Document management, otherwise known as document management systems (DMS), is the use of software and a computer system to store, manage and track electronic images and documents of paper-based information completed by scanning the document.

Document management is an incredibly efficient, paper-free way for an organisation to store, manage and track its electronic documents. Document management is essentially the software that controls and organises an organisation’s documents.

Document management utilises elements like document and content capture, COLD/ERM, document repositories, workflow, information retrieval systems and output systems. It also incorporates the processes incorporated to track, store and and control an organisation’s documents.

If you have been considering making the switch to document management in Australia, here is some further information on the service and how it can benefit your organisation.

An important aspect of content management

Document management has been used by organisations for some time, with developers working towards creating document management systems since the 1980s. Document management provides many of the same functionalities as content management, using similar controls and management capabilities on documents that are otherwise described as “dumb”.

Document management essentially makes your documents incredibly easy to access, and includes features such as:

• Locking and check-in/check-out functionalities, allowing an organisation to perform a document’s simultaneous editing. This makes it so one team member’s edits won’t overwrite the other team member’s edits.

• Version control, allowing organisations to regulate how a document came to be. It also allows an organisation to see how any previous versions looked.

• Roll-back, this allows an organisation to “activate” a previous document version in case of premature release or error.

• Audit trail, allowing an organisation to permit the reconstruction of which team member did what regarding the document throughout the course of its lifecycle.

• Stamps and annotation.

Document management works in conjunction with content management as there is so much information for an organisation to take on in the modern business world. Given that smart technologies are becoming more prevalent by the year, there is an added need to handle information of all types, and not just information like images vs. voice files, text vs. images, but also information’s structural framework as well as how it is managed.

Modern document management systems can be for small businesses all the way through to large organisations, with a huge range of functionalities serving an international demographic. Most document management systems utilise a process of incorporating typical physical document filing practises into electronic forms, including:

• Security and access control

• Storage location

• Version control

• check-in/check and document lockdown

• Audit trails

Some key benefits of document management systems

There are a range of amazing benefits to utilising a document management service. These include:

• Reduced storage space: Businesses require extra storage space to hold their documents that require hard copy format, but document management services can reduce an organisation’s need for all that added storage space.

• Enhanced security: Document management services allow greater security and control over who sees what document. What’s more, document management services produce an audit trail regarding who saw a particular document.

• Enhanced regulatory compliance: The complexity of document compliance can be troublesome for organisations, with the risk of fines, licence revoking and other actions the punishment for non-compliance. Document management services reduce the risk of non-compliance, with functions like automating records retention schedules and easy storing of new documents just some of the features to do this.

Data management is an awesome service that allows organisations to safely scan, edit, track and store their documents.