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Document Management System (DMS) is No Longer a Luxury, it’s a Necessity

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The air in Ms. Patel’s law office was thick with the scent of old paper and desperation. Mountains of files, some yellowed with age and others precariously balanced, threatened to avalanche at any moment. Sarah, a young paralegal, scurried through the labyrinth, her brow furrowed. “Ms. Patel, I can’t find the Johnson case deposition anywhere!” she exclaimed, frustration lacing her voice.
Ms. Patel, a seasoned lawyer with a mane of silver hair and a gaze that could pierce through steel, sighed. Yet another casualty of their archaic filing system. “Just keep looking, Sarah. We need it for the hearing tomorrow.” The search continued, Sarah weaving through the jungle of folders, each one a potential time bomb of missing documents. Hours bled into one another, and as dawn painted the sky, defeat hung heavy in the air. The Johnson case deposition remained missing.
The hearing was a disaster. Ms. Patel, a formidable lawyer in her field, was forced to improvise, her case weakened by the missing piece. Later, slumped in her office, Ms. Patel faced the harsh reality – their system was failing them.
“We need a change, Sarah,” she declared, her voice resolute. “A document management system (DMS) is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.”
The transition wasn’t easy. Skepticism ran deep, especially among the old guard. “We’ve always managed with paper,” grumbled Mr. Jones, a senior partner. But Ms. Patel persisted. She organized training sessions, highlighting the benefits of a DMS – faster document retrieval, improved organization, secure storage, and enhanced collaboration.
The first few weeks were bumpy, but slowly, a digital oasis began to bloom. Files were scanned and uploaded, meticulously tagged and categorized. The team marveled at the ease of retrieval. A simple keyword search replaced hours of frantic searching. With the Johnson case file readily accessible with a few clicks, future hearings were a breeze. Ms. Patel could now prepare meticulously, her arguments backed by readily available evidence.
The benefits went beyond efficiency. Version control ensured everyone worked with the latest document revisions, eliminating confusion and wasted time. Collaboration soared as lawyers could seamlessly share documents with colleagues, fostering a more cohesive team dynamic. Stress levels plummeted, replaced by a sense of order and control.
The once chaotic law office transformed into a hive of focused productivity. The air now buzzed with the whirring of computers, not the frantic shuffling of paper. Ms. Patel surveyed the transformed landscape with a satisfied smile. The document management system wasn’t just about managing documents; it was about streamlining the entire legal experience, from client intake to courtroom victory. It was a revolution in their law firm, a testament to the power of digital solutions in fostering a healthier, more efficient work environment.

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Document Management System Vs Enterprise Content Management System

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DCM ECM

One of the questions we often hear from clients is this: what is the difference between a DMS (document management software) system and an ECM (enterprise content management) system? Both are types of software are used for document storage capabilities, and both help organizations create a smarter way of organizing and accessing information in a digital format. However, the terms DMS and ECM are not interchangeable. On the contrary, these two types of document repositories have several notable differences that organizations should consider before choosing one or the other as a means of managing unstructured digital data.

What is a Document Management Software System (DMS)?

DMS systems are basically software that stores, tracks and manages electronic documents. You might think of it as a digital filing cabinet with increased security, and typically, it’s a simpler solution for most businesses that is easier to use and requires less management. DMS is used primarily to digitize and archive files and track and manage new documents throughout their lifecycle, as they are written, revised, and updated.

DMS is the core solution to the problem of helping companies organize, access, retain and safeguard their documents. However, it may only address the document management needs of big companies.

What is an Enterprise Content Management System (ECM)?

ECM systems are more like a formalized means for storing and managing an organization’s process documentation and other content. Some even look at it as a super-sized, high-power DMS. Think of it as an intelligent being able to automatically recognize the content within documents and “know” where/whom to send it to. It manages different types of content, and can also help with email management, imaging, digital asset management, document-centric collaboration, and business process management.

Essentially, ECMs help configures high volumes of unstructured information, especially for larger organizations that can accommodate a much higher price and that need a higher level of content management.

Platform Commonalities

While document management software systems (DMS) and enterprise content management (ECM) platforms are inherently different, they also bear a number of commonalities. Both platforms provide fully centralized storage of files and information in a digital format. An ECM system is technically just a more advanced, feature-heavy DMS, with applications for more demanding or specialized functions for certain industries or organizations.

