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Seven EDM fundamentals that should not be compromised

One day last week, I declared to my family, “I want to eat out.” My husband replied that he wanted to eat in. So, I offered a compromise. We got take-out and ate it at home. Some situations are easily solved by compromise – with each side giving and taking.

Have you made any compromises recently, specifically in the office? Maybe you took the smaller office, but it has a great view. Or you attended the online conference, rather than making the trip across the country to that warm, sunny location. In a perfect world, we’d all get exactly what we want, but we’re usually settling for what the budget, resources, or time allows. However, there are some situations where brokering compromises just won’t cut it - like when choosing a document management system. The article, Electronic Document Management: Seven Fundamentals That Should Never Be Compromised, points out these basics that should not be compromised:

1. Ease of use. Is your electronic document management (EDM) software easy to use and access? Does it have a helpful Help feature? It’s important to make sure the people using the system every day are comfortable with it and know how to use it properly.
2. Security. Does your EDM software offer reliable security that can be adjusted as regulations and employees change? Does it restrict who can do what to the files stored in the system? Make sure your system is secure and that that security can be changed as time marches on.
3. Searchable content. Can you find what you are looking for in your EDM system quickly, accurately, and efficiently? If you can, great. If you can’t, why not? Was it not indexed correctly? Are the search features not dynamic enough for your needs? Make sure that what you put in the system you can quickly get back out of the system when you need it.
4. Scalability for current and future needs. Can the system you have meet all your current enterprise needs, across various departments? Now think about how your company will grow in the next several years. Will the system be able to keep up with that pace? You not only need to consider the EDM solution for what you have right now, but for where you envision you will be in the future.
5. Document retention/records management needs. Are you treating all your documents the same? Why keep frequently needed documents in the same place as those you never access and are only keeping because you legally have to? Your EDM system should be able to manage the lifecycle of your various files for you. It should store the files where it makes sense, and remove them when they are no longer needed according to their lifecycle specifications..
6. Email storage. Do you store and index important email in your EDM system? If not, how will you be able to search on and retrieve it if you need to for eDiscovery or other business purposes? It is vital to keep in mind that this type of communication should no longer be isolated in a local mail file on someone’s PC somewhere. It needs to be accessible along with all of your other important business information.
7. Ease of administration and support. Is your EDM system yet another monolith that your IT department has to manage? Or, is it easy to administer changes to the system and get support from the vendor when it is needed? Make sure that your EDM implementation is easy to implement, manage, and maintain for your IT staff.

Bottom line:

The importance of the seven points discussed above should not be overlooked when you are preparing for an EDM solution. For more details on these points and more, please refer to the article in its entirety.

Talk with us:

Is you have any questions about these seven points or are ready to take the next step in implementing an electronic document management system, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We’ve been working with companies to manage their documents and files since 1986. We can help.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration, please Contact DocFinity now.