The most important step in any organization’s document management journey is the first one – deciding to move from the paper-based way of managing documents, to an electronic document management system (EDMS). Once this step is taken, you should study the characteristics of best document management software solutions, like the ease of use, scalability, a sound maintenance subscription program, etc. The next step is to choose the right document management system – one that meets the unique requirements of your organization. Let us look at how to choose a system that is just right for your firm.
Size of your organization
How big is your firm? Do you have a staff of 10, 20, 50 or 100? The reason you must consider this factor is, if your organization is on the larger side in terms of staff employed, you would need a document management system that can handle a high volume of documents as well as a large number of users. Choosing the wrong document management software could mean a waste of money as you might have to change the software in favor of a more scalable solution.
Features that match the tasks performed
Document management systems come with a wide variety of features, the list of which keeps increasing as developers press on with their R&D. But not all of them are useful to every firm. Typically, what are the tasks that your staff performs? For example, if your staff does a lot of document scanning, you should choose a system with strong scanning features like batch scanning, the ability to save scanning profiles, etc. On the other hand, if your teams do a lot of document reviews and modifications, you should opt for document management software that allows you to work with draft documents using check-in and check-out features. Always choose a document management system that matches – if not exactly then roughly – the workflow structure in your organization. The workflow should not have to be changed to suit the document management software.
IT environment in your firm
Here you need to consider a couple of important points. If you are operating in a Windows environment, there is no point considering a system compatible with Mac. Rather look for a system like GLOBODOX that is Windows-based. Also, find out what the system requirements are for the document management software you are considering. If the machines used in your office have lower configurations, it may be financially more feasible to get a solution to match the configurations rather than upgrade the configurations of your machines. Again, if you operate on a small scale and do not have any IT staff, it is advisable to go in for a solution that provides good technical support and easy ways to upgrade your software installation.
Budget
To put in place an electronic document management system, you will need to purchase licenses based on the number of users who are likely to access the software concurrently. In the long term, your investment in an EDMS will result in tremendous savings when compared to managing paper-based documents. But which software you choose must definitely be based – in addition to the above factors – on how much your firm is ready to invest.and cost-effective document management system like GLOBODOX should be good enough.
There could be other factors unique to your organization influencing the choice of the right document management system for your business. It is advisable to consider all these factors before you begin your search. At ITAZ, we have designed our enterprise document management software GLOBODOX to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. GLOBODOX Standard even comes with the option to add Modules based on your particular requirement.