By digitizing company files and documents, both types of software can help companies go paperless, make files accessible from anywhere, provide disaster recovery and superb security, and support easy file collaboration between multiple users.

Of course, specific features vary between different document management systems and enterprise content management platforms. However, quality enterprise-ready versions of both software should include features such as:

Storage system templates,

Indexing,

Workflow,

Versioning,

Audit trails,

Mobile access,

Encryption for files at rest and in transit,

Advanced system search options.

Outside of these features, both DMS and ECM should also provide the following benefits:

Accessibility, streamlined processes, and great security features,

SaaS technology,

Shared indexing, workflow, versioning, and audit trails,

Add-on tools and modules in most packages,

Fully centralized storage of files in digital format,

Provide disaster recovery,

Cost savings,

Help companies go paperless,

Templates,

Unbound by storage geography,

Benefit the environment,

Sold by organizations with integration technology,

Facilitate green technology,

Designed to consider retention regulations,

Some freeware ECM or DMS programs won’t come with all of these features, which can be a convincing argument for a paid or subscription-based service.

DMS vs. ECM: The Differences Between the Platforms

Despite their similarities, document management software systems and enterprise content management platforms also have several significant differences.

DMS software is essentially the less advanced version of enterprise content management. DMS programs are used specifically to store, track, and manage electronic documents, with the major focus being on structured documents like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or PDF files. Enterprises typically use document management software to digitize their filing systems and go paperless. DMS systems are usually outfitted with OCR (optical character recognition), making it easy to use the programs to create editable digital versions of your print files.

Providing a similar structure to a filing cabinet—except in digital format and with stronger security and organization principles—DMS programs are useful to organizations because they simplify the entire process of document management. With DMS, you have easy digital control of the entire life cycle of every document in your library, from the creation stage to revisions and updates, all the way to document retention and ongoing file accessibility. You can even automate certain business processes with document management systems, such as archiving or deletion of client documents after specific periods of time.

An enterprise content management system, as mentioned previously, is a more advanced form of DMS technology. An ECM system is an advanced means of storing and managing an organization’s process documentation and other content. These systems can be used to do everything DMS can (digitizing documents, organizing files into an easily searchable filing system, etc.), but are more advanced and powerful.

One of the major contrasts between DMS and ECM software is that while a DMS system is used mainly to organize “structured” Word or PDF documents, ECM can manage images, graphics, website content, emails, video and audio files, rich media assets, and more. In other words, ECM systems are a more comprehensive means of managing all of a company’s digital assets on a multimedia level.

More than just including document management software that can handle alternative media files, enterprise content management systems are also more intelligent programs than document management systems. ECM programs actually measure information in addition to storing it. They manage unstructured data by themselves, working more as an independent office manager or staff member than as simple productivity tools. ECM systems include a number of different tools and strategies that they use to automate your filing system in unique and effective ways. An enterprise content management program can analyze content and determine where it needs to be stored in your system, or whom it needs to be sent to (and when). ECM platforms also provide offline access, superior security, stricter government compliance, and greater integration and scalability features than DMS.

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Compliance-Based Enterprise Content Management Solution – docEdge DMS

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Compliance-Based Enterprise Content Management Solution

Now more than ever, businesses are affected by state and federal regulations for compliance, particularly in regard to information security, sharing, and retention. Failing to meet these requirements may lead to breaches of contracts, sanctions, and much more. While it’s a serious issue for any business, regulatory compliance impacts large enterprises especially—since the bigger the company is, the more regulations it has to adhere to. Over the years, enterprises have looked to document management systems to ease this compliance burden.

To help narrow your own search for such tools, we look at some of the most wide-reaching compliance regulations and enterprise content management solutions that can help to meet these compliance requirements.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

According to the GLBA, customer data must be protected from any threats that could result in unauthorized disclosure, misuse, modification, or deletion under any circumstances. This federal law is applicable to financial institutions, such as commercial banks, security firms, insurance companies, and more. In regard to document management, GLBA requirements include access control, data backup, Stress-free auditing, tracking of all modifications to files, and automated alerts.

docEdge DMS maintains 50,000 major versions and 511 minor versions for each document and keeps track of all changes made to a document, including time and the initiator. It also provides a complete audit trail of all document-driven collaboration, generates automated notifications when sharing sensitive information, as well as document retention.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

SOX serves to provide transparency and accountability within an organization’s financial reporting. It affects publicly traded companies, public accounting firms, auditors, brokers, and securities analysts. The Act requires financial reports and statements to be accessible, accurate, and without any omissions. It also stipulates retention periods for various financial documents (e.g., retention of five years for invoices).

