What is Enterprise Document Management (EDM)?

Companies across the globe are constantly gathering data from their regular operations. This has increased the worldwide data volume from one petabyte to almost 2 petabytes since 2020, which is, according to Statista, a 42.2% rise. 

Enterprise data is an umbrella term generally used to denote the inclusion of structured and unstructured digital data that runs across an organization. 

The increasing percentage of gathered information in all sorts of formats is doing two things: 

1. It’s creating chaos among companies unable to manage the data they are producing. 
2. Such chaos is keeping these companies from leveraging the data they have. 

Besides digital content, an organization also creates tons and tons of physical documents daily. 

These papers are stacked somewhere in a cabinet or are locked in a dark room until the day arrives when they have to be retrieved to meet compliances, and that is when it hits you that you’ve made a mess of things. 

Subpoenas and compliance requirements can be raised at any time, and being a credible business managing them properly so they can be presented as required is your responsibility. 

Let’s take a look at the legal industry worldwide. 

It’s one profession that generates tons of paperwork and data daily. Statistically, a single lawyer creates 50 pages in an hour, which sums up to 20,000 to 1000,000 documents in a year. 

Now try multiplying it by the number of advocates and barristers in the world and tell us it isn’t a figure to be worried about. 

Enough about the problem. The solution that companies are opting for is an enterprise document management system. 

We’ll discuss it all. Let’s go!

What is an Enterprise Document Management System?

To set up a more manageable document handling system, companies switch to software’s like document management systems. These software’s ensure that companies can easily create, manage and retrieve the data and documents they store and also help with creating a seamless workflow for better efficiency. 

Following are a few things an enterprise document management system can help you with: 

1. Storing the documents and data you generate on a daily basis. 
2. Organizing the information, so it becomes easily retrievable. 
3. Creating a knowledge base of all the corporate assets for future purposes. 
4. Assisting you in meeting regulatory and financial requirements. 
5. Setting up a document handling system in place helps improve your company’s efficiency. 
6. Securing those documents in digital forms to prevent catastrophic damages. 
7. Scaling as and when the time comes. 

And many more other things too. 

What are the Types of Enterprise Document Management Systems?

1. Content Management Systems

An appropriate example of a content management system is wordpress. It is a kind of software that helps companies manage both structured and unstructured data. Companies looking to publish and organize their content can leverage a CMS to do the same. 

2. Workflow Management 

Companies looking to automate their processes and eliminate the additional steps involved in manual back offices process opt for workflow management systems. Such softwares, as the name suggests, help companies with complex operations to streamline their regular mundane tasks and improve productivity.  

3. Records Management System 

A records management system is a software that helps companies manage records throughout their lifecycle. Such a system will assist you at every stage of a record’s lifecycle, from creation to disposal, and help you easily meet compliances and financial regulations. 

4. Enterprise Content Management Systems

An ECM is a software companies choose when they need to manage content during its lifecycle. An enterprise content management system can manage the unstructured information companies generate or wish to generate to run their business more efficiently. 

5. Cloud-based DMS

Unlike other alternatives, a cloud-based document management system is deployed to manage structured data, especially in paper formats. Such softwares focus on eliminating companies’ challenges with paper-based documentation through digital storage, instant retrieval, organizing and indexing of documented information to create a more manageable system. 

What are the Functions of a Cloud-based Document Management System?

1. Easy Document Handling 

Each pile of paper adds to your business’s overheads, stress, and real-estate expenses. Moreover, not being able to access them when required due to poor organization and management can lead to financial and credibility issues. 

With its advanced capabilities, a cloud-based document management solution can help you fight these challenges. For example, an efficient DMS will always provide you with tools like category-specific tags, customizable templates, and similar tools to ensure you can leverage the digital platform entirely. 

2. Digital Workspaces 

Businesses looking for a DMS mistakenly take up file storage solutions  GDrive or DropBox. Although these tools do the job of helping them go digital, their lack of document management functionalities keeps businesses from flourishing. 

