Document Management Systems

A gradual rollout works best

Take things step-by-step and implement DMS in one department to begin with

Document Management Systems or DMS can transform the way SMBs operate particularly those that handle lots of paper-based documents. Couriering forms and other documents across locations is a slow and inefficient process in today’s connected world. When you consider that even the conservative Indian Banking system has adopted a variation of DMS for transmitting scanned check images for speedy clearing, it is obvious that the technology has quite a lot to offer.

A good DMS will help scan documents, index the electronic files created in the process, and allow you to transmit them across the network to distant locations where they can be acted upon right away instead of the days that it would take for a physical document to make the round trip.

So far, this technology domain has been a grey area for SMBs for quite some time as their business volumes are too small to justify the cost of a DMS deployment. However, as medium businesses grow, they will find these systems to be of use. Companies that have been all electronic on ERP and other enterprise systems will not need DMS but most companies come to ERP etc late in the day and any customer facing business will have to deal with paper documents. That is where DMS can help.

Documents and images can be scanned and stored in electronic format at a centralized location—giving SMBs a tighter control on unauthorized access, help them plan for disaster recovery and automated or improve business process workflows and in the process saves money. A DMS takes care of indexing, search and retrieval and managing centralized storage of scanned data.

A DMS can be software-only or a software application that works with one or more MFDs to manage documents.

While SMBs may eventually want a comprehensive, company-wide DMS, it is recommended that they start by implementing a solution for one application in one department. It’s much easier to get management support for a new effort that only affects a single department at a lower cost. Tackling one problem at a time also makes installation less disruptive. By starting with one department and seeing if it brings operational value or benefits to the organization, it becomes easier to identify other areas where a DMS can help.

Once it’s been implemented and proved its worth, SMBs can expand the solution to multiple departments or processes depending upon their IT budgets. The success of the first, smaller solution leads to greater support for a more significant investment later. Additionally a full-scale, enterprise-class document management system can be an expensive and time-consuming platform to implement, and many high-end products focus on high-end storage and workflow features that many smaller businesses do not need.

SMBs have a choice of DMS solutions from Xerox, Canon, Sharp, Oracle, EMC and Adobe.

DMS

Adobe Acrobat Pro 9

Features: SMBs can unify content in a single organized PDF Portfolio, collaborate through electronic document reviews, create and manage dynamic forms and help protect sensitive information. Acrobat 9 Pro includes Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES software for form creation. It converts documents to PDF with one-button ease from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher, as well as Autodesk AutoCAD and Lotus Notes. Price: Rs 22,000 per user (approx.) Contact: Prabhjeet Singh Telephone: +91-98102-74546 E-mail: prsingh@adobe.com Website: adobe.com

Canon uniFlow Output Manager

Features: The solution supports secure printing, remote tracking, desktop accounting and automatic job routing. With a Canon MFD enabled with uniFLOW, confidential documents do not get lost at public printers. The uniFLOW Output Manager can be integrated with biometric devices such as fingerprint sensors; card readers using contact-less and magnetic cards; and keyboard PIN identification. It is also a Remote Print Server, which allows administrators and managers to track print usage in remote areas. Price: Starting from Rs 1,36,300 Contact: Jaspreet Singh Telephone: +91-98101-20026 E-mail: Jaspreet.singh@canon.co.in Website: canon.co.in

EMC eRoom SMB Edition

Features: This Web-based collaborative workspace(s) helps SMB teams share information, manage projects, and achieve on-time delivery of quality products, services, and supporting materials. It has a browser-based interface and user-defined dashboards. Price: Approx Rs 3,500 Contact: Praveen Sahai Telephone: +91-80-6622-5049 E-mail: Sahai_Praveen@emc.com Website: emc.com

HP Digital Sending Software 4.0

Features: The solution uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert documents from image files to searchable text files in popular formats, including searchable PDF, Microsoft Word, Text and HTML files. Documents can also be converted into XML, for integration into third-party content management applications. LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) support enhances the embedded send to e-mail capability of HP multifunction and standalone digital sending devices, giving access to the company’s directory for information such as e-mail addresses and distribution lists. Price: Rs 15,000 onwards Contact: Seema Dawar Telephone: +91-124-2726-285 E-mail: seema.dawar@hp.com Website: hp.com

Oracle Universal Content Management

Features: It is a unified enterprise content management platform that leverages document management, Web content management, digital asset management, and records retention functionality to build and complement one’s business applications. The unified architecture helps in securely managing documents, files, Web content and digital assets. Price: Starting from Rs 1,14,425 per user + software update license and support Telephone: +91-80-4029-1180 / 4029-1178 / 4029-1176 / 4029-1173 E-mail: oracleindia_in@oracle.com Website: oracle.com

Sharp sharpdesk

Features: It is an easy to use desktop-based, personal document management application that lets users browse, edit, search, compose, process, and forward both scanned and native electronic documents. It helps in the creation and distribution of proposals, reports and more using drag and drop. It also features ICT (Image Compression Tool) that reduce Image file sizes from 8 MB to approximately 800 KB. These software drivers are available with all of Sharp’s MFDs. Price: Starts at Rs 30,000 Contact: Kishalay Ray Telephone: +91-11-4666-5454 E-mail: kray@sharp-oa.com Website: sbsil.com