Choosing A Document Management System In 5 Easy Steps!

Think about how the hundreds of receipts, contracts, spreadsheets, letters, invoices, proposals, and other documents are created in your organization every day.

Managing these files in physical cabinets is hard enough as it is, but when you factor in the need for collaboration between different departments, it becomes essential to have a system where all the data created by one employee can be accessible to another.

To address this ongoing organizational need, Document Management System (DMSs) have arisen as excellent tools for storing, managing and streamlining a business’ documents and files.

DMSs provide companies and their staff with a single-server software program that can store potentially unlimited amounts of data, backed up by a powerful search feature that ensures no document is ever too hard to find.

Typically, these solutions are used by large-scale legal, finance, HR, sales, and operations professionals to overcome the document chaos that is common in their workplaces.

But how do you choose a DMS that’s right for your organization? Here’s a 5-step guide to the process, as recommended by professional document solutions providers like Xerox UAE:

Define Your Business’ Objectives

Before you do away with your old filing cabinets, you must first define what your business hopes to achieve from the new document management system.

Some of the common results other organizations have achieved are:

• Increased workplace efficiency through easier sharing and management of documents.
• Reduced paper usage as files are accessible to all users on the network.
• Easier collaboration between various teams which can work together on any created data.
• Improved security for all confidential and sensitive information.

Identify Which Business Processes Will Benefit Most

To properly evaluate the success of a document management solution, you’ll need to first figure out which business processes can be made more efficient by using a DMS.

 Look at every process in your organization which:

• Regularly requires a review or approval before documents can be finalized.
• Deals with documents that need to be regularly re-evaluated, such as contracts or invoices.
• Requires a high degree of collaboration between different departments, where multiple teams of employees work on and edit the same files.

Choose The Hosting Model:

Modern document management systems are hosted in two ways:

• In-house intranet networks
• Outsourced cloud services

The model you choose has a significant impact on the security of your documents and determines how your business uses the technology.

In-House

In-house, or on-premise, hosting gives you complete control over the physical filing infrastructure. No internet connection is required; the solution can be customized heavily to suit all of your organizational needs.

That being said, there are a few drawbacks to hosting your own DMS.

For one, it’s the more expensive alternate. You’ll need to set aside a separate budget for ongoing upgrade and maintenance expenses, in addition to the extensive initial costs of buying.

It’s also fairly complicated to use, since your employees will need a VPN if they want to access the software repository. 

Cloud

Cloud-based software from a third party vendor like Xerox UAE has the advantage of being cheaper, easy-to-use, quick-to-deploy, accessible from anywhere in the world through an internet connect, and pleasantly engaging for users.

As documents on the cloud are managed by a specialized team, there is a greater level of security and up-time protocols.

However, some clients aren’t comfortable with the loss of control over their data, especially if there is no internet connection available. There have also been complaints about a lack of customizability within the tool.

Identify The Business’ Requirements

Once you’ve made a decision on the hosting model, it’s time to start figuring out which DMS would be best suited to your organization and its needs. Some other important features of DMS you should consider are:

• Integration: If your office has a heavy usage of productivity software like the Microsoft Suite, the new DMS should naturally integrate within the system and allow users to download and edit the latest versions of documents without any conflicts.
• Alerts: Periodic alerts from the management system will help you better manage documents that need to be regularly reviewed and corrected.
• Security: Only authorized people should be allowed to review, edit, contribute to, and co-author a document throughout its lifecycle. All other should be kept out through a login-password system.
• Search: A good DMS will let you search for documents not just through the file name, but also via keywords embedded into the content.
• Collaboration: One of the greatest advantages of implementing a document management system is the improved productivity around the workplace. Teams of employees can collaborate to work on a shared document.
• Access: In case of a hosted DMS solution, the files should be accessible from anywhere in the world, while also implementing the security protocols required to restrict unwanted access.

Make The Final Selection

With a detailed criterion established and business goals defined, it’s time to start narrowing down your options until you’re left with a DMS that works well for you.

A recommended practice here is to work your way through different trial software. A lot of manufacturers give clients the option to ‘try before they buy’, which gives you a great opportunity to deeply explore all the DMS options available without having to spend any money.

Once you’ve gone the all the software and conducted your interviews with potential vendors, make a pros and cons list for each and select your winner.