What Should you Expect from your Document Management System?
Documents, whether paper or electronic, are an integral component of any enterprise. To be precise, managing business information from various sources can be quite daunting at times. Fortunately, an advanced Document Management System (DMS) can be helpful in this aspect. With a DMS, you can capture, store, and retrieve both electronic and paper documents. Also known as Document Management Software, this tool makes it easy for businesses to combine paper and digital files and store them. With the help of DMS, you would be able to scan physical files and store them in digital formats. So, as you can see, a document management system can effectively reduce piles of paper from your office, which is great. Ideally, a document management system supports file formats like Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, etc.
On the other hand, the costs of office spaces are ever-increasing. It goes without saying that the expense of storing paper documents is also increasing. A document management system can decrease the requirement for boxes and file cabinets in your office, thereby helping you to save costs. So, if you are on the lookout to free up office space, a document management system is an ideal option.
Here are certain things which you should expect with a document management system.
Ease of Access
No doubt, a DMS is used by almost everyone within the organization daily. From the HR to the salesperson, a DMS should be easy to access for everyone in the organization. Also, remember that a DMS is not dedicated to a single business process. In fact, a document management system is an integral part of every business process in your organization. It is also a commonly observed fact that not everyone is proficient with computers, and not everyone possesses the same level of fluency with software platforms. In short, a DMS should be easy to access under any type of situation.
The Presence of Version Control
The version control feature is one of the most crucial traits of a document management system. In simple words, with the help of this feature, you would be able to maintain various versions of the same document. What’s more, this feature in a document management system should also be able to keep the previous document safe. Besides that, the system should be able to track and log all the actions performed on a document. This is one of the most versatile features which you should expect from a document management system.
Enhanced Security
Another key expectation that you should usually have from a DMS is enhanced security. To be precise, the security of your documents is vital for the overall functioning of your organization. With a document management system, you can have better regulation over sensitive documents. A good document management system usually leaves behind an audit track. With an audit trace, it becomes easier to see who has accessed the document and what type of modifications they have implemented. You can even tag managed documents with specific departments and make them password protected.
DMS Facilitates Better Collaboration
With the help of DMS, the prospect of sharing information and collaborating with various departments become easier. Note that you access papers taken from numerous sources. Also, with a document management system, you would avail superior discernibility to procedures. This allows for improved workflow monitoring and ensures great essence when multiple parties and departments work collaboratively in your organization.
Reliable Backup Solution
Any good DMS usually comes with trustworthy data recovery and a backup plan. In case of any mishaps, you should be easily able to retrieve the lost documents with the help of this feature. The DMS software stores documents in a digital format on a centralized platform and allows authorized employees to access the data anywhere, anytime securely. In simple words, they cannot be misplaced even accidentally. Apart from being a reliable backup solution, you should also look for flexibility and peace of mind while using a document management system.
The aspects mentioned above are some of the things you should expect from a document management system. Note that a good document management system is always scalable and doesn’t affect your business and scales with you. Besides, they can be installed on your private cloud or on-premises, which exude practicality.
