DIGITAL ADMINISTRATION: DMS - DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Office and administrative processes in many international companies are still predominantly paper-based. For example, according to the representative study "Bitkom Digital Office Index 2018", only 41% of the companies surveyed use a digital solution for archiving business-relevant documents and content. Although documents and records are partly scanned, they are still processed in paper form and stored in files. Frequently, the need for investment and the fear of access to sensitive company data hinder the first steps towards the digital office. But the investment in digital solutions is worthwhile!

A so-called document management system (DMS) is suitable for the digital administration and archiving of business-relevant documents. Its use is not only useful for large companies, also medium and small businesses profit enormously from a document management system. What exactly a document management system is and what it is all about, we would like to explain to you in more detail below.

DMS - What does mean?

A document management system (DMS) is a digital solution for the database-supported administration and archiving of electronic documents and data of any kind. Simply put, a DMS helps you to cope with the ever-growing flood of electronic documents, records and information. However, a modern DMS comprises much more than the digital version of an analogue filing cabinet. A modern document management system enables you to digitally capture, distribute, process and search for documents. It also supports you in meeting legal requirements (GoDB, DSGVO).

A synonym for the term DMS is "EDM" (Electronic Document Management). DMS is also often equated with the term "ECM" (Enterprise Content Management). However, this is not completely correct, because the administration and archiving of documents is only one part of ECM. An ECM system serves the administration of all contents of a company. However, since some software solutions now offer many functions and services that go beyond a classic DMS, the terms are often used as synonyms.

How does a document management system work?

In the field of document management you will find a wide range of software solutions that are offered on price or in the cloud, for purchase or Software as a Service (SaaS) in the public or custom cloud. All systems have a similar functionality, whereby modern solutions are characterized by the fact that they allow a high degree of automation and flexibility and come very close to the functional scope of an ECM solution. Essentially, document management systems function as follows:

Capture: In the first step, the DMS captures all your existing and incoming documents and data and stores them in a central archive. Paper documents must be scanned and imported for this purpose. Electronic documents such as e-mails or attachments can be transferred to the system automatically or via manual assignment, depending on the system. Each document is indexed and keyworded using so-called metadata. Metadata includes, for example, the date of creation, the person who entered the document or the type of document (e.g. invoice, order, order confirmation). Modern DMS have special functions such as automatic document classification, automatic indexing, automatic versioning and/or OCR text recognition.

Distribution and processing: With a DMS, the distribution and processing of documents can be carried out completely electronically. The DMS makes the documents accessible to exactly those employees who need them for further processing. The assignment of access rights and editing rights allows you to ensure that only authorized employees can view or edit the documents. All responsible employees access one and the same file via a link. If a document is edited, modern systems automatically create and save a new version. All accesses and changes are documented and can be reconstructed for you without any gaps. If the DMS is cloud-supported, your employees can access the documents from any location.

Automation: With modern document management systems you can partially or completely automate numerous business processes. Interfaces to programs such as accounting software or CRM as well as user-defined workflows are available for this purpose.

Search: Using search functions, you can find documents with a DMS quickly and easily. Depending on the system, search filters and/or a full text search are available for this purpose.

Audit-Proof Archiving: Modern document management systems comply with the requirements of the principles for the proper management and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access (GoBD). They thus enable audit-proof archiving of documents.

DSGVO-compliant processing of personal data: Since the new European Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) came into force, companies must take suitable technical and organisational measures for the processing of personal data in order to guarantee a level of protection commensurate with the risk. Modern DMS offer you many possibilities here, e.g. in the allocation of access rights. In this way, they help you to comply with legal requirements, especially with regard to security, data protection, information and retention obligations.