What Is A Document Management System?
Document management system (DMS) is a computer system (or a set of computer programs) used to track and store electronic documents. It is usually also capable of keeping track of the different versions modified by different users (history tracking). The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management systems. It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and is related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.
Butler Group, a London-based IT research and analysis organization, in its report entitled “Enterprise Search and Retrieval,” concluded that “ineffective search and discovery strategies are hampering business competitiveness, impairing service delivery and putting companies at risk.” Specifically, they contended that as much as 10% of a company’s salary costs are “frittered away” as employees scramble to find adequate and accurate information to perform their overall jobs and complete assigned tasks.
What Are The Current Challenges Faced By Customers?
The vast majority of documents in most organizations are not connected to the people or processes who need them. Examples include contracts, invoices, statements, reports, technical documentation, medical records and even email. This results in Lost or misplaced information – Knowledge workers spend 3.5 hours weekly searching for information that is never found and 3 hours a week recreating that lost content. (Source: The hidden costs of information work, International Data Corporation (IDC), March 2005)
Information Overload: Knowledge workers spend more than 27 hours a week searching, gathering and analyzing information. (Source: Ibid.) Fixed content is often left out because it is not well organized
Inefficient Business Processes: Just one example: it costs more than $50 on average to process and manage a paper invoice. (Source: Institute of Management and Information (Source: IOMA, Dec. 2005)
Compliance Issues: Organizations are under more pressure than ever before to manage fixed content for compliance and risk reduction purposes
Lack of integration with other applications CRM, ERP, HR, ECM, claims processing, health information systems, etc. all these applications need fast and accurate access to archived content but it is rarely accessible
Costly real estate is being used for hard copy storage.
How Can Document Management Solution Help In Overcoming These Challenges?
- Increases productivity by speeding up document retrieval and finding lost information
- Saves money by reducing the need for paper supplies, paper delivery and storage
- Streamlines business processes by eliminating paper. Helps with compliance by creating a secure archive with audit trails, electronic discovery support and options to store data on non-erasable storage media
- Connects the archived content to other applications that need it Hard copies can be stored off site saving on costly real estate.
What Should One Consider When Looking For A Document Management System?
Some of the most important features and functionalities that businesses should look for when choosing a document management solution are:
File Structure: The system should offer an easy-to-use file structure that makes sense to users, such as a cabinet-drawer-folder approach.
Searching: You want a wide range of options for quickly finding files. You should be able to search not only by the file’s name, but also by the content inside the file.
Ease Of Use: The system should be simple for employees to use. If it is too difficult, you won’t get complete buy-in from the staff, which will make the system less effective.
Mobile Access: You want a document management system that is accessible via smartphones and tablets.
Integration: The system should easily integrate with the programs you’re already using, such as your email client and customer relationship management software.
Scanning: The solution should be compatible with a wide variety of scanners.
Security: The system should allow you to restrict who can see specific folders and files. You should be able to set access permissions by the employee.
How Do You Get Documents Stored In The System?
There are several ways to add files including by uploading them from the computer (say .doc or .pdf or .xls files etc.) or by scanning paper documents directly into the system or by using our document scanning service.
Scanning Capabilities Are A Huge Part Of A System.
Scanning now takes just seconds, and if you get the right package, you can automatically create editable, keyword-searchable files in a universal format, like PDF, while you scan. A good scanning solution even makes bulk scanning easy, recognizing where separate documents begin and end in a stack and sending them to the right folder.
How Do You Find Documents In The System After They’re Filed Away?
Document Management systems offer a number of ways to quickly locate documents, including by searching the file’s title, the name of the author and when it was added into the system. In addition, many of these solutions allow you to search for content within each file.
With the integrated search features, you can simply conduct a keyword search to pull up documents in seconds, get a preview to make sure you’ve got the right file before opening it.
Document Management System User Benefits
There are a number of advantages of using these systems and some of the biggest ones are listed below:
Easy Access: John Bustrum, CEO and founder of My403bCoach.com, said having such software in place means he’s no longer forced to stockpile loads of files on his desk. Instead, when clients call, he can instantly find the documents he needs on his computer.
Easy To Search: Being able to easily search through her company’s documents is a huge benefit, said Karen Walker, founder of One Team Consulting. She said the ability to quickly search for and retrieve presentations and notes is invaluable.
Better Collaboration: Getting rid of hard copies of documents makes it easy for employees to work with each other, said Gary Tuch, founder of the Professor Egghead Science Academy. When multiple employees are working off of one document and editing is constantly happening, document management systems ensure workers always have the most up-to-date copy, he said. Employees waste no time on printing revisions or double-checking to make sure they have the current version, Tuch added.
Added Security: Increased security is a huge advantage of using document management solutions, said Andrew Southard, general manager of the Indiana-based Data Management Shredding, Inc. The technology has given his company the option to track who is viewing and editing each document, and designate which employees have access to which files, he said.
Saves Space: Exchanging paper documents for digital versions can save a tremendous amount of physical space, said Randy Jourgensen, owner of Digital Office Solutions. Since transforming his office to a paperless environment more than 15 years ago, Jourgensen has been able to convert space that was formerly used only for file storage into space that can generate revenue, he said.
Disaster Recovery: Businesses that have all of their documents stored in physical filing cabinets face the risk that these papers might be destroyed, or that the business may lose access to them should a disaster occur, said Alan Baker, president and chief consultant at Spitfire Innovations. If a water pipe bursts or there is a fire, business owners can still operate with little impact, since their critical documents are stored online and spared from any destruction.