When implementing a document management system, there are a lot of potential dangers to look out for. We frequently get asked questions concerning document management, lets list some of them out below and provide answers to them:
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Evaluate cloud versus on-premise
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Does the system use metadata and intuitive tagging, or are documents stored manually in folders?
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How does the system address duplicate files and versioning?
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Does the solution integrate with MS Office, CRM systems, and other office systems?
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How about your existing share drives? Will it require a major migration?
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Can you set up workflows to ensure compliance and smooth project management, as well as integrate DocuSign for easy sign-offs?
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Is the software mobile-friendly? Can you access, update, and share documents anywhere anytime?
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How easy is the interface to use? If the user experience isn’t intuitive, users will avoid the system, impacting adoption and effectiveness.
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How rigorous are security protocols?
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Do they have superior product support available either within the product company or via local reseller expertise?
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Make sure you understand the total cost of ownership. On-premise may appear to be less expensive, but may come with much higher maintenance, security, and support costs.
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The future is in content analytics and AI and machine learning. Make sure you are planning for the long-term.
Cloud vs On Premise
There are a lot of varying factors when it comes to deciding between cloud or on premise. It really depends on how accessible you want your information to be, and security concerns. Although cloud security is almost impenetrable these days, there are always the risk factors associated with storing something on the cloud. Not to mention pricing models (license vs space), and how comfortable you feel with your information in the cloud. An on premise solution also comes with its risks, such as the cost of space, having an employee in house who understands how to manage and maintain information, security costs, etc. Some people enjoy the security of having something in their office as a comforting solution.
Metadata Tagging
When it comes to document managements systems, a main reason for implementing one into your business is to better organize all of your information. With that comes the question, how will you search and organize your information? With Metadata driven tagging, the software will scan your OCR driven documents and show them in order of metadata relevance. This will help you find documents quickly and more efficiently. The other option is to go with the traditional manually stored folders. This allows you to begin separation at the beginning stage of your system, but can lead to messy virtual folders down the line.
Integrations
Having integration with your existing software tool set is one of the most important things you can do. While document management systems are implemented with the idea of making your company more efficient, ensuring that they merge with existing tools will alleviate a lot of stress. A majority of software will integrate with outlook, office, & other systems to make your company more efficient.
Is the software Mobile friendly?
Ensuring that the software is accessible by mobile is one of the most important functionalities that many companies are looking for. Whether they are interested in being able to access documents on the go to reduce trips to the office, or be able to pull up any information at any client site, or even wanting to eSign contracts on the spot. Your document management system should contain this functionality.