To meet SOX requirements, docEdge DMS a document collaboration solution enables version control and allows users to compare any two published versions of a document. It also tracks document approvals and changes made since a user last looked at it.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001

ISO 9001 is applicable to all companies providing products or services to customers and its main requirements for document management are: reviewing and approvals before distribution, detecting and tracking changes, ensuring confidentiality, and support of different formats (e.g., PDF, text, spreadsheets, etc.).

docEdge DMS, a web-based compliance and Enterprise Content Management Solution, supports reviewing, automated workflows, versioning, and tracking changes in documents. It ensures data confidentiality by using private folders and permission levels.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

SEC regulations are applicable to financial services, such as brokers, dealers, and exchange members, as well as other public companies. SEC rules cover such documents as asset and liability ledgers, income ledgers, customer account ledgers, securities records, trial balance sheets, etc. The SEC has the following requirements: data encryption, automated retention of documents, document versioning, user permission levels, undeletable and unalterable audit trails, and data backup.

In docEdge DMS, all documents and records are easily accessible for the duration of their existence in the system unless document deletion periods are specified by the admin. All documents can be retrieved and downloaded by authorized users. docEdge DMS has a built-in version control capability, which allows users to store and retrieve different versions of documents. Also, docEdge DMS maintains an undeletable and unalterable audit trail of any activities related to a document.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)

PCI DSS was developed to protect businesses and their customers against payment card theft and fraud. PCI DSS is applicable to all companies that accept, store, and transmit payment card information. PCI DSS requirements include protecting cardholder data, encrypting transmission of cardholder data across public networks, restricting access to cardholder data, tracking and monitoring all access to network resources and cardholder data, developing and maintaining secure systems and applications, etc.

docEdge DMS, a Enterprise Content Management Solution by PERICENT, ensures the security of cardholder data. It provides automatic SSL/TLS encryption of all uploaded or downloaded data. SecureDrawer supports user groups to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA was established to protect the privacy of individuals receiving healthcare and guides almost all information circulating in the healthcare industry. The Act is applicable to employers and all healthcare providers that transmit employee/patient information electronically for claims, benefit eligibility, referral authorizations, etc. The main HIPAA requirements for document management are access control, protection against unauthorized modification/deletion of documents, audit trail tracking, version control, etc.

To ensure HIPAA compliance, docEdge DMS, an Enterprise Content Management Solution, supports permission levels for individuals or user groups, thus, restricting access to sensitive information. It gives an instant email notification when someone tries to access, modify, or delete any documents. docEdge DMS also provides versioning and audit trail tracking, which helps to determine who accesses or modifies healthcare information.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

FDA compliance affects food and drug manufacturers, traders, and wholesalers. In terms of document management, FDA requirements include guidelines and regulations regarding copying, access control, permissions, records protection, audit logs and tracking, version control, and electronic signatures.

docEdge DMS’s Enterprise Content Management Software provides access to files only to authorized users, depending on an assigned permission level. It stores all versions of all files and records, and documents are easily retrievable due to assigned metadata. It also supports an audit trail that is secure and can’t be modified. The audit trail includes user ID, date and time stamp, action is taken, document name, type, etc. docEdge DMS also helps to manage electronic signatures that are linked to a specific version of a document and cannot be deleted, copied, or transferred to falsify an electronic record.

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How Does Robotic Process Automation Differ from Intelligent Automation

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Benefits of Robotic Process Automation

In order to improve business strategy, enterprises should adopt the latest technologies such as ML, AI, and robotic process automation (RPA). Although automation is an important business necessity, terms such as intelligent automation and robotic process automation can be confusing. Both technologies can be used to improve customer satisfaction and reduce operational costs. But the point is how does robotic process automation differ from intelligent automation?

RPA and IA have been proven to be effective technological innovations that allow organizations to achieve the impossible. They can increase customer satisfaction and team morale while reducing operational costs. Both intelligent automation (IA), and robotic process automation (RPA), are software options that help busy businesses automate manual tasks. There are key differences that you need to know before deciding which technology to use.

