What is Document Management?

Document management refers to the set of tools, technologies and processes used to capture, store, manage, preserve, and dispose of documents across an enterprise. This includes the management of the documents’ content (data) which composes these documents and the metadata that describes them.

Implementing a document management system requires planning, educating and purchasing the appropriate software tools. It requires assessing workflows and identifying areas that can be improved to make them more efficient.

Document managers help an organization to keep track of and categorize information so that it’s easily accessible to employees. It can be used to create documents, manage and store different kinds of documents, such as standard operating procedures reports, contracts, invoices, certificates, spreadsheets, emails, and more.

It’s important to inform all stakeholders of the document and give them the opportunity to read the document prior to it being approved. This is where document management systems come in: They offer a central place where comments and suggestions can be shared, eliminating Learn More the necessity of lengthy email chains. Stakeholders can comment on specific issues such as marketing compliance, wording, tone, spelling, etc.

After the document is reviewed and approved after which the document can be uploaded into the database. All internal stakeholders will then have access to the document. Depending on the software, document management systems could automatically notify all relevant users once the document has been uploaded, so that they can start the review process.