Blog Entries By Daniel O'Leary

Content without search is like a day without sunshine

I’ve been fascinated by the fact that when I’m online, I can pretty much discover and learn about anything. Get details about what my friends are up to? Check. Browse an extensive encyclopedia with... read more

This summer, go uber mobile

As a consumer, I have totally mastered search, and you probably have too. You Google “Where should I eat in Los Altos” and you are directed to a results page that lists the top spots based on commu... read more

If the only thing that stops you from working form home on a gorgeous July day is the fact that you can’t get to information if you aren’t at an office- then you need a mobile content management in... read more

Drug Dealers and IT are the only people who call their customers “users”

Did you get a 'C' in collaboration as a student? Learn how to do it before you earn a 'F' at work

Drug Dealers and IT are the only people who call their customers “users” Seriously, why does corporate IT have more in common with a street pharmacist than the genius bar at the local Apple Sto... read more

(Not a student? Share this on Facebook with your kids) It’s no secret that employers are looking for people who know how to work on a team and collaborate effectively. Unfortunately, these skil... read more

Wappwolf Automation Will Make You Howl with Delight

I’m always on the lookout for cool integrations that help users get the most of out their content in the cloud. One of the most interesting tools I’ve come across is Wappwolf, which allows you to c... read more

What I learned by preparing for the CIP exam

Tips From the Trenches- How to engage in social business

As the first major test I’ve taken since college, the CIP was a big deal. 100 multiple choice questions, an official test center, and a congratulatory phone call from my Mom when I passed. (HOORAY!... read more

Twitter, MySpace, Chatter, Jive, Facebook, Foursquare, Yammer, LinkedIn, Google, Yelp... there are SO many social networks and tools in the ecosystem that focusing your attention on just a few can ... read more

Activity streams ARE the killer feature (but not app)

Things I love: Activity feeds Soccer Cat photos Things I hate: Being CCed on emails Getting emails Sending emails Clowns What is an act... read more

AIIM 2012: Social, Local, and Mobile is Already Here

AIIM 12 Session Preview - Using apps other than Angry Birds in the enterprise

What a difference a year makes! Having just come from the AIIM 2012 conference, I realize how things have changed. A year ago, the iPad was a fad, social meant Facebook, and the cloud was a pla... read more

The Audacity of Email

If you are serious about social business and reducing the technostress on your staff and customers, do yourself a favor and make a commitment to go on an email diet in 2012. Need a great reason... read more

“Hey Dan can I come by later to use your scanner? I need to scan and email a few documents for my new apartment lease.” I stared at my monitor in complete disbelief. Literally mouth hanging op... read more

Worlds Collide! SharePoint + Box + CloudShare + Living Analytics = AWESOME

There are two major tools that everyone seems to be talking about in the content management world- Box and SharePoint. On my drive to work on the 101 in Silicon Valley, I actually pass dueling bill... read more

I don't always test my code but.....

2012 will be all about contextual data, vertical communication, and simplicity

One of my twitter friends sent me this picture today, and wow did it strike a chord. Some people try too hard to be “The Most Interesting Man in the World”, many otherwise cautious and well intenti... read more

Is this the right invoice? Is it paid in full? Where did that contract go? Did you follow-up on that email? So what if you're not in the office, pull it up on your smartphone. You can, right? H... read more

Asking for social media usernames and passwords of employees might land you in prison

A scanning project worthy of a 'Band of Brothers'

(I’m not a lawyer and this is just my personal opinion. Please don't let the big words and nice suit fool you) Have you ever checked out an applicant's Facebook profile? Seen their embarrassing... read more

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I opened a letter that has sat untouched for the last 70 years. Musty, brittle, and faded, I pried the paper from its well-worn sleeve. For the past few days, I’ve repeated this ritual hundreds of ... read more

What can Katy Perry teach us about end user satisfaction?

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I recently was speaking with a SharePoint user who told me one of the biggest challenges she faces with her deployment is that users don't want to use the system, and they prefer their old ways. No... read more

Starting a new SharePoint or capture project? Don’t pave the cow path

Do you have a cloud project that is "shovel ready"?

Have you ever driven through downtown Boston? If so, you might scratch your head as to why some streets wind and twist seemingly at random, driving you around in circles, sometimes literally, while... read more

If you want to be paperless, eat your own dog food

Money spent on so called “shovel ready” projects implies that workers and projects are ready to go. In that spirit, it seems like most organizations have at least a few projects that are ready for ... read more

Why Virtual Events Matter

I'm writing this on my iPad, high above California, returning from a conference to which I was invited to present. It was an amazing event save for one oddity: ECM and capture resellers, customers ... read more

The "SharePoint &... "Strategy

In the last two weeks, my chihuahua Mr. Pickles and I have attended DreamForce, TechCrunch Disrupt, and the AIIM Social Business conference, all from the privacy and comfort of my couch. They had t... read more

(Originally posted at CMSWire.com) The Law of the Instrument states “…if the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything as if it were a nail.” When you examine the content managem... read more

5 Myths about Document Automation and Electronic Forms

Originally published at Digital Landfill How do you do more with less? Reduce your reliance on paper processes and start automating your workflow? Can you really create a paperless office? Why ... read more

Top 5 Excuses for Sticking with Paper Documents

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About a week ago, I had a nice conversation with two other AIIM Expert Bloggers Chris Walker and Chris Riley about some of the crazy excuses we've heard from people for sticking with cumbersome, of... read more

Take the pain out of meetings when you automate your meeting minutes creation

Meeting minutes from public entities like city councils and public universities provide citizens with almost floor-to-ceiling windows of insight into the goings-on of tax-payer supported efforts. P... read more

