Evolution and Future of Document Software Solutions and Technology

Eight Technology Trends That Will Change the World

Enterprises generally use document software to standardize communications and unify corporate culture. Choosing the right solution requires you to consider the effect it will have on an organization’s collaboration capabilities and operational efficiency. The task of selecting the best document software solution also involves evaluating your organization’s current deficiencies in these areas and comparing them to each candidate solution’s capabilities. Furthermore, you also need to understand where document software is headed if the solution you choose is to have any longevity.

Overview

The ability to share digital documents is essential for collaboration in a modern enterprise. Document software also allows you to quickly locate documents even if you’re not in a typical corporate environment. This type of software may be classified into the following four categories:

Cloud
Web
Client server
Database

Any users with web access can use cloud-based solutions for document software. The most significant advantage of this type of solution is its highly scalable nature, meaning resources can easily be added or removed to accommodate changes in demand. A cloud-based platform for document software also requires less support from your IT department since the cloud provider performs the majority of support tasks.

You can also provide access to a web-based document solution with any internet browser. This document software solution is most useful when the most people in an organization work in satellite offices and need to connect with the corporate headquarters.

A client-server solution keeps document software on a single server, which allows multiple clients to access the software. The primary advantage of this solution is that it allows employees to access document software with a user-friendly interface.

Document software with a database package typically integrates with an organization’s existing database, allowing users to link to image files.

Document Software Evolution

Document technology has evolved rapidly during the last few decades, especially solutions intended for large enterprises. This technology originally focused on the basic management and printing of documents. The printed documents were then stored in physical filing cabinets. Documents dealing with business operations might be retained indefinitely, but those with sensitive information might be destroyed after a specified retention period. Security was limited to locks for the room and filing cabinet.

The widespread adoption of computer technology allowed document technology to evolve and have documents to be stored on servers, where they could be accessed through desktops and mobile devices. Today, documents are managed with dedicated document software that processes and disseminates information to a wide variety of recipients, including employees, customers, investors, vendors and the general public. Human resources personnel also rely heavily on document software when recruiting new employees.

Current Challenges for Document Software

Rapid changes in technology have created some challenges in document technology and management, especially for enterprises. The ever-increasing size of files and variety of storage formats mandates a need for frequent hardware upgrades, including greater bandwidth and server space. However, the need to accommodate growing requirements may be relatively minor in the case of cloud-based platforms, where infrastructure is easily scalable.

An organization’s IT department must also strive to stay ahead of hackers attempting to penetrate their networks, often for the specific purpose of accessing documents that contain sensitive information such as contracts and customer records. Continual training is one of the most effective solutions to this challenge, since hacking techniques such as phishing depend on poorly educated employees. Other types of malware may attempt to exploit document software that hasn’t been upgraded with the latest security features.

Document Software Capabilities

The best approach to making the case for a document software solution is to understand its capabilities for improving business processes. It’s also important to emphasize the ability of this software to manage documents through their entire life cycle, which typically begins with the creation of a dynamic template for a document design tool. Users also need to output documents to various devices such as printers, databases, email messages, fax machines and other workstations. Finally, document software must be able to store backups on disk.

A complete document software system also allows users to scan and store their signatures in a secure manner for use in formal documents such as contracts. The extremely sensitive nature of signatures requires organizations of all sizes to protect them with modern encryption that’s impractical to decrypt with brute-force methods. Many organizations also use document software to maintain images that need to appear on all documents, often for the purpose of providing uniformity and promoting the company’s image. Consistent images are particularly important for documents such as promotional materials requiring a logo and instruction manuals.

Print control is another common application of document software, which generally involves maintaining a centralized collection of print jobs for each department or individual employees. This capability provides benefits such as optimizing the transfer of print files and restricts toner usage. Additional advantages of print control include the ability to perform pre- and post-processing on output files. For example, users can group input files based on criteria such as file size or data within the document, which is commonly used for sorting files by customer name or zip code. Document software packages also need to generate output documents in many different formats such as HTML5, Label, PCL and PDF.

Document Software- Future Trends

The continuing improvement in efficiency should be the most significant trend in document technology for the near future. Document software will also continue to support the continuing changes in requirements for enterprises and their clients, especially shifts in workplace conditions. IT leaders will need to use business document solution providers that follow best practices for software development, which will become increasingly important for providing users in enterprises with a consistent experience. These factors will be essential for maximizing the return on investment (ROI) in document software for the foreseeable future.