Many companies perform better by managing and securing business critical documents and files. Being able to access information quickly with structured document management is important in any organization.

Document Management System (DMS) offers various benefits such as

• Serves as central repository for all the documents and files
• Secure confidential business information and documents
• User can access files and documents anytime and anywhere
• Maintains data integrity and accuracy
• It becomes easy to organize, locate and share the documents
• Cost­efficient and also saves time
• Increase productivity and efficiency

By defining who can access which kinds of documents, DMS offers better control over document security and access. In simple words, Document Management System solves three important problems: organization, control, and access.

There are two types of Document Management System, Self­hosted DMS, and Cloud­hosted DMS. Choosing the best DMS system is a difficult task, as there are many services with various features, but finally, everything comes down to what you need and what service is being provided. DMS enables to store data and files which can be accessed anytime using different devices.

Here are some of the common features that Document Management System must have:

Cloud Access

Document Management System is quickly becoming popular, with the help of cloud access employees can access, upload and download document anytime and anywhere.

Proper organization of documents

Organization of documents is one of the important features to look for while choosing Document Management System. For example, categorization, tagging, and rating can help you find files or documents as soon as possible.

Easy to use and attractive User Interface

Document management system should be easy to understand, with the attractive user interface. This is important as people or your employees are going to use it on the daily basis and if DMS is hard on eyes, no one will use it.

Document Input

DMS must allow to input files from various sources such as Email, Scanner, Mobile applications, Manual uploads etc.

Document Processing

Document Processing involves converting the typed and handwritten document into electronic information using Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) or Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or using both together.

Format support

Document Management System must be able to support more and new file formats.

Document Security

Document Security is very important part of DMS system. An ideal DMS system must provide the document encryption and also role based access. For example, Advanced access rights, Users & roles, Modify ownership, Advanced access rights etc.

Simple and easy to navigate

DMS should be simple and easy to navigate. User dashboard should include things like Alerts and Notifications, Inbuilt Calendar, Email and SMS, Workflow and Document inbox etc.

Workflow Automation

This means that Document Management System must automatically route documents to their destination. It should provide Automatic and manual workflow, Document routing, the creation of records based on documents.

Storage Capacity

Document Management System should offer good storage capacity. Hierarchical storage management can also be offered as it helps to categories documents, this is similar to assigning priority parameters to each document. This process uses artificial intelligence to transfer data from hard­disk to optical drives, and vice versa, it stores only important and relevant data.

Mobile Compatibility

Smartphones and tablets are on the rise. DMS should be compatible with mobile devices so that employees can access documents while working remotely.

Capturing Metadata

It is capturing key data about the document. It is like the heading or a title that provides a short description of the document. A good DMS system should capture the Metadata automatically and store it in its database. It helps employees to retrieve a document by searching for keyword specified in the metadata.

Document Linking

This allows the user to link documents and arrange them in the logical groups. Linking provides the ability to create shortcuts to the documents frequently used.

Information mechanism

It helps to notify other users about any update in file or folder with the help of direct notification through DMS.

File locking

File locking system allows user or owner of the document or file to lock the and no­one else can move, delete or make any changes in the file or document until the owner or user unlock it.

Online editing

DMS should enable user to edit the documents online, without the need to download the file or document.

Integration

DMS integrates document management directly into other applications or services. This allows users to retrieve existing documents directly from the document management system repository, make changes, and save the changed document back to the repository as a new version.

Document Versioning

It allows the user to retrieve the previous version of the document and continue the work from a selected point. It is useful for the documents that are to be updated.

Advanced search features

DMS should include some of the advanced search features that make it unique. Such features are

• Auto­fill search: search queries based on inputted text against database
• Full­text search: help users search document using certain words contained in the document
• Phrase search: it allows user to search for a text in the document

According to some reports, 7.5% of all documents get lost; 3% of the remainder get misfiled. With the use of document management system, you can avoid these problems and also increase productivity. DMS system also assures that your important documents are kept safe and your organization is prepared for the worst scenario.

Further Reading...

Office Organisation: Implementing a Online document management systems

4 Ways to Achieve Compliance with Online Document Management System

It is time Your Business is equipped with an Online Document Management System!