Templates for configuring digital sending devices to achieve an automated business process

1. A content management method, comprising:

identifying digital sending devices in a communications network, wherein each of the identified digital sending devices comprises a combination of hardware and software that is operable to capture data from documents and send the captured data over the communications network;

generating an automated business process design comprising one or more definitions of user interactions with respective ones of the identified digital sending devices and one or more functions performed by respective ones of the digital sending devices; and

translating the automated business process design into digital sending device configurations comprising data processing rules for capturing the data and instructions for sending the captured data over the communications network in accordance with the automated business process design; and

configuring the identified digital sending devices in accordance with the digital sending device configurations;

wherein the identifying, the generating, the translating, and the configuring are performed by a computer system.

2. The content management method of claim 1 , wherein the translating comprises determining a digital sending device configuration for each of the identified digital sending devices.

3. The content management method of claim 1 , wherein the translating comprises creating the data processing rules.

4. The content management method of claim 3 , wherein creating data processing rules includes setting digital sending protocols.

5. The content management method of claim 4 , wherein setting digital sending protocols includes one or more of: setting encryption standards, setting signature requirements, setting file format types, collecting retrieval index information, setting compression requirements, and setting network addresses.

6. The content management method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring comprises remotely configuring each identified digital sending device to perform the automated business process.

7. The content management method of claim 6 , wherein remotely configuring each identified digital sending device includes using a remote configuration application to send two or more of the identified digital sending devices a configuration in parallel.

8. The content management method of claim 1 , wherein the generating comprises:

generating at least one data processing template for the business process; and

generating at least one workflow-routing template for the business process.

9. The content management method of claim 8 , wherein the generating comprises generating at least one user device interaction template for the business process.

10. The content management method of claim 9 , wherein the translating comprises selecting information technology templates based on the at least one data-processing template and the at least one workflow-routing template.

11. A content management system, comprising:

a plurality of digital sending devices in a communications network, wherein each of the digital sending devices comprises a combination of hardware and software that is operable to capture data from documents and send the captured data over the communications network; and

a computer system operable to perform operations comprising

generating an automated business process design comprising one or more definitions of user interactions with respective ones of the identified digital sending devices and one or more functions performed by respective ones of the digital sending devices, and

translating the automated business process design into digital sending device configurations comprising data processing rules for capturing the data and instructions for sending the captured data over the communications network in accordance with the automated business process design, and

configuring the identified digital sending devices in accordance with the digital sending device configurations.

12. The content management system of claim 11 , wherein the translating comprises determining a digital sending device configuration for each of the identified digital sending devices.

13. The content management system of claim 11 , wherein generating comprises interconnecting:

data-processing templates defining common sub-processes of automated business processes; and

workflow-routing templates defining common sub-processes of automated business processes.

14. The content management system of claim 13 , wherein the translating comprises determining the digital sending device configurations based on the interconnected data-processing templates and workflow-routing templates, and enterprise preferences.

15. The content management system of claim 14 , wherein enterprise preferences include one or more of: file format type, communications protocols, and network addressing conventions.

16. The content management system of claim 13 , wherein the interconnected data-processing templates and workflow-routing templates define an automated business processes.

17. A program storage device readable by a processor, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying digital sending devices in a communications network, wherein each of the identified digital sending devices comprises a combination of hardware and software that is operable to capture data from documents and send the captured data over the communications network;

generating an automated business process design comprising one or more definitions of user interactions with respective ones of the identified digital sending devices and one or more functions performed by respective ones of the digital sending devices; and

translating the automated business process design into digital sending device configurations comprising data processing rules for capturing the data and instructions for sending the captured data over the communications network in accordance with the automated business process design; and

configuring the identified digital sending devices in accordance with the digital sending device configurations.

18. The program storage device of claim 17 , wherein the translating comprises a digital sending device configuration for each of the identified digital sending devices.

19. The program storage device of claim 17 , wherein the translating comprises creating the data processing rules.

20. The program storage device of claim 19 , wherein the creating comprises setting digital sending protocols.

21. The program storage device of claim 20 , wherein for the setting comprises one or more of: setting encryption standards, setting signature requirements, setting file format types, collecting retrieval index information, setting compression requirements, and setting network addresses.

22. The program storage device of claim 17 , wherein the configuring comprises remotely configuring each identified digital sending device to perform the automated business process.

23. The program storage device of claim 22 , wherein the remotely configuring each identified digital sending device comprises using a remote configuration application to send two or more of the digital sending devices a configuration in parallel.

24. The program storage device of claim 17 , wherein to the generating comprises:

generating at least one data-processing template for the business process; and

generating at least one workflow-routing template for the business process.

25. The program storage device of claim 17 , wherein the generating comprises generating a user device interaction template for the business process.

26. The program storage device of claim 25 , wherein the translating comprises selecting information technology templates based on the at least one data-processing template and the at least one workflow-routing template.

27. A content management system comprising:

a network means for execution of a remote configuration application;

a plurality of digital sending devices in the network means, wherein each of the digital sending devices comprises a combination of hardware and software that is operable to capture data from documents and send the captured data over the communications network;

an automated business process authoring means for enabling a user to define and select data-processing templates and workflow-routing templates to create an automated business process design; and

a translating means for translating the automated business process design into digital sending device configurations comprising data processing rules for capturing the data and instructions for sending the captured data over the communications network in accordance with the automated business process design.

28. The content management system of claim 27 , wherein the translating means comprises a library of information technology templates.

29. The content management system of claim 28 , wherein the automated business process authoring means comprises:

a library of data-processing templates defining common sub-processes of automated business processes; and

a library of workflow-routing templates defining common sub-processes of automated business processes.

30. The content management system of claim 29 , wherein the translating means comprises a library of information technology templates and selects information technology templates from the library based on data-processing templates, workflow templates, and enterprise preferences.

31. The content management system of claim 30 wherein the enterprise preferences comprise one or more of: file format type; communications protocols; and network addressing conventions.

32. The content management system of claim 30 , wherein the automated business process authoring means defines interconnects the data-processing templates and the workflow-routing templates in a process of defining the automated business processes.