database and indistinguishable to the end user. For customer service, Arch maintains five regional call centers and one national facility. All of the reports and images are stored at a Cincinnati data center.
Call centers get information over an intranet.
If a customer needs a replacement bill, the Web browser retrieves an Adobe PDF and, with a couple of key strokes, the rep faxes the PDF from the desktop. By Gordon E.J. Hoke.