Army upgrades paperless solution

New technology the U.S. Army plans to deploy will convert many paper-based administrative processes to an automated solution, said IBM Corp. officials, one of three companies providing the technology.

U.S. Army officials plan to install the solution from IBM, PureEdge Solutions Inc. and Silanis Technology Inc. that will perform tasks such as supply ordering and pay disbursement. The integrated forms management solution will provide the infrastructure to automate the Army's form-based business processes.

Enterprise Information Management Inc. was contracted by the Army to streamline and automate its form-based processes. Terms of the contract were not released.

While the Army has been able to convert paper forms into digital files, users often had to print paper copies, manually sign them and mail the form to complete the authorization process. The new solution will automate the entire process.

Comprised of XML-based eforms, digital signature and content management software, the solution will replace existing redundant technologies across different divisions.