In an age where businesses are using cutting-edge technologies like big data, AI, and even blockchain to enhance different
business functions like marketing, product design, and customer service, the area of document management, surprisingly, still remains untouched by technology. Businesses, who are investing thousands, if not millions, in technology to increase the
efficiency of their operations, have somehow failed to recognize the impact of a good file management system on their
organization’s productivity, and are missing out on saving huge amounts of time and resources.
A file management system provides you with a simple interface that can be used to browse through folders and access different files using dedicated applications, such as Excel for .xls, Acrobat for .pdf, and Word for .doc. The default file management system provided for the users of Microsoft Windows computers is Windows Explorer.
You must be familiar with Windows Explorer, which enables its users to browse through the contents of their machine’s hard drive on a single, simple window. Windows Explorer provides you with the ability to create new files, sort files according to different criteria, move files between locations, create file copies, and perform other such file management functions on files.
Both, Windows Explorer and Finder for Mac machines, are quite good in satisfactorily delivering the file management needs of an average personal user. However, these default file management systems may not be ideal for business users, especially if the user deals with a large number of business documents on a daily basis.
This is because, although these file management systems can differentiate between files of different formats, there’s hardly any differentiation service that they can offer beyond that.
Businesses usually deal with documents that are in the .doc, .pdf, or.xls formats. When you have thousands of files in the same format, say .pdf, a basic file management system cannot differentiate between a .pdf utility bill and a .pdf customer invoice.
To ascertain the exact contents of a document, you’ll have to open files individually and read the contents. However, an advanced file management system will be able to differentiate files, based on the contents in them, no matter what their format.
Although there is no harm in using a standard file management system, businesses can run faster and far more efficiently if they use DMS that can provide a host of added features to enhance an office’s productivity and complement an organization’s initiatives for process improvement.