Gone are the days when filing cabinets lined every wall of the office and finding a record meant sorting through hundreds of packed boxes and files with little to no roadmap. These days, Document Management Systems are here to help. These digital solutions help businesses organise and keep up with their mountains of paperwork, and ensure that files are accessible, searchable, and trackable.
Document Management Systems are extremely efficient programs that control and organise documents throughout an organization by incorporating document and content capture, workflow, document repositories, COLD/ERM, and output systems, and information retrieval systems into a seamless system that tracks, stores, and controls documents.
Commonly a subset of Enterprise Content Management, document management systems today are customisable to your workplace. They vary in size and scope from small, standalone systems to large scale enterprise-wide configurations serving a global audience, and often incorporate standard physical document filing practices electronically. These can range from identifying storage locations to security and access control, routing, retention, version control, audit trails, check-in/check-out procedures, and document lockdown, and sometimes even support for paper file handling, including offsite storage and insurance. They're a great tool for businesses looking to go paperless, and are a vital element in legal firms, creative firms, and media and publishing organizations.
Aside from doing away with superfulous paperwork, DMSs also make for better overall performance of a company's workforce. The most basic reason is having a place to store and organize documents, which means that important memos can be easily found, amended, and stored, when needed. DMSs also handle workflows, access permissions, backup, and data protection, making them the starting point for storing, securing, and sharing various business documents. Another important feature of DMSs is their ability to classify data, which has huge ramifications for the way organisations map their workflows.
In addition to added efficiency, DMSs also encourage collaboration in the workplace, by incorporating version control, and additional tools to manage and maintain a document's security and integrity. According to PCMag, traditional file storage makes security difficult to manage and maintain. While there are certain capabilities available to set permissions on a file or folder, these permissions can be rapidly degraded or defeated entirely simply by moving files from one folder to another. Tracking changes to a document stored in a shared folder on a corporate server is nearly impossible for users, as is maintaining and evaluating an audit trail. Even in terms of collaboration, there are significant improvements to be had simply by transitioning away from the traditional corporate file share.
If you're in the market for an off-the-shelf or custom DMS, make sure to look through our handy list of basic DMS tasks, below before making your purchase:
Stores documents in a wide variety of file types Provide tools to organize these files Find/search for files that meet certain user-defined criteria Incorporates capabilities such as tags and customizable key fields to help the search process Integrates with other business apps Streamline sharing and improve returns Track communications and report on them over time Route specific types of documents to personnel who need to complete or approve them Renders documents in an editable format for signing and editing, and then reworking it into a final non-editable file type Supports e-signatures Has a check-in and check-out option that locks access when a user has downloaded a file to prevent editing overlap Supports versioning to track who has edited files and when, and is able to revert to an earlier version if the file becomes corrupted or if errors are introduced Accommodates compliance requirements, if necessary Advanced security features such as audit trails, advanced permission capabilities, or enterprise authentication tools such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) Allows file retention and has an in-built archive Supports automation and workflow Integrates with other business systems, whether a financial system, database, or a cloud storage provider
Aside from ensuring that your system hits these basic functions, choosing the right type of also requires you to understand your business' needs. There are four primary types of document management systems: server-based systems, such as a locally installed library cataloging system; database systems, such as MySQL, that can store, sort and manage a variety of files and file types; cloud-based systems, such as Folderit, where the information is uploaded and stored remotely; and web-based systems, where the information is generated and stored using a web browser. Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, so make sure to contact one of our local experts (listed below) to help you make the right choice.