An electronic document management system (DMS) requires a computer system and software to stock, preserve, and manage electronic documents. Electronic documents may either be computer generated or the transformation of physical records into digital data with the help of a scanning machine.
An electronic document management system helps organizations store their valuable documentation to track and easily retrieve when needed. The core benefit of an electronic DMS is securing the records and improving efficiency in data management. However, some other benefits are discussed below to make the businessmen believe why they need to put such a system in place.
While doing business, you might have come across the hassle of finding an important file for a meeting with previous clients or showing a portfolio to potential clients. Without managing the files, you may not access them easily as they may be under the piles of unorganized documents, lost, or disposed of by a worker. It is the moment when you come to know the significance of a document management system as it stores all the files in an order that makes searching and retrieving files a charm. Let us have a look at why an electronic DMS is important for your business.
Prevent loss or misplacement of files
Almost every business has dishonest and disloyal workers. They do not bother about the loss of the company that’s why they often ignore the loss or damage to a file. The unhappy workers often destroy valuable documents willingly to malign the company or they may leak confidential information to competitors and make money out of it. With electronic records management, you put the data in a secure locker of software with limited access to the users. Thus, it prevents the loss, damage, or fraud of any sort in your business.
Legal Compliance
Compliance with the law for preserving the documents is a must for all businesses. The law or local regulatory bodies may require you to seek registration and certification to continue the business. Additionally, they may also require you to keep records of certain contracts and agreements for a specific time.
An effective data archiving strategy or scanning and digitization of such records becomes mandatory to ensure the confidential records last longer. You may need to store, archive, track, and retrieve the data law requires on a web hosting that is compliant with the local authority. It may not be possible without investing in a reliable document management system as failing to furnish the required files may expose your business to grave lawsuits.
Save on data archiving
Replacing your archaic method of storing physical records with an advanced, modern, and digital document management system can save you a lot. The world is moving towards a paperless environment, which is preventing the creation of a lot of paper trash but also saving a lot of money. The employees used to print a lot of documents in routine. Due to their negligence, they often commit errors that may require them to print more copies of the same document. Let alone the paper printing expense, it may cost you a lot more in shredding as well.
The cost saving of electronic record keeping is not confined to businesses managing physical records, but it may benefit other organizations too. It may include the avoidance of legal penalties and winning projects by showing the required documents on time.
Improve workforce productivity
In business, a person is held responsible for managing the record room. Only he knows how the data is indexed and stored. However, electronic records management creates a central repository for storing data with tags and keywords. So, if any of your employees need to search a file, he or she can search it by name, keyword, creation date, or other tags.
The ability to easily find a document boosts the productivity of your workforce as they are not dependent on a single member. It also increases quick and hassle-free collaboration. For example, if an accounts clerk needs to know the sales figures, he can go through the sales receipts without a hard struggle. He can instantly go with invoicing and proposals rather than waiting for other departments to provide the due information.
Security from cyber attacks
Keeping the data on any random computer system or a network server in your business premises is like an open invitation for intruders to come, hack, and steal all the valuable information. Data is a precious asset that no business may want others to steal and take benefit of it.
An electronic management system can prevent an organization from such a loss as the technology and its strong access points deter cyber attacks. The secured cloud servers, encrypted connection, firewalls, and other security measures ensure the security of documents.
Accessing documents on the go
There is a variety of business models. With the recent advancements in technology, most of the businesses have moved to a digital platform. They have put their offerings online and set themselves free from the confinement of a physical location.
If you are managing a business where most of the employees are either remote employees or traveling to oversee a project, sharing documents becomes a complete hassle for such a team. By keeping your official records on an electronic platform, you can allow access to the relevant human resources so that they can track and get a document they need without involving an employee from the head office. Hence, the data is available around the clock for employees.
Final words
The electronic document management system revamps the process of the creation, storing, and managing data in an organized fashion. It puts your business records in an order that is easily recognizable and searchable by your workforce. The use of a secured cloud, or a reliable non-EIG hosting (check the list) server ensures the security of private and confidential business data.
A business needs such a system to ensure the prevention of data loss or theft. There are secret agreements, arrangements, MoUs, ideas, concepts, and recipes that a business may never want to make public. Such a record needs full-proof security from the workforce as well as cyber intruders. And, as the records may be required by the law to be preserved, you may not be able to dispose of them. Therefore, to store it safely, electronic record keeping is a must for a business.
Johnny Thompson is a senior reporter for Generator Research in Los Angeles, reporting on technology, business, finances, and more. He previously worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Drunk driving has been a long-running problem that has taken the lives of thousands of people the world over. In the United States alone, approximately 30 people die in drunk-driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The same agency, however, says the number of drunk driving […]
