Document Management: What Are Enterprise Content Management Systems?

2022-10-21 15:33:14

The average business has over 100,000 documents in various stages of revision at any given time. Also, they are almost always out-of-date when they are needed the most.

However, with enterprise content management systems, companies can keep a digital archive of all their documents and other assets in one place.

Let's examine how enterprise content and document management can help your business.

What Is an Enterprise Content Management System?

An enterprise content management system (ECM) is a software solution that allows you to manage all of your company's digital assets.

An ECM platform is a tool that helps companies organise, track, and manage their documents. Both internal employees and external partners can use it to create, store, access, and share information. ECMs also enable employees to stay connected with their workplace and to work from anywhere and from any device.

At the same time, management controls who has access to which files, thereby ensuring data security of company information. ECMs and digitisation strike the perfect balance between openness and safety.

 

ECM Solution Components

So what constitutes a good ECM solution? Typically, an ECM solution contains three components, the first of which is an indexing engine. An indexing engine organises digital content based on metadata such as keywords, tags, or comments. It enables one to quickly and easily locate different versions of the same file, even if there have been changes to its content—kind of like your company completing its internal SEO for the benefit of the employees.

Secondly, ECM creates a repository for storing documents or images so multiple people can access them simultaneously without affecting each user's local document copy.

The repository also keeps track of who changed which parts and when they were last updated with new information. This updating usually happens in real time and during the editing process until it is published online or sent out via email/fax/etc.

Finally, it includes a workflow engine that manages how users access documents after uploading them into the repository to ensure everyone within an organisation knows how their colleagues use the documents before approving their publication.

 

What Are the Benefits of Enterprise Content Management Solutions?

Some of the pros of using a document management solution include:

• Reduced costs
• Increased productivity
• Improved customer service and
• Increased compliance.

Digitising documents with document management solutions enables collaboration and knowledge sharing across teams, departments and locations, accelerating innovation, increasing productivity and improving client satisfaction.

DMSs can improve employee satisfaction, too, thanks to improved collaboration opportunities and the ability to work from anywhere with access to secure content on any device at any time. As many colleagues nowadays are working from home, this is particularly beneficial.

Document management solutions negate the need to worry about misplacing files because storage occurs in multiple locations within the organisation.

You can further increase security by eliminating costly storage facilities where information may be vulnerable due to natural disasters such as fire, flood damage, or physical theft.

 

On Which Platforms Can You Use an ECM System?

An ECM platform can store, organise and manage all types of content in a centralised environment, including documents such as PDFs or Word files and photos from social media sites like Flickr. Furthermore, it includes videos from YouTube and audio files from SoundCloud or the like. Finally, document management also includes email messages from Outlook or Gmail accounts.

 

What Best Practices Should a Company Use for ECM Approach?

Once you've decided to use an ECM solution, you must ensure that it aligns with your overall business strategy. Remember that an ECM solution should be flexible and scalable to grow with your organisation. As a business owner, you should ensure your ECM strategy aligns with your business goals, especially if yours is a small business. You may not have the resources available for elaborate custom development of an ECM system or extensive training on how best to use it. However, there are pre-made programs that can perform the required functions.

 

How Does Findmydoc Work?

DocVolante is an online document management solution that stores, accesses, manages, controls and tracks electronic documents. It provides a central repository for all your essential records while mitigating the risk of important information being exposed or lost. Documents can be accessed from anywhere on any device at any time.

Furthermore, you don't have to worry about maintaining servers or software, as DocVolante manages everything for you in the background. It is so secure that it complies with the GDPR and POPI Act.

 

Document Management Solutions Make Your Business More Productive and Efficient

Enterprise content management systems can help you transform your organisation. From reducing costs to improving productivity, ECM systems help businesses get the most out of their documents.

They also reduce storage costs by centralising data. ECMs provide a common platform to collaborate on content, and enterprise content management solutions simplify the process of managing and sharing documents. They make it easier for employees to work together and stay up-to-date with internal information.

For more business solutions to help your business become more productive, contact us today.