What is Document Management?

Electronic document management is the process of organizing both paper and electronic files to manage accessibility, security and document integrity. Document management software is used to accomplish this by allowing an organization to store documents in "document repositories" and give users appropriate access to those documents. These repositories help individuals and work groups share information which has been created by different people in an organization, regardless of the original document format.

Electronic document management provides an easy method for managing and sharing information electronically – for the employee who creates the document, for peers who edit it, for the manager who shared it with other departments, and for the University of St. Thomas leadership for making decisions.  An electronic document management system ensures that paper documents are not misplaced, misfiled, or printed unnecessarily. It prevents two people from editing an electronic record simultaneously by checking out the document and tracking revisions. In the case of a disaster, document management systems ensure that critical business documents are recovered.

The more contemporary use of an electronic document management system usually involves electronic production, storage and retrieval of documents, management of files, and providing secure access to those who have clearance. Our system (Optix) has the ability to manage typical documents such as text files or scanned copies of paper documents but also includes audio and video files, emails, faxes, reports, photos, fonts, graphics and other images.

There are many reasons to use the electronic document management system. If properly deployed the organization should realize some of the following benefits:

• Find Information: Documents are currently stored on a variety of media - in a variety of places. Simply finding what you're looking for can be challenging and time consuming.
• Share Information: Multiple access to the same information; workflow documents for approval, etc.
• Eliminate Lost Documents: Employee turnover, frequent access and/or disasters can result in missing documents.
• Reduce Storage Costs: Expensive floor space used to store paper files can be used for more valuable purposes.
• Reduce Document Retrieval times: A search engine takes retrieval times from hours to seconds.
• Eliminate Document Deterioration: Scanned documents can be affordably and safely stored, once a digital image has been captured for daily use.
• Control Access to Information: Security levels ensure only people with permission to access a certain document can do so.
• Version Controls: Version controls allow for many different versions to be created, managed and presented.
• Audit Controls: Manage who has approved and / or accessed documents.
• Notification: Automatically notify affected parties when a document has been changed.
• Manage Increasing Loads on Servers: It's so easy to create documents these days! Servers are filling up with information, making it difficult to find relevant documents, and expensive to manage irrelevant content.
• Improve Access to Information: Search engines allow people to find documents related to areas of interest - even when they didn't know the document existed. This improves the quality of decisions.
• Corporate Records: Electronic documents are now Corporate Records (admissible in court) provided a proper Document Management system is in place.

What are the components of an Electronic Document Management System?

• Scanning 
• Document Tracking 
• Workflow
• Application Integration
• Email
• Search Engines
• Legacy Application Enablement
• Computer output to laser disc (COLD)

What is Workflow?

• The physical flow of work (traditionally paper-based) through an organization
• Workflow management is the ability to support and track the flow of documents and work through an organization
• Workflow captures and implements the business rules as they relate to computer generated or tracked information

What is Legacy Application Enablement?

• Image enable legacy applications (mainframe and desktop applications)
• Bi-directional communication with legacy applications

What is COLD?

• Computer generated documents stored and shared electronically
• Take advantage of existing technology, legacy mainframe applications, to generate the documents
• COLD solutions are:
  

  - Easily accessible (LAN access)
  - Easily distributed (email, web)
  - Eliminate offsite storage requirements
  - Cost effective