One of the reasons this happens is that tools like Google Drive don’t support integration, meaning they scatter your enterprise data in different files and drives just as you used to store them in different cabinets. 

Such a system makes the process of information retrieval a very difficult task since tracking the person whose drive the required information is stored consumes a lot of time which is not always available. 

A digital workspace lets you create a un siloed repository of these documents, which helps you maintain transparency and avoid confusion. Moreover, an advanced workspace allows collaboration with team members, which helps streamline organizational operations.

3. Secured Guest Sharing 

It can not be possible for one to go entirely paperless while they keep collaborating with their clientele and teams on paper. Every time one has to get revisions done on a contract, a new copy is printed and sent across for suggestions and approval, and this cycle continues until all parties approve a final draft of the contract. 

This means to carry out a small part of a single business transaction, you would have to create multiple paper-based versions, which (a) wastes paper, (b) creates confusion, and (c ) delays the entire process unnecessarily. Furthermore, the moment you send a photocopied piece of paper outside your organization, you lose control over how that information is used.

A document management system helps you create and share documents with people within and outside the organizations to collaborate easily and securely via a single link. 

The best thing about this is that if you’ve opted for a DMS like dox2U, you will have the power to revoke access, send a time-restricted link, and check the audit trail of activities performed on the documents by the users. 

Thus, absolute control over shared information. 

4. Quick Retrievability 

One of the best capabilities and advantages of a cloud-based document management system is that it comes with features that make retrieval a quick and effortless process. Advanced document management systems like dox2U provide text and filter-based search capabilities. 

For those who don’t know, text-based search is a functionality in dox2U that allows you to retrieve documents even if you can’t remember the title of the saved document with the help of in-text keywords. And filter-based search helps you further narrow the search results with the help of different tags. 

What are the Benefits of Enterprise Document Management?

1. Meet Regulatory Compliances 

One of the major advantages of switching to the digital document handling system is that it helps you comply with your financial and regulatory requirements without any lags. Since it can become difficult to track down paper-based documents, especially when they’ve been stored for years, a DMS makes that a seamless process, as you can quickly retrieve documents by filtering the results based on dates and other tags. 

2. Security 

Paper-based documentation is highly prone to catastrophic damages; it can easily catch fire or get stolen without a proper management system. One of the core pros of a document management system is that it lets you store crucial enterprise data and documents securely. A cloud-based system is immune to such damages, and unlike on-premise setups, they are also protected from hardware failures and sudden breakdowns, which can put your organization’s files at risk. 

3. Better Control Over Information 

A document management system allows you to keep control over the information that you share with the help of features like audit logs and granular access control that keeps you notified of the activities being performed on the documents and also allows you to define the access rights of the users you’ve shared the access with. You can also revoke access anytime you smell something fishy and prevent your company’s important information from falling into the wrong hands. 

Importance of an Enterprise Document Management System

1. To increase organizational efficiency opting for a document management system that helps you eliminate human errors, reduce overlapping of activities, and streamline workflows is essential. 

2. Paper-based documents create many hurdles in regular business operations of businesses. These keep businesses from reaching their true potential and prevent their growth. A DMS helps eradicate such challenges. 

3. Being a business, you need to keep up with compliances to avoid financial and legal troubles; a DMS assists you in the same. 

4. You must adapt to changing times and technologies to have a competitive advantage. A DMS helps you deliver a memorable customer experience and puts you above the rest. 

FAQs

1. Is there a cloud solution for enterprise document management?

Many cloud-based solutions are available in the market; however, not all are as efficient. You need to list your requirements to see what products offer the features you would need in your DMS. 

2. What is an affordable Document Management System for a small-scale enterprise?

Affordability is subjective, making it difficult for us to list any solutions you can try. However, there are always some free alternatives available in the market that you can try. Try dox2U as it comes with a free Trial plan for businesses.

3. What are the main factors to consider when choosing a document management system?

The first and foremost thing here is to learn how a DMS works and what it can do for you. Later, you can see if those are your expectations and compare the packages of a few products to make a more informed decision.