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Document Management Solutions and Small and Midsize Businesses
by Caroline Moncur
It is currently an excellent time to purchase document management software. Market trends and a renewed small and midsize business focus by vendors have made document management more affordable and the choices more plentiful.
In the past, small and midsize businesses were restricted in their choice between niche vendors with limited functionality or large vendors with deep functionality that were too expensive or too complex. However, in the last couple of years, technology providers have been working to capitalize on the market for easy-to-use and low cost document management tools. Now, small and midsize businesses can purchase comprehensive solutions that have been specifically designed for their market.
The need for Document Management is just as great in small and midsize companies as it is in large organizations. A well designed and effectively implemented document management solution can save workers' time and increase user efficiency. It can also help streamline business processes and decrease the risk of lost documents.
Today's Document Management solutions are far more than just managing images of documents. These solutions provide tremendous efficiency gains by allowing organizations to capture, store and retrieve paper-based and electronic documents into one system. With a document management system, information is readily accessible and centrally located - meaning employees no longer spend time routing documents from desk to desk or trying to locate a misplaced file. A document management system provides instant access to information and promotes an efficient use of resources.
Legal and Accounting firms are excellent candidates for significant productivity gains through implementing a document management solution. In the case of a legal firm, a document management solution will speed up their decision making process. Millions of documents - witness testimonies, reports, briefs, correspondence etc - can be accessed and searched through simply and quickly to enable quick decisions on future legal moves.
The ease-of-use factor is an important consideration in small and midsize businesses who do not have a depth of IT knowledge inhouse. Document management solutions are now developed with the business user in mind: if someone can make a photocopy or send a fax, that person can scan and initiate the document management process.
Given that small and midsize businesses are limited in their resources to deploy and manage Document Management solutions, the following criteria may provide some guidance in selecting a solution. It is important to keep in mind that it is your business and functional requirements, not your budget, that should determine which document management product to buy.
Scalability: The system must have the ability to scale for growth in document volumes and users with acceptable performance
Ease of Deployment: How easy is the system to install and deploy? It should take no more than a day for an IT person to install and configure the basic system (additional functionality and components such as imaging and records management will increase the deployment time)
Easy to Use: The system should have a browser interface designed for business users
Support for Microsoft Platforms: The system must integrate with Windows Explorer and Microsoft products such as Outlook/Exchange and Microsoft Office
Vendor viability: The financial viability of the vendor is an important strategic assessment
Providence Technology Group is a Partner of Westbrook Technologies, one of the leaders in Document Management solutions. Their solution, Fortis, has been deployed and continues to be used successfully in a number of organisations in the Bahamas. Fortis is an excellent example of a feature-rich yet affordable Document Management solution.
Document Management software is now a productivity solution that can be the key for your organization to optimize business processes, improve information retrieval and expedite the delivery of information.
To provide feedback on this column, please email makingITwork@providencetg.com
About the Author:
Ms Caroline Moncur is Manager, Business Development at Providence Technology Group. Ms Moncur has over ten year's business development experience, primarily within the Information Technology industry. Providence Technology Group is one of the Bahamas' leading IT firms, specializing in Networking Solutions, Consulting & Advisory Services and Software Solutions.
