Step into the world of process automation with ExtraMile by YourTechDiet, where we bring you candid conversations with visionaries reshaping industries through technology.
In this insightful session today, we have Terry Sutherland, Co-Founder and CEO of ImageSource, a company that has spent nearly three decades turning complex workflows into seamless experiences. What began in 1995 as a systems integration startup in Olympia, Washington, has evolved into the ILINX® platform, a game-changing suite trusted by governments, financial institutions, and tribal nations to simplify work, reduce costs, and deliver better service.
Terry’s journey isn’t just about technology; it is about solving real problems for real people. From helping Alaska’s SNAP benefits system adapt to applicants’ needs (not bureaucracy) to enabling rapid COVID response for the Quinault Indian Nation, ImageSource thrives on making work easier, faster, and more human.
In this discussion, Terry shares how customer frustrations sparked the creation of ILINX and why most automation fails without flexibility. Explore the unexpected challenges of modernizing government services and why AI should empower teams, not replace them.
Welcome, Terry! We’re thrilled to have you with us today.
1. From founding ImageSource in 1994 to becoming a leader in process automation, what motivated you to start this company, and how has your vision changed during these 30 years?
Terry. I had the same motivation in 1994 as I do now. Helping organizations innovate their business processes with technology. In the beginning it was more hardware oriented, and we helped organizations select multiple components to solve a business problem. Over time we identified customer needs that were not met by the products we were implementing, and that is how our ILINX platform was built. We were and are focused on helping organizations innovate their business processes.
2. Your ILINX platform is known for its flexibility in handling complex workflows. Could you share an example of how it solves a problem that rigid systems struggle with?
Terry. A great example of this is our work with the State of Alaska and their family assistance programs. Rigid systems require onboarding content in structured formats, and then processes are moved forward from step to step in a linear fashion. There’s no adaptation or change based on the applicant, the time frame or any prior knowledge. We’ve helped the State of Alaska initiate applications and move them through workflows by phone calls, voice recordings, online applications by mobile device or web page. Using information in the way that works best for the applicant, not wasting any time in a potentially emergency situation for the applicant has helped Alaskans receive benefits, and has saved taxpayers money by being more efficient and requiring less manual labor and time for state employees managing the application process.
3. ImageSource recently integrated IA capabilities into ILINX. How does this enhance real-world applications like claim processing or government services compared to traditional automation?
Terry. AI is and will continue to have a transformative approach what we think we know about workflow and automation. As I mentioned, processes have generally been automated as linear steps. AI can anticipate the outcomes, validate decisions and predict outcomes and explain itself in ways that individual knowledge works do. The difference of course is the scalability of AI across processes with a human in the loop, or other oversite methods can handle a workload that knowledge workers can’t. Claim processing is a great example, AI can predict anomalies, can overlay regional laws in decision-making and interact with the customer simultaneously. We can put our human resources in areas that require a different touch. Imagine resources were available for those who are less technically capable? We could walk them through the process while AI manages the rest of the workload.
4. You have helped modernize services like Alaska’s SNAP benefits system. What unique challenges do government agencies face in digital transformation? How does ILINX address them?
Terry. Government agencies have tighter budget constraints, their investments must be adaptable, and capable of connecting to other systems and data sources. Government agencies have people surrounding their processes and outcomes. Serving citizens, using taxpayer dollars and employing residents. ILINX address them by easily integrating to other applications, and data sources. We also uniquely create experiences that are unique and tailored to each user type.
With solutions handling sensitive data, how does the company balance innovation with security, especially in regulated industries like finance and healthcare?
We focus on this at the C level. We are SOC II type II compliant, work with the Azure Government cloud and we proactively work with our customer-partners to understand their requirements and expectations.
5. Your team works alongside clients rather than just handing off software. Why is this collaborative implementation model so critical for success?
Terry. Everyone has experienced the disappointment of a shelfware investment. We’ve bought a solution believing it was going to be the right fit for organization and sadly it’s never fully implemented or didn’t live up to our expectations. Maybe it’s your Fitbit or Apple Watch. For our customer partners it’s mid-6 figure or even 7-figure investments that were meant to automate a business-critical process or help them meet a new regulation. We are not willing to have ILINX on that discard pile. We work with the customer to be sure their expectations are met and value is being delivered by their ILINX investment.
6. Being included on Everest Group’s IDP PEAK Matrix is impressive. How do such achievements reflect your team’s work?
Terry. Thank you, it does represent a lot of work from our development teams and our marketing team. It’s a reflection of our ILINX platform and it’s ability to compete and win against any other intelligent document processing solution. There are plenty of excellent providers in the Peak Matrix. There are very few, if any capabilities, that ILINX can’t deliver. There are many functions, especially in regards to experience automation where the ILIINX platform exceeds what the largest players in this market can deliver.
7. What are the greatest opportunities for process innovation over the next five years? Are there any new technologies that you are most looking forward to?
Terry. I am looking forward to agentic AI and its growth in workflow automation. Getting developers and solution development away from scripting and one to one relationship with tasks to intelligence about what would be more efficient. I am also looking forward to the integration of AI and calendar deliverables. AI knowing what you need created by a specific data and iteratively delivering it for review or collaboration isn’t too far away.
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