Unity in corporate culture and in communications, both internally and externally, is a worthy goal that IT department heads and specialists strive for. In order to develop a system that helps the company work with documents more efficiently, enterprise organizations will typically deploy document software.
Now, if you’re tasked with bringing standardization into your corporate environment, it’s useful to review the nature of document software, the evolution of document technology and the typical business applications involved.
What is Document Software?
Today, document software is used by companies to create, organize, store, process, safeguard and distribute documents in a standardized way for unified communications. It serves to help put everyone “on the same page”, to efficiently communicate with Clients, and it will enable you, among a wide range of options, to search for documents and call them up instantly from wherever you are in your corporate environment or while out in the field. After all, sharing digital documents is key for fostering collaboration among your ranks.
There are many classification criteria for document software technology. Most organizations prefer to specify four main types:
- Client Server: The possibility for your employees to be able to access and operate with user-friendly interfaces is one of the major benefits of client server document software setups.
- Web: In this scenario, the organization provides desktop and laptop computers access to their document software using a standard web browser. This is particularly useful when you have people working in satellite offices and are looking for a fast deployment to connect everyone with headquarters.
- Cloud: Cloud computing based solutions for document software require much less work from the company’s internal IT department, since the cloud provider’s team is handling the brunt of it. This means you are offering software as a service where members of the team can work together so long as they have a connection to the Internet.
- Database: A database package will typically integrate with whatever database structure you are using. It will link images and data.
The Evolution of Document Technology
Document technology didn’t just show up fully formed on the doorsteps of major enterprise companies. It’s useful to consider the evolution of document technology when weighing how its deployment would impact efficiency and collaboration in your own organization.
The earliest forms of document technology were actually focused on document management and simple print jobs, involving metal filing cabinets used to store printed documents that the company must keep on hand for a given period (such as maintain records for legal and tax purposes) as well as to control day-to-day operations. Security would consist of locks on cabinets and the doors to the file rooms.
With the widespread adoption of computers and networking, document technology extends from servers (in-house or via a cloud services provider) to the smallest of smart-phones and tablets used by employees out in the field.
Today, robust, dedicated software for designing, generating, storing, indexing, processing and sharing documents is streamlining business operations. Enterprises use the latest in document technology to facilitate easier communication and collaboration as well as to process and disseminate information simultaneously in a wide variety of formats to vendors, customers, investors, the public and the press. It’s also invaluable for human resources’ efforts in reaching out and recruiting new employees. The possibilities are, nearly, endless.
Business Applications for Document Software
It’s easier to make a case to stakeholders for installing document software when you have a better idea of the various business applications that are involved.
It is important to highlight thatdocument software involves the complete life-cycle of documents. That is, end users typically require a document design tool to get started in creating a dynamic template for the end-document. Then, there needs to be a common way for all people to output their files, which may be to a printer for hard copy generation, to a database, to another workstation, etc., as well as for backup storage on disks and to send the material via email, fax in a range of formats, depending on the business requirements.
Furthermore, a complete document software system will enable employees and Clients to safely and securely scan and store their own signatures for use in formal documents such as contracts and ironclad non-disclosure agreements. Since this information is so sensitive, the signatures must be protected with proper encryption for deployments in places ranging from small-to-medium business establishments to large, multinational enterprises.
In many cases, organizations maintain sets of image files that they want employees to use exclusively. This is to control the company’s image and to achieve uniformity in the photos and drawings that it uses to support various documents, from instruction manuals to promotional emails requiring a logo.
Another, typical, application is that of print optimization and control. That is, document software allows companies to maintain centralized control over performed print jobs per office and employee, restrict toner usage, optimize transfers of print files, etc.
Document software provides additional value when it comes to pre-processing and post-processing of these files. For example, users can categorize the input files according to criteria such as size or certain data (such as ZIP code sorting or by client names).
As to the output, one of the main applications of document software is that of generating print output, in a variety of formats. However, today, a wide variety of print output formats and channels are supported, from the typical PDF output, Label and PCL print files, to HTML5.
Document Technology Challenges, Looking Forward
As is the case in any other evolving technology, you can expect there will be challenges with document technology going forward.
Larger file sizes and the growing number of stored documents that companies will inevitably hold onto will require periodic expansion of the underlying technology, from server space to bandwidth. For those relying on cloud deployments, meeting these growing needs should be fairly trivial, since the work will be outsourced to the cloud computing provider.
And IT professionals will need to stay one step ahead of criminal hackers bent on penetrating their networks and accessing proprietary and sensitive documents, such as intellectual property, contracts and customer records.
Training is crucial here, since employees who are knowledgeably about their security obligations will be better able to withstand phishing attempts and other malware activity designed to compromise the document software, in addition to being able to take full advantage of all the software´s features.
Improved efficiency is a major goal of organizations planning on setting up a document technology system and the dedicated software that supports it. Document software will naturally evolve in response to shifting workplace conditions, the needs of enterprises, and their Clients.
This is why IT leaders will want to work with a software developer and provider that follows best practices and offers modern software that guarantees continuity. Those are the factors that will ensure that you get the best return on your document software technology investment.
Resources:
- Business 2 Community: 7 Powerful Advantages of Using a Document Management System
- Webopedia: Document Management
- Information Week: Seven Steps to IT Transformation
André Klein
Freelance Consultant for DocPath