We’re living in a digital age in which more and more individuals and businesses are accessing information and handling day-to-day tasks online. In fact, 90 percent of the data in the world was generated over the last two years alone.
With the emergence of cloud-based technology and the Internet of things (IoT), it’s hard to believe that many companies — even large enterprises — are still managing documents and files manually rather than digitally.
The average employee spends 400 hours searching for documents each year.
What Is a Document Management System
A Document Management System (DMS) is a system for the creation, organization, storage, management, and retrieval of documents. It can be analog or electronic, but the latter has many benefits that make it the stronger choice for streamlined, profitable operations.
If your business is still dependent on paper, these 12 benefits of electronic document management will illustrate the tremendous return on investment to be had by going paperless.
- Reduce Storage Space – You’ll no longer need multiple boxes, cabinets, rooms, vaults, or rented storage facilities to store paper.
- Easier Retrieval – Quickly find and access documents from anywhere at any time with an internet connection.
- Save Time – No more employee time wasted searching for or recreating documents that were misfiled or lost.
- Save Money – Aside from the obvious expense of ink, paper, boxes or cabinets, and possible storage rental, regain employee wages that were thrown away on time spent on document management.
- Better Backup and Disaster Recovery – With electronic management, files are far less likely to be misfiled or lost; they are also safe from physical harm (fire, flood) and are easier to restore.
- Version Control – See which version is the most recent, view the changes made as well as when and by whom, and revert back to a previous version if needed.
- Better Collaboration/Improved Workflow – Share documents over email or online and allow multiple people to view at once; you can also “lock” a document when making edits so they can’t be overwritten by another person simultaneously attempting to edit.
- Enhanced Security – Grant document access only to approved persons and set permissions such as edit access or view-only access.
- Improved Regulatory Compliance – More effortlessly remain in compliance with Federal and state regulatory regulations such as HIPAA for issues like document retention schedules.
- Going Green – With little to no paper being generated you’ll have a considerably smaller carbon footprint.
- Stay Ahead of the Competition – Many businesses have already made the shift to an electronic DMS, and more are doing so each year. Businesses that continue to rely on paper will be left lagging behind.
- Peace of Mind – While it’s an intangible benefit, the confidence that comes with having better control over your information and workflow is priceless.
“An enterprise employing 1,000 knowledge workers wastes at least $2.5 to $3.5 million per year searching for nonexistent information, failing to find existing information, or recreating information that can’t be found. The opportunity cost to the enterprise is even greater, with potential additional revenue exceeding $15 million annually.“ – International Data Corporation (IDC)
WCC Business Solutions has been helping businesses drive more revenue through technology solutions for more than 40 years. For more information on how an electronic DMS can improve your operations or to schedule a complimentary business systems assessment, contact our team today.