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Like it or not, the answer to ‘Why choose digital document management?’ is simple.
We must.
The way we work has changed. To stay competitive and keep employees actively engaged and productive, making data available from any location is key. But it’s not just data – employees need access to documents. Digital documents make that possible.
The challenge is that digital documents alone aren’t the solution. Stacking multiple systems only creates inefficiencies. Digital document management solves that problem.
Long before the urgent need created by the pandemic in 2020, businesses chose digital documents for the competitive edge they delivered.
Business that choose digital document management today will realize the same benefits.
These benefits include:
Storing paper comes with a high cost.
Real estate costs money, which means every file cabinet has an ongoing storage cost beyond its original cost. Offsite storage as part of your document lifecycle management or for document protection as part of your business continuity plan also comes with a hefty cost.
Oftentimes, the digital documents are the original files and, in most cases, are legally valid and equal to originals.
You can store millions of documents in a hard drive. You can backup millions more in another drive. In an onsite environment, they could share the same small space. Offsite backups eliminate the need for any onsite equipment.
And if you choose cloud document management, you do not need any onsite infrastructure, reducing many traditional document storage costs. And most service level agreements (SLAs) with cloud document management providers include redundancies, so you do not need backups, like you would with an on-premises document management system.
Read more about cloud document management in “An introduction to cloud document management.”
Generally, digital document management includes the ability to restrict access to only appropriate individuals. The degree of security varies from system to system. Free applications like Google Docs™ may be good for personal use, but likely do not provide the security your business demands.
A business system like DocuWare builds in greater security. You gain:
Many document management systems feature some form of data capture. Point-and-click field data capture can speed how quickly you input documents into the system. In many cases, more automated methods like Smart Integrations exist to capture data from structured forms to further speed input.
Integrations with other applications introduce opportunities to turn the data on your documents into advanced business intelligence, reducing risk of errors, improving processes, and reducing bottlenecks.
You have a lot of options when it comes to digital document management. Free systems can meet short-term needs but may add layers to your efforts due to a lack of integration with other systems.
When evaluating systems, here are some questions to consider:
Of course, there are many more questions you may have. And you may have other considerations unique to your business too.
For more information on how digital document management can support your business goals, we invite you to review these articles and webinars.
A webinar series on business continuity and your remote workforce
Article: What is a document management system?
Webinar: 7 tips for secured document archiving in the digital workplace