Document management systems mainly capture and store the different kinds of documents a business generates. It usually uses optical character recognition (OCR) software to change physical files into computer-readable files. Such as a PDF. You can conduct a full-text search, access files from cloud storage using a DMS.
Regulated industries and business organizations that see a lot of activity use DMS. This means any big company or institution will need a document management system to streamline their work. Such examples are education, healthcare, transportation, food manufacturers, telecommunication companies, etc.
The following discussion tries to answer all possible queries about a document management system. Upon completing, you shall probably be motivated to get one for your business.
Document Management Software Benefits & Features
What is a document management system?
A Document management system captures, stores, and secures business documents in an organized manner. It might conserve the file in a convenient format, such as PDF.
Nowadays, DMS uses cloud storage to save documents. As a result, the files are more secure. They also have different degrees of accessibility. For instance, you can conduct a full-text search to find specific items in a file within moments.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software is a crucial part of DMS. The technology converts paper files into digital format. You can then save them in folders and on the cloud.
How different industries benefit from dms
The different industries that benefit from document management systems are mainly the content industry, product manufacturers, healthcare, education, law enforcement, transportation.
Apart from these any moderate to large organization, regardless of its function, can benefit from DMS
DMS are simply business technologies. They automate and streamline how a company or institution manages its documents. However, different industries can modify DMS and use them according to their needs.
As a result, different kinds of DMS came into existence. There are mainly three types of document management systems.
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Content Management Systems
The first is the Content management systems. These are used by industries whose business is content. For example, blog posts and articles on different websites. Such document management systems have strong indexing and publishing capabilities.
The more evolved form of content management systems is Enterprise Content management systems. ECMs compares a content’s real time relevance to its associated data. Thus, makes it more useful to the consumer.
Workflow and Record Management Systems
The second type is the workflow management system. These DMS oversee a project from the start to the finish. In the meantime, it captures, stores, and sorts out all the documents generated in that period.
Usually, product manufacturing companies use this kind of document management system.
Thirdly, the record management systems. The special functionality of this document management system is record keeping.
It creates and maintains records in industries where the task means the difference between life and death. Such as in the healthcare industry. However, Education systems, law enforcement institutions can use it too.
All the regulated industries need to keep impeccable records of their various exchanges. Such as healthcare facilities, food, and beverage producers. Travel businesses and telephone companies are also in this category. Record management systems help these businesses to maintain their government compliance.
Role of Optical Character Recognition software
All of these systems use some form of document imaging technology. The common method is using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
This usually comes in handy in businesses that generate a large number of paper documents throughout the day. Such as receipts, tokens, tickets, forms, etc. The OCR software scans the document and saves them in PDF format.
Features of a good Document Management Software
A document management system is essential for any big organization. But how will you decide on a system? Well, all document management systems must have the following minimum features.
Quick and Easy File production
The main purpose of a DMS is to make your work easy. The system shall streamline the process of managing documents for your company. Therefore, it should have excellent search functionality. So, that the user can produce the desired document within moments.
Plus, the DMS should also be able to keep track of changes made to a specific document. This means saving and presenting the data on who changed what of a file at which date.
To make the above possible DMS should be able to work with Metadata. This kind of data is essentially a tag attached to the information. Which makes it possible to find the same information from different criteria. As a result, the information is filed on the DMS to the utmost convenience of the user.
Compatibility with technology and time
If you are a tech-friendly and smart business owner, you probably have a lot of other associated business systems. Such as a Customer Relationship Management system or Enterprise Resource Planning software. So, an ideal DMS must be able to integrate with these technologies.
A competent document management system shall also have future potential. This means it will be compatible with updates and various add-ons that will arrive in the future. As a result, it can aid in business growth for the long term.
Accessibility features
How well the DMS controls access to different documents is very important. To secure the files the system must have permission-based access features. It should also be able to encrypt files when necessary. Moreover, it needs to detect any kind of attempt at unauthorized access.
However, at the same time, it must make the files easily accessible to the people (users, company staff) they are intended for. For that, the DMS must have a user-friendly interface and adequate speed.
Another important accessibility feature is cloud storage. When the documents are stored on the cloud, any authorized person can access them from any point on the earth. Considering they have an internet connection. Plus, it secures the file in the event of a major hardware malfunction.
Automation and Collaboration
Modern DMS are associated with artificial intelligence. An AI-enabled system can differentiate between useful and useless business data. Plus, it can help to automate the workflow of a specific project or overall business process. Such as generating invoices or scanning files to make the spot analysis.
Besides automating the tasks, the system should also let the users collaborate on them easily. For that, the system needs to permit easy sharing between users and co-authoring options.
Advantages of using a document management system
When a document management system uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to capture a paper file in PDF format and saves it in cloud storage, it saves you significant time and money that you would have otherwise wasted on that document.
That is the main advantage of a DMS. It conserves resources. You might re-invest these saved hours and dollars. Thus, increasing the productivity of your company.
Because your staff will spend less time on boring filing works. And spend their talent on more creative sectors.
Plus, paper files are always vulnerable to theft, unauthorized access. Moreover, papers can easily damage or decay. Thus, making you lose your valuable documents. But when you have them saved on the cloud and accessible only to authorized users, this security risk reduces a lot.
Another great advantage of DMS is that it helps the regulated organizations to be more compliant with the government rules.
Failure to submit government-required records and docs can result in lawsuits, fines, and other troubles. Such as, for the healthcare or transportation industry. DMS can be very helpful in this regard.
Conclusion
A document management system is essential for any business that wants to better manage its files and increase productivity. However, before investing in any software make sure they are well-optimized for your business and have good future potential.