What is a document management system (DMS)?
What is DMS? How does it serve your organization?
Organizations today create an enormous amount of documents and data as they work and communicate with customers, partners, and other stakeholders. Although many consider going paperless, they continue to create, receive, and share documents from their many workflows and systems.
Creating and compiling documents is relatively easy, but organizing and storing documents so that they are easily accessible and secure is a problem that most teams face.
This article shares everything you need to know to securely manage DMS documents in your organization.
What is Document Management DMS?
Document management (DMS) is defined as how an organization uses, manages and stores documents in a business. These documents may come in different formats, such as PDF files, images, videos, audio, spreadsheets, code packages, etc.
Most DMSs focus on digital files, while others store physical items or both. Document management systems act as a single source of truth for all of your company's information and history. When anyone with access needs something, they know where to look.
Using a DMS document management software helps greatly simplify the document lifecycle management process. You can set up automated workflows and processes to manage, update and store documents shared and used in the company. Document management also helps maintain:
Confidentiality with teams, clients and partners
Efficient workflow and systems
Compliance with industry standards and regulatory authorities
What is the purpose of DMS?
When implementing a new DMS or updating your existing system, you must first plan how the process will work. You want to be clear about how you will add, organize, store and retrieve information.
Share your own documents with your teams to make sure everyone is following the guidelines going forward. Your business plan should take into account management of existing and new documents, digital and physical copies. Make sure to test the new system on a small scale before rolling it out to the entire organization.
How does a document management system work?
A DMS organizes your documents in several ways, for example, by file type, data type, security, or priority level. When new documents are received or created, they are captured and transferred to the system.
The DMS may automatically add more information to the file at this point, for example, internal tags, labels, and metadata such as who created or uploaded a document and when.
DMSs then sort and store the new document or data based on predefined rules. You can restrict permissions and redact information in sensitive documents, so that only authorized users can view or make changes.
What is a document repository?
A document repository is the storage arm of a DMS document management system. Although its main function is to store documents, it is more than just a simple filing cabinet. Document repositories secure and restrict access to internal company documents by providing tiered permission levels based on each criteria. Of which.
When teams work with a document repository, they reduce contradictory data, communication incidents, and misinformation within the organization. This is especially useful when working with external parties and collaborators such as external vendors. Modern document repositories automatically clean and update the database, removing duplicate entries and redundancy. .
Why do companies need document management software?
In today's business landscape, with the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the shift to hybrid or remote working, innovative business owners and managers have long since moved beyond the use of dedicated DMS systems for document management, storage and sharing.
Companies implement document management systems (DMS) to gain control over the documents and data that enter and leave the organization. Whether you work remotely or in the office, you want to make sure that all employees are using the latest versions of the documents they are working with without a lot of hassles or sending emails. Electronic exchange.
Team members can easily add comments, suggestions, and annotations in the DMS software, making it easier to collaborate, communicate, review, and approve work.
Document management system software also solves security and data audit issues by creating paths for the document lifecycle from creation to modification and distribution. This is useful for internal accountability or requiring external audit from industry authorities.
What are the benefits of document management systems?
The benefits of implementing DMS are significant and are multiplying rapidly – the market value of the Document Management Systems industry is expected to rise to $6.78 billion by 2023. The main benefits of implementing a DMS include:
Improve collaboration and teamwork
Document management systems ensure team members always have access to the latest version of a document.
Enhanced security
Document management systems ensure that documents entering and leaving your organization are safe and securely stored in a centralized, easily accessible platform that all teams can access.
Compliance and auditing
Document management systems help track document history from creation to editing and downloads. This information is essential to the compliance practices of the industry and companies being audited.
Easy access to information
DMSs typically have a powerful search function, making it easier for teams to find the right documents when they need them.
Improve productivity
Using a document management system means employees don't waste time searching for files on multiple computers, applications, or cloud-based platforms. Anyone with access can find the documents they need quickly and easily using the search bar.
What are the challenges of document management?
With all the benefits of DMS document management, there are still some challenges to be aware of, and these include:
Identification incidents
It may be difficult to identify and separate documents that contain sensitive information. A confidential document coming into an organization may not be immediately identifiable and therefore be shared publicly. When setting up your system, make sure there are clear policies on the different security levels for different types. From documents.
Change formats
The variable space for document formats can be a challenge for legacy document management systems. Systems may not be equipped to handle new document formats. Imagine trying to store a ZIP file or an audio file in a physical file cabinet. This is impossible. This may cause compatibility issues as Document management systems must be able to upgrade to accept new file formats.
Long setup time
Depending on the system you choose, you may experience a significant setup time when training your teams to use the system. A DMS that no one uses defeats the purpose of creating a system in the first place.
Who is responsible for document management systems?
Larger companies may have a person responsible for overseeing activities in the document management system. This person may be a records manager or document control officer. In smaller companies, an office manager or employer may be responsible.
Many companies fall somewhere in the middle, where a designated team member runs the system, usually the IT or HR department manager. Employees in these roles are adept at using management software to do their jobs and have a strong appreciation for data security and regulatory compliance.
Who will benefit from a document management system?
Using a robust document management system (DMS) benefits businesses large and small. It's an ideal solution for businesses where documents, files, and data are constantly being received, created, and shared.
Users of document management systems benefit – employees can easily do their work no matter where they work, and everyone knows when a document has been changed.
How to use Doc Suite as a DMS system
It makes sense to combine document management systems and project management systems into one integrated platform to make it easier for teams to work, no matter where they are located.
DocSuite's DMS makes it easy for employees to share project-related files easily and securely, enhancing collaboration and communication as every team member is aware of any project changes.
In addition to sharing and managing documents, DocSuite integrates with other business-critical applications like Google Sheets and Gmail, making it easy to create new automations to speed up workflows and eliminate low-value tasks. DMS goes beyond document management, with highly secure collaboration features Creating a valuable digital workspace for teams of any size.
Are you ready to streamline your DMS document management process? Start your experience now.