Frank Warn, head of finance at Blenheim Palace, said: Moving from paper-based processes to automated systems will considerably streamline our accounts payable (AP) processes and provide us with greater control.

"For the first time the finance department will gain instant visibility over which invoices have been authorised for payment. This will help to speed-up invoice approval times and ensure we are able to work much more efficiently.

Earlier this year, Bank of China in London it was working with IBM to reduce its paper consumption by 95 percent, while aiming to improve the efficiency of conducting financial transactions, through new electronic document management systems.

Bank of China turned to IBM and IBM business partner Centric iSolutions to help its London branch automate the processing of interbank transaction messages it receives on a daily basis.

With new electronic systems in place Bank of China employees in London now have access to messages through an online search capability, allowing them to monitor transactions as they are sent and received by the bank.