How does robotic process automation differ from intelligent automation

This guide will show you how does robotic process automation differ from intelligent automation. This guide will also explain how technological improvements allowed intelligent automation to evolve from less technical RPA deployments. Let’s discuss each automation software separately before we dive into the differences.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA), software that automates repetitive tasks, helps businesses to improve speed and quality and aids in improving efficiency. RPA makes use of scripts to combine APIs with user interface (UI), and interactions to perform repetitive tasks among applications. These scripts mimic human workflows and transactions across different software systems. RPAs can be used in many situations to automate repetitive and tedious tasks. RPAs are often used in processes such as web analytics and payroll processing.

Benefits of Robotic Process Automation

🔹Robotic process automation (RPA), is a form of automation that significantly reduces the time and effort needed to complete certain tasks. This is particularly beneficial for industries such as healthcare and financial services where accuracy and speed are crucial.

🔹RPA can be used to reduce the number of employees required to complete a task. This is one of its main advantages. This is especially useful in high-cost industries. RPA can also help improve efficiency by automating repetitive tasks.

🔹RPA can also help improve customer service. Businesses can save time by automating customer service tasks. This allows staff to concentrate on more important tasks.

🔹Robotic process automation can be a great tool to improve efficiency and streamline operations. Robotic process automation is particularly useful in industries that require speed and accuracy.

What is Intelligent Automation?

Intelligent Automation (IA), which integrates technologies such as RPA and artificial intelligence (AI) to create digital solutions for operational business processes, could be described as the next evolution in RPA. Intelligent automation refers to a system where machines can be programmed to take their own decisions. This can be achieved by a variety means, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Intelligent automation can be used in many different areas, such as manufacturing, logistics, or healthcare. These industries have the potential for intelligent automation to increase safety and efficiency, as well as reduce costs.

Benefits of Robotic Process Automation

🔹Intelligent automation allows robotic systems to work together more efficiently, which can increase overall efficiency. This can reduce time spent on tasks and lead to higher production.

🔹Intelligent automation can reduce errors made by workers. Robotic systems can be freed up to focus on more important tasks by eliminating manual tasks. This can help reduce errors.

🔹Intelligent automation is a way to improve worker safety. It uses automated systems that can detect potential hazards and protect workers from them. An automated system might stop a robot from getting too close to an object or person.

🔹Intelligent automation can increase worker productivity by making it easier to finish their tasks. An automated system might provide instructions on how to complete a task, such as step-by-step.

What is the difference between IA and RPA?

Although they sound similar, intelligent automation and robotic process automation are different and are intended for different purposes. RPA can be used to automate repetitive work. This could be as simple as logging in to your email with the same password and id every day. RPA can easily handle repetitive tasks that are linked together to create simple processes. These processes are very similar and offer little variation. They also fall within the RPA capabilities.

IA is superior to RPA because it simulates human intelligence using AI. It also has the tools and capabilities to perform high-functioning tasks that require analysis, reasoning, and quick decision-making. IA integrates all RPA capabilities. It also brings process automation to the table which can only be possible with bots that learn and adapt continuously. Experts agree that RPA is only a temporary solution to fully integrate IA.

RPA and IA Solutions for Your Business

There are several types of intelligent automation (IA), and robotic process automation (RPA) available for automating your business. Here is a quick overview:

Robotic Process Automation: RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is a form of automation that employs software bots to perform tasks that would normally be performed by humans. RPA can be used by businesses to automate customer service processes such as answering emails or fielding calls.

Intelligent Automation (IA: Intelligent Automation is an advanced form of RPA. It uses artificial intelligence (AI), to decide how to perform tasks. IA can consider historical data and user preferences. This makes IA systems much more adaptable and efficient than traditional RPA.

How does robotic process automation differ from intelligent automation? The answer depends on many factors including your budget and needs. Contact Us if you aren’t sure which solution is right for you. PERICENT can help you choose the right option for your company and recommend the most effective tools and technologies to grow.

Conclusion

Intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA), are two different types of process technology. RPA, which uses software bots for automating tasks within an organization, is a traditional type of process automation. Intelligent automation is a more recent form of process automation. It uses AI to make decisions about how best to automate tasks and manage data. Understanding the differences between intelligent automation and robotic process automation is important so that you can select the best one for your business.

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