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 a 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, the Document Management System solves three important problems: organization, control, and access.
There are two types of Document Management systems, Self-hosted 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 of 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 documents anytime and anywhere.
Proper organization of documents
The organization of documents is one of the important features to look for while choosing a 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
The document management system should be easy to understand, with an attractive user interface. This is important as people or your employees are going to use it on a daily basis and if DMS is hard on the eyes, no one will use it.
Document Input
DMS must allow 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 a very important part of the DMS system. An ideal DMS system must provide a 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. The user dashboard should include things like Alerts and Notifications, Inbuilt Calendar, Email and SMS, Workflow and Document inbox, etc.
Workflow Automation
This means that the 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 categorize 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 keywords specified in the metadata.
Document Linking
This allows the user to link documents and arranges them in 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 the file or folder with the help of direct notification through DMS.
File locking
The file locking system allows the 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 unlocks it.
Online editing
DMS should enable users 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 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 a database
- Fulltext search: help users search the 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 a 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.
