Forrester Consulting Study Paints A Picture of Inefficiency, With Employees Juggling An Average Of Eight Different Tools For PDF and Document-Related Tasks

Foxit recently commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine how organizations are currently handling their document workflows and the potential for AI to revolutionize these processes.

The findings, shared in a study titled, “Revolutionizing Document Workflows With AI” paints a picture of inefficiency, with employees juggling an average of eight different tools for PDF and document-related tasks. This approach – which is fragmented at best – leads to wasted time, manual work, and collaboration challenges. Surprisingly, despite the hype around AI, most organizations have been slow to adopt it for document processes, missing out on significant opportunities for improvement.

The study highlights that employees are spending nearly a full day (think about it… nearly 8+ hours) each week on tedious, manual document tasks that could be automated. This of course not only impacts productivity but also takes time away from more valuable work. While it should not come as a great surprise that decision-makers recognize the potential benefits of AI-enabled PDF tools, including increased productivity, improved collaboration, and fewer errors — budget constraints and security concerns are holding many back from implementation. Virtually all PDF and document processes could benefit from AI intervention, the study emphasizes, from data extraction to document editing and summarization.

Perhaps the most compelling finding is the overwhelming support for an all-in-one AI-enabled PDF platform. Consolidating their document tools into a single, intelligent solution, is seen by both users and decision-makers as tremendously valuable. Such a platform could address key pain points by – reducing manual work, improving collaboration, and increasing overall productivity. Organizations focusing on optimizing these often-overlooked document workflows, the report concludes, can expect to see improvements in employee satisfaction, customer experience… and even revenue growth.

I think we can agree… the Forrester study’s call to action is pretty clear – businesses must reassess their approach to document processes and consider the transformative potential of AI in this space.

Key Findings Summary

• The current PDF and document tool landscape features too many and woefully outdated tools. On average, respondents are using eight tools for their PDF and document needs, leaving many decision-makers stating that they use too many point solutions. These eight tools are also often outdated, lack any process automation, and integrate poorly within the application ecosystem.
• Today’s PDF and document tools mean a lot of wasted time for users. Users spend their days doing overly manual and repetitive work as a result of today’s overly complex and dated tool landscape, on average spending one workday a week on this sort of labor.
• Users and decision-makers alike see the value of an all-in-one PDF platform. Adopting a single platform that leverages AI for all PDF needs is extremely appealing to both users and decision-makers. In fact, an all-in-one platform is seen as valuable or extremely valuable for 80% of respondents, as it means less time spent on manual work, better collaboration, and improved PDF accuracy.

Foxit recently hosted a webinar featuring Forrester’s Craig Le Clair, Vice President, Principal Analyst titled “Revolutionizing Document Workflows With AI”, where we drilled down into this research.