July 15, 2022 -
Document management is a tricky thing. While management may believe files are stored digitally and easy to access for those who need them, the rank-and-file who sift through the rank files will likely tell you a different story. Studies find that sorting through documents to find what your team needs adds up to over 21.3% of all productivity loss, and professionals take an average of 18 minutes to find each document they need.
To understand the complexity of a successful document management system is to realize it’s not about a location but a framework understood as a workflow. Indeed found the top four reasons to implement a DMS are for quicker access, better record-keeping, enhanced security, and fewer geographic restrictions.
So, to boil down all that is DMS into a digestible, bite-sized piece, this blog will answer three key questions:
What is a Document Management System (DMS)?
To put it incredibly simply, a document management system, or DMS for short (in case that wasn’t clear by now), is an electronic filing cabinet for any large organization that serves as the framework to sort, store, and provide access for any digital documents, copies of originals, and much, much more. Think, literally any document.
Most DMS’ on the market will come standard with certain features, and here is a list of what to expect from a good DMS:
- Document Storage:
Probably the most obvious – a document management system like SharePoint will be able to store documents.
- Keyword Search:
Tag documents with keywords and simply enter queries into the search bar to find what you need.
- Permissioned Access:
Bar prying eyes from the stuff they don’t need and preventing anyone from viewing or editing wildly.
- Monitoring Tools:
Monitor who in your company is accessing what documents, an essential security feature for any DMS.
- Edit History & Restoration:
See who has edited any given document and recall old versions of documents to see who did what.
- Auto-Delete Outdated Documents:
SharePoint is a DMS that comes with regulation controls for automatic saves and deletion to free up storage space.
- Mobile Access:
Access and work on your company’s documents through your mobile device from anywhere in the world.
What is Microsoft SharePoint?
SharePoint is Microsoft’s version of a super-powerful DMS in the form of an online content management tool. SharePoint allows your team to store files in the cloud to be used as needed for collaborative work while decluttering tasks by creating sites and subsites to declutter tasks from their to-do lists.
The service enables your team to create an intranet where they can work together for just about any purpose – securely. Centralized administrative roles and controls allow you to manage access to everything while also seeing who’s touched what and when.
Above and beyond what a normal DMS is expected to do, SharePoint is also able to:
- Share files directly with internal and external users.
- Manage project content (think images, articles, source codes, videos, etc.)
- Stay in touch with each collaborator through communication subsites.
- Utilize a mobile app to access team or communication sites from anywhere.
- Create workflows and reminders to automate projects and tasks.
Why is SharePoint the Best DMS?
Not only does Microsoft provide robust updates and changes regularly, but this simple productivity tool can change how your business gets things done. Here’s a list of SEVEN whole reasons we think SharePoint is the best:
- Collaboration.
SharePoint is highly flexible and scalable with collaboration on internal or external resources. Your team can work on a single file in a real-time scenario without facing any lag on the documents.
- Content Management.
Those tasked with content management can easily work on multiple projects – like events, news, and blogs – all once on SharePoint. Recall previous versions or check to see who did what in the past.
- Project Management.
While there may be too many to list here, SharePoint’s ability to function as centralized storage for all project-related documents and deliverable files truly makes it stand out. Log task activities and changes and any issues that resources report, track task timing and even change tracking data.
- Hybrid Solutions.
We’re very aware of how hybrid solutions are becoming more and more the answer. SharePoint is flexible and syncs, integrates, and publishes alongside the entire Microsoft 365 suite.
Resources on hybrid work:
- Cost Effectiveness.
Consider this: You could already be paying for SharePoint without using it. Instead, start with SharePoint to avoid unnecessary costs on useless or redundant tools.
- Securing Data.
SharePoint comes with advanced security features that authenticate users and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.
- Scalability.
Budget your cost towards productivity tools with straightforward scalability. An inflow of too many projects? Change your subscription to accommodate more resources and projects. When projects slow down again, switch to low-price plans.
Conclusion
Microsoft SharePoint isn’t the golden gun that’s going to make all of your business’ problems go away overnight… But it can probably make a good number of them either more manageable or even better, it could change how you do business entirely.
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Photo by David Bruno Silva on Unsplash