As more businesses went digital, so did their documentation. It would be hard to find a successful company today that doesn’t store a large portion of its documents digitally. In fact, your company likely does precisely that. But digital documentation faces a similar problem as paper documentation: it keeps piling up over time. After a long enough period, keeping track of all your documents might become an issue. At best, it could represent a nuisance. At worst, it will hinder your everyday business operations. Document management is just the solution you need to keep your documentation in check. This article will explore how a document management system (DMS) works and why it can help your business.
What Is Document Management?
Generally speaking, document management is any method your organization uses to manage, track, and store its digital documentation.
In a narrower sense, document management is done through a platform called a Document Management System or DMS. This platform helps you get the most out of digital document storage. You can store documents, track any changes, control different document versions, and more.
Document management can also provide extra protection for sensitive information. All documents are kept at a centralized location, making it easier to keep them safe from potential breaches. That’s why many document management services include cybersecurity solutions as part of their offer.
Besides these features, a DMS can facilitate work on several files simultaneously, which can save plenty of time in everyday operations. In addition, documents can be accessed from any location if the user has the proper permissions.
Finally, you can share documents effortlessly with the help of a document management system. This can be a particularly useful feature since all document movements are tracked and recorded. If one department within your business needs particular documentation, it can be pulled from the central database in seconds.
Is a DMS the Same as CMS?
If you’re familiar with CMS, the description of document management might sound quite familiar. In fact, you might wonder what’s the difference between DMS and CMS.
The answer is that the two system types share plenty of functionality and a large portion of history.
Document management represents one of the technologies that lead to content management systems or CMS. Along with archiving, workflow, and imaging systems, DMS was available as a standalone tool. On its own, a DMS can handle simultaneous document editing, version control and roll-backs, document change tracking, stamps, and annotations.
You can still find document management as a standalone system today, although its functionality has largely been incorporated into the CMS structure. This merging of systems took place because data became more and more complex.
Data now includes different kinds of information across various media, including audio files, images, video, and text. In addition, this information can be structured in a specific way. All these new complications warrant a more robust, all-encompassing system, which is precisely what a CMS is all about.
This leads to one logical question: Why would a business need a document management system when it can simply use a CMS?
The reason is quite straightforward: You might not need an entire CMS.
Document management systems can handle the majority of document-related tasks, from tracking data changes to providing secure storage and safe access. In fact, a modern DMS may represent a massive configuration suitable for enterprise-sized businesses and use in the global market.
If you want to get your documentation in order, a DMS is still a reliable solution. And if you need to combine it with a CMS, migrating the data from one system to another is relatively quick and easy.
In other words, there are really no setbacks to using a standalone DMS. Your business has an excellent system for document safekeeping and sharing, and you can switch to a different configuration at any time.
Plus, document management can bring vast benefits to your business as soon as you set up the system.
Why Document Management Is a Good Idea
Document management systems have a great effect on productivity and can make your company function in a more cost-effective way.
When combined with proper internal record-related policies, a DMS allows for greater accuracy, easier data access, and faster task completion. In essence, your employees can get the information they need almost instantaneously, and the same goes for your customers.
A DMS can cut down on operation costs, especially when it comes to administration. For instance, your business won’t need as much storage space, filing equipment, or office consumables. While this might not seem like much, you’d be surprised how much paperwork can cost.
A typical office employee will use thousands of pieces of paper every year – up to 10,000, to be precise. Naturally, there won’t be any need for that much paper if most of your documents are digitized and managed through a DMS.
Document management systems also help you get rid of office clutter and infinite stacks of paper. Furthermore, the digital environment is much less prone to misfiling or document loss. A DMS helps organize both the physical space and the extensive documentation that your business relies on to function properly.
Digital documents also don’t require you to make copies in your database. And if any duplicates exist, the DMS will track them down and either merge or delete the unnecessary documents.
Finally, you can boost your productivity and efficiency by cutting down the time your employees spend going through documents. It might sound incredible, but office workers can spend up to half of their work day looking for documents and specific information within the papers. Worse yet, nearly a third of their time may go on searching for a document that is either misfiled or mislaid.
Getting Your Documentation in Order
Employing a document management system may be the very thing your business needs to get to the next level. From productivity boosts to reduced expenses, a DMS can help your organization grow and move forward more efficiently than ever.
You can gain access to premium-level document management with Elite Imaging Systems. If you’re interested in improving your business in Troy, Detroit, or Flint, contact Elite Imaging Systems and start organizing your documentation.
