What is Document Management Software?
Document management software is a computer-based program that handles the document management of an organization or a company. It tracks, manages, and stores documents created and stored in the computer.
The use of digital documents has revolutionized document storage and filing because of the elimination of paper documents that require large storage spaces and are highly exposed to the risk of damage or loss. Document management software keeps a record of the different versions of documents created and modified by different users.
Most businesses have gone paperless because of the convenience and ease of retrieval of digital documents. The following are some of the benefits of going paperless and shifting to the use of document management software:
Freedom
Digital document management allows for more freedom that is associated with the lightness in paperless documents. Paperless eliminates the long periods spent searching for a piece of document or information that may be lost in the mountain of files.
Unless you work in the filing department of a company, you will never realize that paper documents provide employment to an army of workers whose job will be to push, file, locate, and copy tons of redundant information stored in sheets of paper. Most of the information in today’s world has been created in mostly digital formats, eliminating a large workforce while streamlining operations that could be managed by only a few individuals.
Convenience
Convenience in document management applies to all types of businesses, from small startups to giant conglomerates. The advent of mobile apps and cloud-based document management solutions make it possible for a person to access files or securely send sensitive information from any place in the world where there is an Internet connection.
Most document management software has built-in portals that allow users to share large sets of files in a secure manner using a mobile device. Historically, security and accessibility were separate and exclusive technology solutions, they were brought together as a single function in the document management software.
Time management
Time management in the workplace is enhanced with the use of document management software. Employees could be bogged down doing simple administrative tasks of forwarding documents to an outside office.
With the software, an employee has just to enter some information in order to retrieve the document needed, and at a click of the mouse will be able to send it to the intended recipient.
The entire process could be finished in about a minute. The same thing will take forever if the company is still with the antiquated use of paper. Imagine the time spent going to the storage room to retrieve a file from the filing cabinets, copy it, and mail it, or at least fax it to the recipient. Instead of wasting valuable time on a very simple step, the employees can spend more time on the more important task associated with the company’s business.
Security
Security of information can be maintained with the use of a document management system. Security breaches, data loss, and information leaks could be significantly avoided if a company will abandon its paper documentation and filing. A sensitive document could easily fall into the hands of the wrong person.
The document management software will ensure that these things will not happen because everything leaves a footprint. It is easy to determine who access the document, who modified it, and who sent it to someone outside of the office.
This is particularly important to companies that deal with patented products that competitors and other unscrupulous elements might try to take hold of. Even in the digital world, there is no guaranteed security for the transfer and sharing of documents. This area is given protection by the advanced and bank-grade encryption adopted to protect the security of data.
Growth
Document management software promotes the growth of the business and the people working in it. It allows for the storage and retrieval of an unimaginable volumes of data and information that could easily be traced using the software’s built-in system of tracking. The metadata of the software makes any document securely stored and retrievable.
This prevents duplication, misfiling, and arbitrary naming or labeling of files, all of which will slow down, if not make almost impossible, document retrieval. Growth for all stakeholders in a company or organization is made possible by giving everyone the rare opportunity of spending more time analyzing and processing information that could be retrieved at any time as everything is right at their fingertips. The organization’s success, and ultimately the employees’ careers, will be advanced to the benefit of everyone.
There are many document management software available in the market today. An organization can choose one that exactly suits its various needs based on the kind of documents they keep. Document control is mandatory and government-required in some types of companies or businesses, such as accounting, food safety, medical-device manufacturing, and much more. Document control for these companies will be streamlined and made easy through the use of document management software.