Document scanning has transformed over the past few years. What was once a back office, high-volume application has come full circle to a mobile, personal, and ad-hoc experience with multiple device types performing capture activities. An influx of “apps” are popping up to support image capture from an iPhone or smartphone device. While still in an infancy state, the convenience of using a smartphone to capture an expense receipt or a check is unmistakable. Document scanners have also jumped into the mobile game as more vendors now offer a device with a small footprint, some sophisticated features, and bundled software to manage scanned images.

Mobile Scanners

Compact scan devices are not new to the scanning world as they have been available for some time now. Many have been specialized as business card scanners and/or for ID cards. Unable to scan in larger media, more products began emerging that could scan in 8.5” x 11” sheets, but also support scans of ID and business cards for a variety of applications. As more vendors have entered into the space, new and different features have designed into the product, as well. A common element to a mobile scanner is its size and compact form. Nevertheless, most products in the past had to connect to an outlet for power and to the PC for image control.

This coming year, we see a new generation of mobile document scanner take “mobility” even farther. These devices will no longer need to be powered from an outlet, deriving life from batteries and capturing images to an onboard SD card that can then be removed to upload the images. The next generation of mobile document scanner devices is sure to push the envelope further as the number and needs of the mobile knowledge worker begin to shift and increase. InfoTrends expects to see new devices and new entrants into this mobile space for capture.

The preceding was an excerpt from InfoTrends’ Imaging Scanning Road Map report. Each year, InfoTrends’ analysts think deeply about the year ahead and predict what we believe to be the pivotal trends that will shape the market. These trends are segmented by market environment - hardware, supplies, software, and solutions – and delivered in our annual Road Map Reports. To learn more about what InfoTrends is predicting for the office technology market in the year ahead, click here to view the complete list of road maps available.