Benefits of an enterprise document management system

Over 90% of enterprise records and documentation are now in electronic form. Do you have a secure and collaborative system to manage them all?

In our on-demand world, we expect instant access to information. Nobody wants to sift through massive physical files or jump between multiple apps at work. And with remote and hybrid work now the norm, managing that information online is essential.

You need a better way to turn your company’s collective knowledge into an accessible, secure asset. Enter your document management system.

What is a document management system?

A document management system (DMS) is like a sophisticated electronic filing cabinet with a built-in assistant. It’s software that captures, tracks, manages, stores, and delivers all your organization’s documents and information assets. It also often has built-in features to properly manage, control, and retain records.

While most enterprise records are now digital, valuable data often still exists in hard copy. That’s why modern document control systems often include tools for handling both electronic files and scans of paper documents, bringing everything into one unified ecosystem.

Enterprise content management suites

A DMS is a sub-category of enterprise content management (ECM) suites. These go further, delivering tools and processes that manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data, including:

• Records management
• Web content management
• Digital asset management (rich media like video, images, etc.)
• Collaboration and knowledge management
• Email management
• Business process management
• Image capture
• Archiving

The high cost of poor document management

Lacking a document control system can have significant impacts on your business. When documents aren’t organized, you risk alienating employees and stifling productivity.

Here are the risks of poor document organization:

• Wasted time & money

Knowledge workers spend a significant part of their work week searching for information. It’s frustrating for the employee, and you’re on the hook for the time spent.

• Information siloes and poor collaboration

Employees tend to avoid sharing a document with a colleague because of how difficult it will be for the colleague to find it. The result: information silos that damage collaboration and morale.

• Data loss

Paper documents can be permanently lost to disasters like fire or water damage, while uncoordinated, unprotected electronic files are prone to leaks and human error. Having a central location where everything is stored, controlled, and backed up means you don’t have to worry about losing that knowledge.

• Non-compliance

Complying with industry regulations such as HIPAA, ISO, and GDPR is nearly impossible without proper document organization software. Take the stress out of compliance with a document management system that ensures that all of your records and information follow your industry’s guidelines or regulations in one organized, auditable place.

The benefits of effective document management and control

Finding, sharing, and storing documents shouldn’t soak up a chunk of your workday. A good DMS automates and simplifies the process, turning it into a minor step in your workflow. 

Here are a few key features to look for when optimizing your document control:

1. 1. Version control and audit trails: These help you track every edit and preserve every version. It logs the complete history of all activities performed on a document (creation, editing, copying, deleting, and more). You can see exactly who contributed what and revert changes if needed, ensuring everyone is working from the single source of truth.
   2. Archiving: Automatically move inactive files to separate storage. This saves time while keeping your workspace both uncluttered and relevant.
   3. Privacy & data security: Documents systems safeguard your data with fine-grained permission settings and access controls that ensure only the right people can see the right documents.
   4. True collaboration: Hybrid work is increasingly becoming the standard, but remote employees encounter unique challenges they wouldn’t normally find in the office. One of these is real-time collaboration. A DMS empowers your team to edit and share documents seamlessly so employees never miss a beat. 

• Paper to digital: You can scan your paper files into digital documents and upload them into cloud storage. This lets you capture, organize, and store different document types and file formats, emptying your filing cabinets while giving remote workers access to everything they need.

5 use cases for a document management system

Now that you know why a DMS is so effective, here are five ways you can put it to work in your organization:

1. Scale up content management: Whether you’re a small business looking for simple document control or a large organization that needs enterprise content management to handle data throughout your business processes, a DMS scales to handle your unique data volume.
2. Electronically manage important documents: A DMS can make policies, handbooks, training docs, and other business-critical documents more available to new hires and remote workers.
3. Organize your assets: You’re collecting vast amounts of business data and customer information. A DMS adds order to the huge volume of this unstructured data, so you can draw useful insights out of it.
4. Store different file types: Your company works across multiple file types. A DMS manages virtually any type of document or file, such as PDFs, emails, images, spreadsheets, and more.
5. Secure file sharing: As hybrid and remote work become permanent for many industries, a DMS serves as the backbone for sharing files across distributed teams in a simple, secure way.

How to choose a document management system

If you’re looking for basic cloud storage for file-sharing, popular offerings such as Dropbox or Google Drive will do. 

But for enterprise customers, especially in regulated industries, these tools have serious drawbacks, such as:

• Lower security
• Limited or no version control
• No audit trails
• Lack of support for multiple file types

If you need enterprise-level content and document management, use this checklist to evaluate documents systems. Do they offer:

• Permissions and security: Can you control exactly who sees what?
• Versioning: Does it keep a history of changes?
• Search capability: Can you find content inside documents, not just by title?
• Mobile access: Is it easy to use on a phone or tablet?
• Integration: Does it play nice with the apps you already use (like Microsoft 365 or Salesforce)?
• Compliance support: Does it help you meet regulatory requirements?

Bring document management into your intranet

The problem of document management is complicated enough. The solution should be intuitive.

A workplace experience platform like Appspace acts as a document management system, as well as a central hub for communications, collaboration, and interactivity. It helps you manage all your documents – and connect them to the people who need to see them.

By integrating a document management system into your digital workplace, you can develop a culture of engagement that improves morale, productivity, and peace of mind.