Introduction
Think about how your business manages the documents it uses every day. Moving this mass of paper to an electronic system clearly has a number of benefits, but these will only be realised if your enterprise has a robust, comprehensive, secure and user-friendly document management system in place.
In a white paper, Hewlett Packard says: "A document management system is just like a catalogue or library of documents. For each document the system will detail what it's about, who wrote it, who can see it, who can change it, who has changed it – and where and how it can be found." A useful document management system must balance all these components.
Many of the document management systems that are available from large suppliers such as IBM, EMC and Microsoft tend to be too large and costly to implement for smaller enterprises.
Cloudy options
The good news, though, is that even the smallest of enterprises can move to electronic document management thanks to a range of cloud-based services that have been developing over the last few years.
Some of the leading suppliers in this space include:
• Alfresco
• OnBase
• Invu
Service and security
Micro-enterprises may already use systems such as Google Docs, DropBox or Huddle, but these must be carefully evaluated to ensure they offer the level of service that your business needs, and the high levels of security your business' documents should have. Simply using the consumer-level versions of these services is not an option for businesses that want to build robust and expandable document management systems to serve them now and in the future. Always assess the business-grade services that these platforms offer.
Doug Miles, Director Market Intelligence for AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) told TechRadar Pro: "A small business must first decide if it is going to use a document management system simply for storing records needed for compliance, or for publishing finished documents for general access or consultative documents for project teams.
"My recommendation would be to go for the middle option, with a view to records management as the next step. Set up a small information governance team with representation from multiple areas, and once the scope is set, get someone trained – or better still the whole team."
Moving to a document management system is a task that all businesses can benefit from, but careful planning and a stepped implementation will ensure your enterprise moves to these systems seamlessly and with the least amount of disruption.
Building platforms
The level of complexity your business needs in terms of electronic document management will be determined by the goals your enterprise sets at the planning stage. Even a simple setup with a document scanner that is now built into most multi-function printers coupled with an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) application such as OmniPage is a good place to start, with Nuance Cloud Connector offering a simple means to embrace cloud-based document management.
David Jones, Cloud Solution Marketing Manager at Hyland, Creator of OnBase, says: "The cloud has made document management accessible to small businesses, but getting the best out of any system still requires careful planning and hard work.
"Understanding how the business currently works and its key processes, documents and stakeholders are vital insights, but needs to be balanced against what can be gained from using the document management system. Cherry pick the parts of the business that can be migrated easily, but that can also be improved, and implement those first."
Hybrid approach
Most businesses will approach their implementation of a document management system as a hybrid that will incorporate on-site storage and cloud services. This enables businesses to leverage their use of mobile digital devices and their increasing use of remote working without any degradation in their ability to operate efficiently.
Document management also means much more than simply moving paper documents into the digital space. Small businesses also need to manage emails, spreadsheets, and even capture receipts, and all this must be factored into a comprehensive document management service.
Stuart Evans, CTO of Invu, observes: "Document management is not just about digitising manual documents – it provides so much more. Document management systems are solutions that work alongside existing business applications to increase efficiencies.
"Small businesses that are thinking of deploying a document management solution should work with a partner that understands business processes – not just how to digitise paper documents. Speak to those providers with a proven track record as it is a more specialised area than perhaps initially thought."
Agility first
For small businesses working on the move and developing flexible teams, which could be geographically dispersed, the move to more electronic document management is vital. Businesses need to be agile and have access to a myriad of documentation. The document management system that is chosen must therefore have the flexibility to deliver the required services. Secure connections are a must with VPN (Virtual Private Networks) essential to securely connect remote devices to what can be highly sensitive documents.
Ultimately a well-designed document management system offers these key benefits to your business:
• Increased efficiency
• Support for mobile and flexible working
• Lowers infrastructure and maintenance costs
• Delivers high levels of collaborative working
• Hybrid document management systems produce highly secure document environments
• Data backup and recovery is more secure and seamless
Document futures
"The future of electronic document management is firmly grounded in analytics and software intelligence because the ability of the electronic document management (EDM) software to integrate the contents of documents is essential," said Alan Bainbridge, Head Architect, Danwood Group.
"Presently, most EDM systems use metadata for indexed searches," he continued. "However, with the power of the cloud, the contents of entire documents can be read and analysed from any device. The progression of artificial intelligence will allow EDM systems to offer business insights, trending information and a host of other business critical data to users on any device from any location."
Furthermore, AIIM's Doug Miles also stated: "After initial resistance, content is moving to the cloud, either exclusively, or more likely as a hybrid between cloud for the most shareable and collaborative content, and on-premise for more sensitive content and perhaps core records. The need for simplicity is core to user adoption, and this is being reflected in automated systems that take care of classifying and tagging documents based on their content."
One size doesn't fit all
What is clear is that one size does not fit all where document management is concerned. Businesses of all sizes, however, can clearly benefit from developing these platforms to increase their efficiency and future-proof operating systems.
And with flexible working practices continuing to expand, and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) impacting more businesses, moving to an electronic document system should be a top priority for all businesses that want to remain relevant in their market sectors.
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