At their outset, many businesses might rely on familiar tools like spreadsheets and shared drives to manage documents. These solutions can work fine in the early stages when the volume of data is manageable, and the team is small. These simple solutions are often most desirable because they are (relatively) inexpensive and most employees are already familiar with them.
However, as the business grows, so does the complexity of managing data and the processes driven by that content. All too soon the inexpensive nature of those tools pales in comparison to the potential costs and lost revenue through their continued usage.
Forward thinking department managers might address the challenges being faced directly by their own employees (as the list of processing tasks grows) by implementing a specific or specialist solution, yet the remainder of the wider organisation may continue to struggle on. Without the rest of the business also optimising, the benefits of that single department’s efforts to improve will remain limited.
The Challenges with Spreadsheets and Shared Drives
Whilst a seemingly simple and cost effective solution to a business, there are issues relying on these tools.
- Limited Scalability: Spreadsheets and shared drives have limitations when it comes to handling large volumes of data. As the business grows, these tools can become cumbersome and inefficient. Global searches take time to sift through unstructured data and seek out content keywords - presenting potentially multiple unrelated results which in turn must be waded through.
- Version Control Issues: With multiple employees accessing and editing documents, maintaining version control becomes increasingly challenging. This can lead to confusion, errors, and wasted time trying to reconcile different versions of the same document. Worse still, it can lead to the wrong document being sent to clients, suppliers or even regulatory agencies.
- Security Risks: Spreadsheets and shared drives may lack robust security features, putting sensitive business data at risk of unauthorised access or data breaches. Even if they do feature security measures, these can be difficult and time consuming to manage especially as the volumes of data grow.
- Lack of Automation: Manual processes for organising and retrieving documents can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Without automation features, small businesses may struggle to keep up with the increasing demands of document management or the processes governed by those documents.
The Need for a More Robust Solution
As the business expands and the volume of data grows, businesses quickly realise the limitations of spreadsheets and shared drives. Yes these tools are inexpensive to implement but the employee time wasted trying to work with them as the volumes increase is not. To stay competitive and compliant, they need a more robust solution that can scale with their growing needs - enter a Document Management System (DMS) with process automation.
Transitioning to a Document Management System (DMS)
A DMS offers a comprehensive solution for managing documents efficiently and securely.- Fast Search and Retrieval: A DMS enables quick, efficient searching and retrieval of documents. Unlike spreadsheets and shared drives where locating a specific document can be time-consuming, these systems allow users to find files rapidly through keyword searches and defined metadata indexing. Predefined search criteria can also accelerate the process as well as limit (via security) the scope of results.
- Automated Workflows: A DMS streamlines business processes by automating workflows. This ensures that documents move through necessary approval and review stages seamlessly, reducing manual handling and increasing productivity compared to traditional methods.
- Version Control: Version control in DMS ensures that users always have access to the latest version of a document. It tracks changes, maintains a history of revisions, and prevents the confusion that can arise from multiple versions being stored in spreadsheets and shared drives. Auditing features also allow administrators to track who, when and how changes were made.
- Advanced Security Measures: Advanced security features in document management systems protect sensitive information from unauthorised access. These systems offer robust encryption, user authentication, and permissions management - which are typically lacking in basic shared drives and spreadsheets. Through centralised management and integration with existing security platforms (such as Active Directory / MS Entra ID), the act of effectively securing information is further simplified.
Many businesses won't see the issues created through inefficient document management until its too late - whether the increased storage costs, reduced productivity or even mounting compliance and legal issues caused by the inefficient nature of the tools. It is also true that often a single department within a business will adopt a DMS, however, other sections of the business continue with the original processes, not making use of the new tools readily available.
The greatest benefit will be seen within any organisation when a solution designed to optimise process is adopted for all employees, all departments and all sites.
So before your business gets swamped, why not talk to PacSol and find out how a document management system can enhance collaboration, improve productivity, protect document integrity and maintain data security across your organisation as a whole..
If you would like to know more, you can download our guide to the benefits of DMS here or make use of our free consultation session!
Toby Gilbertson, Director of Operations. May 2024
#PacSolUK #DocumentManagementSystem #BusinessProcessManagement #DigitalTransformation
