Digital is the new black. From MNCs to schools to small ration shops, everyone and everything is going online with their documents. These documents could include bills, inventory details, legal work, and other data about the organization. The main reason for these changes is to reduce paperwork and integrate the documents for a better workflow, and accessibility by the management from any and every location. Enterprise Document Management System is an answer to all of this and more. It stores, manages, and secures documents digitally. DMS Software ensures the utmost protection of your documents and restricts accessibility based on your unique business requirements. Knowing why you need an Enterprise Document Management System is an absolute necessity in 2024! 

How Can EDM Help You Revolutionize Your Document Management?

Enterprise Document Management System serves your business with a plethora of advantages. Here are the key benefits of employing EDM in your organization- 

  1. Stores Documents- It stores all documents digitally and decides when to delete a document. This is important to ensure that storage is used for only relevant documents. 
  2. Easy Accessibility– Enterprise Document Management System ensures every document is in one place. It also regulates who can see or edit which documents. It helps in the distribution of these documents as any employee can have access to these documents if they need it, without being physically present in the office space. Post-pandemic every business requires such round-the-clock efficiency to stand out amongst competitors. 
  3. Simple Search Facilities- Another big advantage EDM has over traditional methods of storing documents is that it allows for the documents to be easily found. With one search any document can be found. 
  4. It organizes everything- It keeps all documents indexed in a folder, which has many sub-folders. This makes documents easy to find and saves up on time. 
  5. Security- EDM limits access to certain documents, which can be customized by the management. It ensures security so that documents do not fall into the hands of unwanted third parties.

Best Practices for Implementation of EDM

Effective Enterprise document management System can be a boon for digital efficiency as it would save the organization/individual a lot of time. It would also reduce the possibility of human error as the process is completely automated. To ensure that your Enterprise document management System is implemented to increase digital efficiency, here are some best practices you can follow- 

  1. Create a perfect strategy- If you already have a strategy in place then involve all stakeholders and take their feedback. This will help in understanding the loops in the existing system and you can improve them making your strategy airtight. 
  2. Seek the best deployment strategy- There are two types of deployment when it comes to EDM. One is Cloud-based. Here all digital documents are stored in a cloud which means they can be accessed from anywhere. It is also easier to limit access and scale, these are good qualities if you are looking for an EDM that serves you for the long term. Another option is to have the entire system on-premises. This makes sure you have control over all the data but it requires you to bear some heavy up-front costs for IT and hardware. 
  3. Ensure regular backups- Regular backups ensure no important data is lost due to technical glitches or hardware malfunction. 
  4. Embrace file naming- This will help everyone to find important files and documents easily. File naming also helps in understanding how relevant the files are. Naming files also helps recruits to get on board and learn the system quickly. 
  5. Say yes to Automation- Your Enterprise Document Management System can save you from human error. For this, you need to increase your automation through workflow automation, Email automation, and Digital Signature. 
  6. Create a Source of Truth- This means there has to be only one source for all documents, and that is the source everyone should trust. This will allow all employees to work on the same document, instead of working on different versions which can lead to confusion and mistakes. This also helps in effectively controlling the version of the document, and in keeping a log of who made what kind of change at what time. 

Conclusion 

Enterprise Document Management System is a useful tool if used in the best strategic way. Implementation is equally important and often done without a well-drafted course of action. Making sure to adopt the best practices to increase your digital efficiency must be your priority. These include a variety of things like regular backups, proper strategy, automation, deployment, and creating a Source of truth. These should help you in getting the best results from your Enterprise Document Management System.