There are several reasons why we hear terms related to document management in companies more and more often, but the arrival of Covid-19 and with it the introduction of safety measures in companies to minimize paper generation and avoid sharing paper have made projects to bring in a document manager a priority in companies already.
But a document manager is far more than a repository that lets companies digitize all their documents and reach the goal of zero paper. That is one of its features too, but that is just it, one of its many capabilities.
So a business document manager or “Enterprise Content Manager” (ECM) allows not only the digital storage of the company’s documents, but also the administration and management of all the information relating to the company, whatever its format, making it easier to access from anywhere according to each employee’s permissions.
That is why document management is the first stage towards the digital transformation of companies and organizations. It is a fundamental area for achieving success and meeting the challenges imposed by the need to digitize business processes.
A document manager lets you:
- Organizing and making it easier to search all the company’s documents through the use of metadata
- Defining the workflow or document management between the company’s different departments or employees.
- Assign roles and permissions for reading and managing documents.
- Automating work processes by creating work flows.
What are the main benefits a document manager brings to companies?
- Having a centralized repository, which removes the risk of misfiled documents, duplicates or loss.
- Higher productivity, by providing fast, secure access to information, making it easier to search and reach without wasting time.
- Cost savings, by reducing or removing the costs of filing, printing, consumables, photocopiers and the space to keep the documentation in.
- Improved ROI, since cutting costs improves results
- Sustainability: by cutting paper consumption they contribute to protecting the environment and to sustainable development.
- Security, since it gives you full control of the company’s information by assigning profiles and permissions to users.
- Time optimization: having all the documentation in a single repository and under the same rules for describing, creating, classifying, capturing, etc. makes it easier to search for and retrieve documents, optimizing working time across the whole company.
- Collaborative work: with a document manager companies can manage the traceability and audit of all their work processes.
- Mobility: most document managers are 100% web responsive, which lets you access documents from any fixed or mobile device.
Which is the best document manager for business?
Without a doubt, Alfresco is currently the best document manager for business for many reasons, but let us highlight some of them:
- Alfresco complies with the ISO standards on describing and managing documentation, including documentation that is already electronic (ISO 15489 – ISO 27001 – ISO 30300 – ISO 30301, National Security Framework, National Interoperability Framework, Act 11/2007)
- Alfresco complies with the Data Protection Act through controlled access to the repository.
- It is open source, which allows the continuous updates and improvements made by its very large group of developers to be incorporated.
- It is a cloud-native ECM system, so it lets you manage content and connect information with users from anywhere
- It allows applications to be accessed from any device.
- It has an excellent app for iOS and Android
- It is compatible with leading productivity applications, such as Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Outlook, Salesforce, etc.
- It has a wide range of integrations and ready-made solutions from the Alfresco partner community, such as SAP and AutoCAD.
- It has open APIs and unmatched compatibility with open standards, including CMIS, CIFS and WebDAV.
- Large companies and major public bodies have chosen Alfresco, such as NASA, the Catalan Tax Agency, Estrella Galicia, Oxford University, Cisco, etc.
At Promoment Consulting we are Alfresco developers and implementers; if your company needs more information, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.