Reduced Storage
The cost of commercial property and the need to store documentation for e.g. retrieval, regulatory compliance means that paper based document storage competes with people for space within an organization. Scanning documents and integrating them into a document management system can greatly reduce the amount of prime storage space required by paper. It also allows any documents that still have to be stored as paper to be stored in less expensive locations.
Flexible Retrieval
Our eDMS creates electronic images of documents and stores them centrally. Less time is spent locating the documents as they can be retrieved without leaving a desk. eDMS users can also access other systems available from the desktop at the same time as retrieving documents. With paper-based solutions documents are often removed from storage and taken back to the desk to access other systems (which can lead to loss, prevents others finding the same file, can be viewed by others).
Flexible Indexing
Indexing paper in more than one way can be done, but it is awkward, costly and time-consuming. Images of documents stored within the eDMS can be indexed in several different ways simultaneously.
Improved, faster and more flexible search
Our eDMS can retrieve files by any word or phrase in the document - known as full text search - a capability that is impossible with paper. Our eDMS can also apply single or multiple categorizations to a document of folder that allow documents to be classified and stored in more than one way from a single instance something which is not possible with paper.
Controlled and Improved Document distribution
Imaging made easy in our eDMS to share documents electronically with colleagues and clients over a network, by email or via the Web in a controlled manner. Paper documents usually require photocopying to be shared. This provides a cost saving by reducing the overheads associated with paper based document distribution, such as printing and postage and removes the typical delay associated with providing hard copy information.
Improved Security
Our eDMS can provide better, more flexible control over sensitive documents. Access to documents can be controlled at the folder and/or document level for different groups and individuals. Paper documents stored in a traditional filing cabinet or filing room have the same level of security i.e. if you have access to the cabinet you have access to all items in it. It also provides an audit trail of who viewed an item, when or who modified an item and when, which is difficult to maintain with paper based systems. It also removes the possibility of having confidential material or trade secrets lying around unattended in an office.
Disaster Recovery
Our eDMS provides an easy way to back-up documents for offsite storage and disaster recovery providing failsafe archives and an effective disaster recovery strategy. Paper is a bulky and expensive way to back-up records and is vulnerable to fire, flood, vandalism, theft and other 'Acts of God'
No Lost Files
Lost documents can be expensive and time-consuming to replace. However in our eDMS, imaged documents remain centrally stored when being viewed, so none are lost or misplaced. New documents are less likely to be incorrectly filed and even if incorrectly stored can be quickly and easily found and moved via the full-text searching mechanisms.
Digital Archiving
Keeping archival versions of documents helps protect paper documents, which still have to be retained, from over-handling and keeps electronic documents in a non-proprietary and native format, such as Microsoft Word or Excel.
Improved Cash Flow
The increased productivity of processing document-based processes such as invoices, debt collection and other "cash critical" business documents, ensures that the flow of cash can be controlled centrally and all documentation required making cash flow decisions can be accessed immediately.