Document Management is considered a new
art, even though some of us have been doing it for over ten years.
Simply defined, Document Management systems perform the same functions as
filing cabinets, but with the following added functionalities:
+ Multiple users can view the same item at the same time.
+ Document's can be any electronic file: images, sounds, video, fax, e-mail, etc.
+ Multiple levels of
indexing and potentially an unlimited number of index fields.
+ Ability to
route document sets through a "Workflow".
+ Ability to prevent more than one person from updating a document at a time. (Document Locking during Edit)
+ Less likelihood of loosing documents.
+ Less time spent searching for documents.
+ Ability to track dates and users who "version" documents.
Other than that, it’s just like a file cabinet. Users check things in and check things out of the document database (Docbase).
In short, electronic document management systems save the company or organization
time spent working with and searching for paper documents, and
money spent managing all of the paper (copying, faxing, etc.). A traditional file cabinet costs $2000 per year in time spent filing and finding documents.
EDMS
Consultants help organizations design all aspects of the system from infrastructure to indexing schema to client views and custom reports.
There are several packages which perform Document Management (and usually include
Workflow Management) functions. These include Documentum, VisiFLOW, LiveLink, and others. Most of these products are established and stable.
A new offering on the market is
ASP (Application Service Provider) Document Management. CyLex offers these services based on Documentum's engine. This allows the client to take advantage of the Document Management Software without having to pay for a full implementation. they pay by the document or by access.