The need:
Searching for information in papers is extremely time consuming and cumbersome. Keeping documents neatly organised in a safe environment requires dedicated space as well as expenses in the form of fire fighting equipment, air conditioning, etc. Sharing of paper documents is inconvenient and leads to unnecessary duplication (applies to e-documents also). Thus, de-centralised document management unnecessarily consumes valuable administrative time and adds to the expenses. This creates a void for an integrated document management solution which is addressed to by the various products from document management providers.
Benefits
Centralised document management solutions are extremely advantageous as they save administrative time while also cutting the costs. Centralised e-documents can be shared and exchanged without duplication. Some document management providers also offer access to documents via web browsers which is extremely convenient for information exchange on the move. Role based password access adds to the security of your sensitive documents. Most document management solutions address critical issues which would be very time consuming otherwise e.g. disaster recovery, retention period, archiving, authentication and many more. Overall, the right document management solution will help, namely:-
- increase staff productivity
- decrease replication
- facilitate seamless and instant availability documented information
- improved customer service
- better collaboration
Related Terms
Document management solutions have overlapping concepts with Enterprise content management as well as Digital Asset Management. The name of the right tool for your needs would differ as per the document management provider you choose. | 
