subject: Document Management System To Protect Your Business Information [print this page] Unorganized files, documents, and the lack of records management standards will lead not only to elevated costs and unnecessary liability but can also lead to the loss of critical assets in your company - your business information.
A Document Management System is a valuable application for any business even if only to take advantage of its basic filing and sharing functionality. With a Document Management System you can centralize the storage of information throughout your organization and set rules controlling access. This alone allows you to safely backup your files and protect your business information.
Document management has become a popular solution in almost every enterprise and business office because of functionalities it brings to the day to day sharing of information. A fully functional Document Management System provides functionality that includes but is not limited to: monitoring documents to start automated processes, provides functionality to search throughout data repositories, provides version control and manage different document types throughout the business process.
Amid the threat of security breaches, managing and controlling information has become an important issue and Document Management Systems can play an important role in security. The release of confidential information and secured/secret data surfaces every day; ask the U.S. Federal Government about WikiLeaks. So it is imperative to be equipped with the best Document Management System to help avoid losing information to your competitors or, releasing confidential or private personal information.
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is a superset of a Document Management Systems meaning that under the ECM umbrella you will find Document Management, Electronic Records Management, Document Imaging and other similar technologies that will help in the implementation of the strategies that maximizes your business content. Content and ECM is important in four areas of your business: Compliance, Collaboration, Continuity and Cost. These must be addressed effectively by selecting the appropriate technology while always keeping in mind that the technologies you use must match your business needs and security requirements.
Technology can enable you to streamline the management of content and security but the underlying strategy must be defined first. Proactive ECM strategies must be developed within Document Management Systems and Electronic Records Management to address todays compliance regulations and those sure to come in the future.
