Document Management Software

A look at how document management software improves the efficiency of business and save costs together with the benefits of this technology.

Way back in the dim and distance past (the mid-1970s to be more accurate) the dream of the paperless office was born. It was predicted that the increasing use of computers in the workplace would result in a revolution in the way documents were created and stored. By the 1990s it was expected that “electronic filing cabinets” would be ubiquitous and the world’s trees would no longer be mashed into pulp to provide material for our business and personal documentation.

Now, well into the 21^st century, only part of that prediction has come true. Computers have changed the world of work completely but, ironically, there has been a huge increase in the consumption of paper in the workplace and at home. People do seem reluctant to put their faith in  electronic documents and businesses continued  to print files to archive and fax in an ever increasing volume until 2007.

Now, finally, paper consumption is falling but only by 1% a year. As the volume of office documentation continues to increases exponentially and  green issues become more and more important to the reputation of companies,  it may well be time to revive the dream of the paperless office. The cost of hard-drive storage has plummeted – the cost of paper has rocketed!  In a recession-hit world this may be the final incentive we need.

A critical component of this move away from paper will be the use of Document Management Software to store and control our electronic documents.

What is Document Management Software used for?

The software is usually part of a larger suite of programs known as a Document Management System, which is intended to manage the huge numbers of electronic documents and document formats created by computer software in the modern office or enterprise. It is designed around three basic concepts:

1. Centralized Storage of Documents: In order to simplify the management of a large number of individual files the software must be capable of storing the data in a centralized location in order to simplify the searching and retrieval of the documents.
2. Controlled Access: Different levels of access permission for the individuals within the organisation must be allowed by the software.
3. Tracking Changes: In good document management software any editing of the stored documents must be tracked and attributable to individual users. Changes must be reversible too, so a history of such changes must be stored and a facility programmed in to allow the noting and reversal of changes, if required.

In brief, document management software must be capable of controlling the life cycle of your organization’s documents. It must provide control over how, and by whom, they are created, reviewed, and published, and how they are ultimately deleted  or stored.

The history of Document Management Software

Document management software has been around since the 80s when computers were starting to be used in most office environments. This software was initially designed to handle hard copy including printed documents and images, which were usually scanned and converted into a single format before being added to the system.

As the complexity of electronic documents increased the DMS had to evolve to deal with them. With the advent of the Internet documents were no longer confined to a single location or network but could be shared across the entire world. Keeping track of different versions of documents as they were created and evolved became a logistical nightmare for most companies and they turned to DMS to help solve this problem.

What kinds of Document Management Software is available?

There is now a baffling number of Document Management programs available  designed to capture, control and share both electronic and paper documents. The software is mostly intended for the Windows Operating System but some are available for Mac and Linux platforms. Prices also vary enormously from less than $100 for the most basic to many tens of thousands of dollars for the more sophisticated systems.

There is also an open-source, free DMS available, which should encourage us to start using electronic document management even in our small businesses and to move one step closer to the dream of the paperless office.

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