Uncovering the Benefits of Digital Document Management

Documents are often as essential to businesses like the people who are a part of it. Daily, hundreds of thousands of documents are created and processed around the world. It can and does pose a very real organizational and storage nightmare. There is no estimation on how much time is actually wasted while trying to find that one file, or a single one-page document that has to have that specific signature on it; not to mention the damaging effects it has on our trees and ecosystems.

To combat such a potentially crippling problem, some vendors came together in the 1980s and started developing Document Management Systems. This idea was one of taking all manner of documentation and digitizing it onto computers via typing input, scanning, and photography. The benefits of document management quickly made it essential to how matters were dealt with in a working day:

• Prioritizing Document Organization and Reporting

  Arguably the essential benefit to this system, document management systems allow users to differentiate between documents using parent folders and subfolders. This saves time and avoids confusion by developing a standard system where a file is uploaded to its proper destination. It can then easily be retrieved by searching for a particular word or phrase.

• Storage Restraints

  A second vital benefit is a storage With such a revolutionary system in place, users did not have to be confined to a storage cabinet or file room: no more clutter or mayhem. Everything is neatly stored on a computer, and a company suddenly has more storage room than ever before.

• Faster Information Access

  Because of how the system is designed, it ensures that your employees have immediate access to all relevant files with a simple system search.

What Is Document Management

Put simply, DMS is the use of a computer system and software with the capabilities to store, manage, manipulate, and track electronic documents. This information is generally captured through the use of a document scanner.

Today, document management systems range in size and scope from small and simple to larger more sophisticated enterprise-wide systems that serve a global audience.  Many document management systems provide a means to incorporate a variety of physical document filing practices electronically. These include:

• Storage location
• Security and access control
• Version control
• Audit trails
• Check-in/check-out and document lockdown.

This streamlining works with a single goal: to help everyone find and use documents and information quickly and easily to improve overall business performance.

Research by Coopers & Lybrand shows that companies often spend an average of $20 to file a single document. It was also concluded that inefficient document filing systems are both costly and troublesome for many businesses. It can cost in the region of $120 to correct misfiled documents and up to $220 to reproduce a lost document.

So, it stands to reason that document management solutions for small businesses and are paramount while a document management system for large business is equally important.

Types of Document Management

 Document management can represent a broad range of software products, each with a specific focus and unique capability.

• Workflow systems

  An automate repetitive processes to streamline, protect, and enforce a specific workflow.

• Records management systems

  Largely used by regulated industries such as healthcare, legal, and the government.

• Enterprise content management systems

  Take into account the workflows, processes, and rules of the enterprise using it.

• Content management systems (CMSs), such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal

  Which are designed to organize and deliver a wide range of media and content to their web users and customers.

These systems also include:

• Server-Based DMSs

  Highly customizable and can be configured to reflect individual user preferences and security levels.

• Database DMSs

  Helpful when you need to organize, link, and cross-reference a range of data sources, such as documents, images, and other assorted data.

• Cloud-Based DMSs

  Hosted in the cloud and stores its information remotely, allowing users to access the files they need from any device at any time.

• Web-Based DMSs

  A web-based DMS may also integrate popular productivity software such as Microsoft Word or Excel.

Digital Documentation Management and Its Importance

Digital data management involves the definition and implementation of policies, practices, and procedures that facilitate the effective and efficient use of digital data.

Elements of digital data management include:

• How to optimally store digital data in computer memory for retrieval when needed.
• How to secure digital data so that only authorized users can access it.
• How to efficiently access specific data elements without sacrificing computer
• How to back-up data so that if computer hardware fails, the data remains accessible.
• How long to retain data.
• How to transfer data between users or software applications that need it.
• How data management needs to evolve to support advancements in science and technology.

It is a fact that Digital Data Management is becoming more and more necessary as we grow and advance our technological boundaries. However, this can be difficult due to the enormity of the task at hand. Because systems like ECM concentrate on workflows, processes, and rules of the enterprise using it, there could potentially be numerous variables in each scenario, meaning that there cannot be a one size fits all solution. 

Business Benefits of Digital Document Management Systems

If utilized correctly, document management can have many benefits that maximize an organization’s productivity and time-cost savings. It is clear that this streamlining concept of document management solutions for small businesses and large businesses is transforming the very nature of supply and demand, and if a businesses were to partake in this revolution, it could very well be an investment into the future of that company. A few great examples of this include:

• Increase Time-Cost Savings
  By having all relevant documents organized and filed on your company intranet, it makes it much easier and faster to locate the right information. With a few clicks of the mouse, the document can be found and used accordingly.
  Statistics have shown that this is, in fact, the very area where a company suffers the most :

 professionals spend 50% of their time searching for information, which equates to professionals taking an average of 18 minutes to locate each document.

• Reliable Document Version Control
  Especially For large organizations, maintaining and updated documents and keeping information current can often be a struggle, but vital to a successful workday.  By having document management software, it is easier to keep track of documents and make sure everything is up to date, because of features included like an automated archive and clean-up function.
  Studies have shown that 3. 83% of knowledge workers lose time to versioning issues, every day. This problem could be greatly improved for many companies with the use of document management systems.
• Increase Collaboration & Communication
  Having a document management system in place promotes quicker and easier collaboration among employees, especially across geographic locations. By having the ability to quickly access documents and share them through an online workspace, such as an intranet, it allows users to work together on the same project with no hassle.
  Statistics at IDC show that on average 92% of “Knowledge Workers” Collaborate Over Documents Using Email.
• Operational Nimbleness
  In business, the speed at which a company can make decisions and change direction is a key factor in determining how successful a company can be. If a company takes too long to react to the market or its competitors, it can spell disaster for the company. 

Statistics show that 77% of business owners want to be able to access files remotely. With DMS this and more is possible.

Choosing the Right Partners to Get You There

Document management services are by far one of the most innovative processes to come into practice in all the years of business, it has truly become the progressive glove into which we place our hand, and as time goes on things will become more and more redundant without it.

At Data Entry Outsourced, we understand and appreciate the importance of small business document management. Our team of data entry professional empowers you to make informed decisions, increase operational efficiency and above all save data entry budgets. DEO is a data entry specialist with expertise in providing numerous high-class data management services whatever your needs.

So, if you find yourself in need of data management services or advice on using data management systems, do not hesitate to reach out to us and let’s get started.

– DataEntryOutsourced

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