Loading...Businesses often run on paper but maintaining all the information in an organized system can become a hassle. Document management software can make your office more efficient with search features and automated processes. No matter your industry or business, document management software can save your office time and money. Here are three things you want to consider when choosing document management software for your business.
Type of System
Depending on the size of your business and the amount of paperwork that comes across the desks of your employees, different solutions are better suited to meet your needs.
- Large corporations tend to have highly specific needs and larger budgets to work with. If your business is ready to dedicate in-house servers and staff, enterprise systems that embrace specificitymight be the best option.
- Mid-sized to large business may benefit more from open source software. If your business is ready for the development and maintenance necessary, this type of document management software may be the way to go.
- Small businesses and mid-sized business might find that modern web based solutions are the best fit because they require no in-house staff and effort, and offer flexibility with a large range of features.
Features
What are features that you must have? What are some features that would be nice to have? Creating a list of what you’re looking for in the program can help you as you make a decision about document management software.
- Your must-have feature list should only include the bare minimum. These are the things you absolutely cannot go without. The nice-to-have list includes the features you would be willing to pay a bit more for, depending on cost-benefit ratio.
- Must-have features that every program should have include centralized storage, remote access, collaboration features and access permissions.
- Centralized storage and remote access ensure your employees can access the right files, no matter where they are without the possibility of duplicated files.
- Collaboration features and access permissions allow employees to work together while the access permissions guarantee administrators can manage who does and sees what.
Security
If you’re choosing a document management software system, chances are your business is at least somewhat dependent on the maintenance and organization of more than a few documents. At the very minimum, you’re system and documents need to be password protected.
- Look for a software system that encrypts the information. Depending on what you are using the software for, extremely sensitive material may be at stake and you’ll want to do your best to protect it.
- Make sure your files are being backed up. Automatic backups ensure your files are backed up in case of a loss. You don’t want to lose those important, time-consuming documents.
- If you are using a web-based document management system, you may want to see if your program works with anti-spam and anti-virus you currently have. You need to protect your hardware as downloading and uploading the same files across many devices can lead a spread of a virus.
As you choose document management software for your business, consider the budget and needs of your company. No matter the features or location of your software, you’ll want to ensure all your information is protected and backed up. Conduct your research into the features you must have and would like to have. These are the most important factors in choosing a document management software system.