Enable FOIA requests and government transparency through citizen self service

Cloud Computing and ECM, 5 things you need to know

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests help to keep our government transparent. Well, they’re the best tool we have at least. We found some compelling issues on this topic down in Raleigh, ... read more

Getting "Real" about forms in Real Estate

Cloud-based enterprise content management (CECM) is still a toddler in the mature world of the legacy big boys, walking around without much stability but tons of potential. The future is bright for... read more

Every industry imaginable could benefit from the integration of a truly electronic capture strategy. By fully electronic, I mean electronic from acorn to oak tree, starting with eForms in the cloud... read more

Dan’s Info 360 Conference Recap- Let’s talk cloud, legacy vendors, conference cough, and the future of eForms and apps

How is the recovery going for everyone after the Info 360 conference? It was awesome to meet many of you in person, and to catch up with old friends. Note – the rumors of industry revolution and ov... read more

The evolution of capture? Hardly. (Live from the Info 360 show floor)

iPad 2 – for the Enterprise or just an Angry Bird?

Just as in life, change is the only constant in the capture industry. Yet, I see so little evolution. Today at the Info 360 conference, with a ton of AIIM and industry people, I was shocked to ... read more

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I write this article as I’m packing up to camp out at the local Apple store in preparation for the iPad 2 launch. Not because I have to, rather because I enjoy meeting new people and the spectacle ... read more

How to conduct a needs analysis for electronic forms

Scope Creep- the silent deadline killer (with bonus podcast!)

One of the best ways to analyze and refine your electronic forms projects is to conduct a brief needs analysis to determine what forms are targets for optimization and which can be eliminated or di... read more

The two sides of the capture coin: fixing the causes and reducing the symptoms

Hate reading? Listen to the podcast that accompanies this: The new year has been kind to my team. We have been fortunate to earn a number of new customers in the past month or so, includin... read more

For the last week, LA has been blanketed by a fierce winter storm, giving me plenty of time to reflect on the past year. Primarily, I’ve been going over some of my notes on the process of going pap... read more

RFPS are Dead! Here is why we should let them rot

SharePoint sucks, eforms, the cloud and iPads are awesome. What are you thankful for this year?

RFPS are DOA Time of death: December 6, 7:27 a.m., 2010. As of this moment, ECM, eforms, and capture RFPs are officially dead. Yes, you heard me—DEAD. As a friend once told me, an RFP i... read more

Best practices for client and vendor interactions

As we approach Thanksgiving here in the United States, I’d like to look back on the year to share with the reasons why I’ll be observing this holiday. (And this year, it ain’t just about getting fa... read more

Here are some tips to streamline the relationship issues with customers and vendors as they creep up during the implementation of enterprise software and technology projects. We try to put all ... read more

Celebrating World Paper Free Day

Now that the inaugural World Paper Free Day has come and gone, I'd like to share with everyone the presentation I gave at the AIIM Los Angeles Chapter event. My goal was to educate people on how to... read more

"Because people hate change" and why change management is so frustrating

Attention Capture Community- World Paper Free Day is October 28th

I was researching an article on why kicking off a capture or ECM project is so challenging, and I got to talking with one of my friends who is an IT analyst with the state of California. His name h... read more

When it comes to “going paperless”, it’s not something that you can do overnight. You didn’t create all of your paper or manual processes that rely on them in a day, and you won’t break your paper ... read more

What would you tell yourself if you could go back in time before the project started?

Imagine that I have a time traveling DeLorean that can magically whisk you back in time to before you started your capture project. I know, you aren’t supposed to take rides from strangers, but let... read more

8 reasons to add eForms to your capture strategy

Capture customers from hell!

Electronic forms are often overlooked when it comes to capture, as people think it’s easier to look at getting rid of file cabinets versus changing processes and adding technology. In my opinion, t... read more

I've been reading a lot of the website Clients From Hell on my vacation, and it inspired me to share some of my personal horror stories. These are some of the most unreasonable requests I've ever h... read more

Capture Forms on your iPad? As Steve Jobs Says, “BOOM!”

Hello fellow Apple lover! Tired of using your iPad for marathon session of Angry Birds and streaming Netflix? Are you ready to put it to work? The iPad is the perfect device to help eliminate paper... read more

The Art of Capture, Step 2: Convert from Paper to Electronic Forms

Part two in a series that examines the process of electronically capturing in Web-based forms the information trapped in today’s paper-based processes. As Sun Tzu says, “Success in warfar... read more

The Art of Capture- Step 1, Control the Battlefield

Is that a scanner in your pocket?

Part one in a series that examines the process of electronically capturing in Web-based forms the information trapped in today’s paper-based processes. I’ve spent the last few years helping cus... read more

Do you have an iPhone, Droid, Blackberry Storm, or any newer smart phone with a decent camera? Well then congratulations, you are ready to wade into the world of mobile capture. Here is a... read more

Ode to Barcodes - or why capture is always better with barcodes

Barcodes. You know them. You love them. You find them everywhere from the side of your box of Kashi Go Lean to document slip sheets; but have you ever stopped to wonder what all those goofy lines a... read more

Let’s Go Paperless

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The beginning of my career in ECM and content capture involved helping organizations “go paperless.” You all know the phrase, right? Many of the other bloggers worked with me on projects as vendors... read more

Kick Start your ERM project with the Human Resources Department

Everyone from the janitor to the CIO of any company or organization has to go through similar things involving HR: Applying for a job Submitting to a background check Filling ou... read more

Beware the evils of content lock in

Last month, Cheryl McKinnon brought up an excellent point when looking at ECM technology vendors and when you evaluate your existing technology- vendor lock in isn't the issue, content lock in is. ... read more

E2.0 Usability secret- hint, use two monitors