It’s that time again, to plan a summer vacation. Ahh, that time away from work when we refresh out batteries and enjoy life. But before we begin there is always planning to be done. You start by deciding on the destination, accommodations and itinerary. Next, it is time to create a check list of things to bring. Clothes? Check. Sun glasses? Check. Suntan lotion, beach towels and beach umbrella? Check, check and check. Document management system? Wait…what?
If you are going to be taking a break from the office it is important that you also plan for those who will be carrying out your responsibilities while you are away. What better way to do this than by organizing all of your information into a document management system. You may also consider adding workflow to improve the movement of information and analytics to provide valuable feedback.
Think about having a single solution that will store all of your company’s documents. Paper, emails, Word and Excel files, photos, you name it. Now also imagine that all of these documents are protected through security, and organized in a manner that allows anyone with the proper credentials to locate and view an image in a second or two. Now, let’ put this system in the cloud so people can have access regardless of where they are and what device they are using.
Sound good so far? What do you say we deploy a system that never needs a break, or never takes a vacation? A system that can always be depended on to protect your data, and be available when you need it. Let’s throw in some intelligence. A system that understands your records policies and can delete images when your requirements are met. One that can route information to the proper departments and people based on information contained in the documents. A system that is configured to your exact needs and can deliver predictive analytics to assist you in making forward thinking business decisions.
So where do you find all of this? Well, it is a document management system, sometimes referred to as an Enterprise Content Management system. A solution that includes advanced document capture, workflow and analytics. Organizations are installing these systems every day. And the beauty of a solution like this is it works when other do not. It continues to process data, sends reminders to users and shares information with other systems. All day, every day.
So, go ahead and take your vacation. Relax on the beach with an umbrella drink. There is no need to worry about work while you are gone. Your Enterprise Content Management system is doing your job for you while your away.
Jack Arnston is a Principal at The Priton Group. He can be reached at jarnston@pritongroup.com.