Connectivity

Q:Will South Carolina Government be "paperless?"

A:Significant paper reduction is one of the important benefits of the SCEIS solution. Many transactions will be entirely electronic, with no need to print or save paper copies.

Of course, you will still receive paper documents as part of your routine business. Once you have scanned a document and entered it into the SCEIS system, the electronic document becomes the official archived version, and the paper version is a redundant copy.

Q:Will my agency need to establish a high-speed internet connection, or will a dial-up connection work?

A:A broadband connection is recommended. For more information, see the Organization Technical Infrastructure Readiness guide (pdf 44 kb).

Q:Since SCEIS is a client-server system -- with data residing in the servers, not in my agency's desktop computers -- what happens if the connection goes down?

A:Without a connection, you will not be able to send transactions to SCEIS. The SCEIS Project Team and the Chief Information Office are working to assure a constant and reliable connection in all but the most extreme circumstances.

Q:If one agency requires a "restore," is the whole system down, or just that one agency's system?

A:Briefly, if any restore were needed, it would be a full-system restore, as SAP does not recommend partial data restoration. However, a system restore is extremely unlikely.

In practical terms, if data input or business transactions carried out within an agency create a difficulty, the problem can probably be solved through corrective data entries or alternate transactions. A system restore would only be needed if there were catastrophic problems in the operating system -- not because of problems in the dataset.

Q:Are scanners, scanning software and imaging workstations included in the Agency Implementation Cost Allocation?

A:Yes and no.
  • Yes, a predetermined number of scanners per agency is included, supplied by SCEIS.
  • No, workstations (computer/computers) associated with a scanning station are not included and will be an agency-borne cost.
  • Yes, a predetermined number of imaging software licenses for SCEIS is included, supplied by SCEIS.

Q:* Where can I get more information about the technical requirements and purchase specifications for scanners?

A:Download the Scanner Guidance document and Scanner Purchase Template.

Q:Will I need to image a document twice -- once for SCEIS and again for other agency needs?

A:Probably not. It is possible to access a SCEIS document for use in other applications. You will learn how to do this during end-user training.

Q:Do I need separate scanners for different-sized documents?

A:You will make that determination yourself, by your agency's selection of scanners. Most scanners can accommodate documents of varied sizes. A few models are designed specifically for particular sheet sizes.

You also determine whether to use multiple small desktop scanners, or a few centrally-placed high-volume scanners.