Electronic document management systems obviously provide storage and security but also have the added cost saving benefits of filing and retrieval capabilities. Cost savings is realized through the amount of employee time that is literally slashed when the burdensome task of paper filing and retrieving is streamlined. Companies have reported saving thousands of employee hours while increasing productivity, client communication and satisfaction. With new digital systems in place a company can gain limitless virtual document storage thus eliminating the need for costly physical storage.

Once completed a document management and storage system intentionally has a streamlined simple presence. However there are a number of components that exist that allow the user to operate at peak efficiency. From capturing to publishing and everything in between, managing electronic documents has become vital for nearly every industry.

At the heart of document management is the ability to capture paper, whether it be text, pictures, receipts, plants, drawings, you name it. The ability to capture paper is accomplished using scanners that convert paper to a digital image. That digital image can also be captured in such a way as to allow the image to have computer readable text through the use of optical character recognition.

Next there is the integration of the documents directly into existing applications. This allows users to retrieve existing documents from a repository where they can make and save changes. A document management system simply must utilize integration in order to impart the user friendly capabilities of an electronic filing system. After all, if it’s not user friendly then it just won’t be beneficial.

This brings up the next component of electronic filing; retrieval capabilities. All the capturing and filing in the world won’t amount to a scintilla of time savings if, when the user is searching, the document cannot be retrieved. Inside the inner workings of a good retrieval system is the critically important indexing component. Indexing supports retrieval and allows the user to search for and extract words.

Secure storage of electronic documents can also significantly reduce expenses especially when disaster strikes. Having electronic documents gives peace of mind. Knowing that your company could continue to operate following a natural disaster might not mean all that much until you have experienced the out and out devastation that occurs when all your information is lost as a result of a fire or flood. It’s called ‘peace of mind’ and the value is immeasurable.

For those of you who remember the first time you used a fax machine you will understand how the age of electronics took business on a quantum leap in terms of communication. Sure, that was a huge leap but the one that followed quietly overshadowed its predecessor and has literally redefined the way business is conducted. Electronic documents that can now be sent in seconds via email have all but made fax machines obsolete.
As digital data becomes the standard in business practice one can only ask; “what can possibly be on the horizon?” How much farther can we reach?

Author Bio: Inception Technologies offers electronic document management systems to meet all needs and budgets. Whether you need document storage, or document management solutions, we have what you need.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: electronic document management systems,document storage,document management solutions