With virtual meetings becoming more commonplace in today’s global community, it’s never been more important to enable easier and more effective online collaboration utilizing the cloud. Working across geographically diverse locations and accommodating more and more telecommuters is impractical, if not completely impossible, if your business processes still rely on paper files for information dissemination, input, review and approvals.
With the assistance of an online document management, collaboration and messaging platform you and your colleagues can view and share documents, make changes and automatically save and store each version using an Internet connection. This allows multiple users in different departments — even different countries — to instantly collaborate.
The ability to manage and process documents through a web-based software application allows teams to streamline the process of reviewing, editing, and securing appropriate approvals.
Ideas and data and can be exchanged quickly and efficiently, thus eliminating the need for time-consuming office meetings, back and forth email correspondence, interoffice mail, overnight express, or courier services.
Users can communicate clearly and concisely with colleagues by inserting detailed notes and messages directly linked to individual documents or processes. This information is stored with the document; not lost in a trail of emails that need to be manually searched. Doesn’t that make more sense?
Users can add documents to the business processes as needed so that all documents related to any given task are grouped together logically and conveniently.
With this type of seamless workflow, you can create and automate business processes that coordinate between people, applications, and services.
Uploading and Storing Documents in a Folder is Not Online Document Management
While it is tempting to use free or very low cost web applications to solve your document management challenges – these are not viable solutions. File storage folders, while on the web, provide Internet access and storage but they do not provide a structured and controlledmethod of uploading and indexing documents for easy retrieval by a diverse group of users.
Picture this: One worker uploads a contract document file named ABC Company 2011 Contract. Does anyone else know how to find that document? What if someone edits that version and renames it ABC Company 2011 Contract_edits and someone else edits it and names it ABC Company 2011 Contract_pp.
Does anyone know how to find the correct or final version?
What if you were able to query using more information? If the file had been uploaded identifying Contract Name, Contract or Document Type, Contract Date, Status, Originator, or Contract Officer, it would be possible to search and quickly retrieve documents using any or all of this or other Meta information; ensuring your team is collaborating on the correct version of the document.
Additionally you would be able to see the previous versions, located in one central location further improving your overall process.
Stop Relying on Emails For Document Histories!
E-mail trails are not reliable document histories. Using secure online collaboration that tracks the collaboration creates a logical and more importantly, certified history of every document and a fully compliant audit trail including date, time and user access data.
Think how much more efficient if would be not to have to scroll through endless emails with their “forwards,” “cc’s”, or “bcc’s when trying to track who’s done what — to which version of a document or file.
With dynamic online document management, all vital document history information is captured, recorded, and tracked automatically.
Eliminate Workflow Bottlenecks
With secure online access, you can instantly check any workflow tasks, alleviating the potential for process “bottlenecks” that might result in unacceptable delays. Notifications will alert you and your colleagues when there are new or pending tasks to complete or documents to review and approve.
This will help you stay on task and reduce the possibility of missing important deadlines.
Once you cross over from file storage to “document management” you will wonder what took you so long!
