Corporate Intranet

Document management is a concept of the thing itself technically skilled professionals to throw their hands in confusion and despair can. Why? It seems everyone has a different idea of what features and functions it contains. For simplicity and to avoid unnecessary confusion, we skip the acronyms and break the system into four components:

Document Capture Document delivery and distribution of document workflow document storage and retrieval of

DocumentCapture

Conventional collection includes documents to print a document that is organized in a filing system. Electronic recording of documents, the document in a file organized environmental well copied, but without recourse to paper.

Documents enter the electronic filing system, now becoming known as "document management system," in several respects. External documents can be obtained almost anywhere: from trade partners, media sources,Research institutes, government and regulators, to name a few. These documents are usually recorded with document imaging and barcode readers, using optical character recognition technology. Internal documents usually come as an issue of Office solutions, such as document check-printing and printing systems. Other sources of incoming faxes and incoming e-mail documents.

Historically, there are two methods for channeling internal documents were in theDocument management system: raw data could be printed and then scanned into the archive, or can the data be exported as a PDF file. External paper documents, including hard copy of faxes that are scanned usually in the archives. E-mail documents as a rule in the system in its electronic form.

A variety of factors impact corporate archiving met. Last but not least cause legal, financial and compliance issues, but unique ideas, their own tasks. Inall cases, the companies need to know, where is their information. Kept for the archives as a useful and successful, a comprehensive and precise indexing system is mandatory.

Parallels exist in the traditional filing cabinet processes that employ a rule of the cut departmental and / or file type and the alphabetic and hierarchical file structures, and in the library industry Dewey Decimal System. Contemporary Imaging / OCR solution is electronic, butIn most cases it involves more extensive manual indexing, which is very time consuming and error prone.

A far better solution is to software solutions, automated document capture employ processes that interact with the document management system for the indexing of recorded documents are automatically considered - at the time of production to employ internal documents, or as they scanned into the system.

Document Delivery / Distribution

Until recently, paperDocuments relating to an organization via the postal system changed. While this is still common, is an increasing amount of document delivery and distribution carried out electronically, and mail order via e-mail or intranet messages and warnings.

Distribution of documents to external recipients continues to rely heavily on the delivery of mail, but in recent years, communication with trading partners and other external parties, the electronic document has changedDelivery and distribution methods: e-mail, intranet and unauthorized access, and Web forms) in the case of financial transactions, the banking industry's Automated Clearing House (ACH Network and Financial EDI.

Electronic Document and supply conditions leading efficiency and cost savings not realized produces only a few decades. ACH payments, such as reducing the processing costs per payment costs more than $ 2.00 with pre-printed forms and control of the IT department check printing, the mere cents.Savings result from eliminating the cost of printing, forms and inventory management, personnel, post-production and mailing costs.

The savings are similarly dramatic for general / special documents.

The following examples provide an overview of the different costs between physical and electronic document delivery and distribution.

Document Distribution Costs by Delivery Method

By mail
$ 0.80 per document x 10,000volume = $ 8,000
Manual Fax
$ 0.60 per document volume x 10,000 = $ 6,000
Automated fax
$ 0.25 per document volume x 10,000 = $ 2,500
Reviewed
$ 0.03 per document volume x 10,000 = $ 300

Document sent costs include paper, toner, labor, handling, labor and postage.Fax document costs include paper, toner, labor and calling fax.Auto-fax costs consist of fees for phone cover, average length of the document. Email DocumentCosts are negligible.

Consider also that the relatively high cost of the above documents printed on plain paper on laser printers created from templates in electronic document delivery and distribution methods. As such, they are already cut by more than half the cost of production of business documents with pre-printed form. Documents generated by these conventional methods, such as conventional printed checks can easily approach $ 2.00 perCard, compared to a relatively few cents by using electronic document delivery and distribution.

The financial implications are significant and fast return on investment is not evident.

Document workflow

In concept, workflow encompasses many areas of business operations, from assembly line to the office. In the office, it is primarily with the creation and management of business documents - specifically document routing, document approval and the document saidVersioning. Examples include the development of marketing materials or technical specifications, both of which often involves the input of several people at various points of contact.

Workflow challenges have always existed, and now, electronic workflow environments are the most endemic complications and confusion, the handling and flow of paper documents not only delete, but also performed by hand, electronic document workflow models.

In document routingApplications, for example, may be placed on documents in a variety of options in circulation. Ad-hoc routing is on human decisions and appeal. A linear document approval routing system moves on documents, step-by-step as phases or stages are carried out - an invoice or purchase order approval cycle, for example. Rules-based routing logic adds to the equation and send the documents in accordance with prescribed conditions. Parallel routing systems essentially "broadcast" the documents for all parties- For example, a request for comments on a request for proposal.

In an automated electronic workflow environment can most document routing, document use and untended authorization document versioning on the ground, embedded with general, or application / content of specific rules.

One of the most valuable properties in an electronic workflow environment, for example, is document version control, where many hands can be involved in constructing and refining a business document. It is easyon the chaos that results when many people a hand in the modification of an original document can imagine working independently, and often saving their changes in the new document versions. Not many versions across the board, it can be difficult to distinguish original documents from different versions of.

While the work can assist in the electronic environment in itself the possibility for a large version of the document to control and even the staff responsible, which oftenunacceptable for an uncomplicated projects. Today, however, advanced workflow solutions available that are able to automate workflow processes, freeing workers to focus on all levels of their creative activity.

Storage and retrieval

To ensure the most of their life, all documents will be stored in a manner that the document is searchable and quickly and easily. Too often, documents are (or "content distribution") throughout the company,created by individuals or small groups and kept in their computer files or remote databases. Lots of useful information is in "information silos", available in isolation with other valuable corporate intelligence.

To centralize corporate content management systems, the centralization of enterprise data and document search and retrieval for more than two decades, and with varying success. The advantage is to maximize their potentialthe value of corporate information. The other side has its own way, which was often unaffordable costs led to the purchase and implementation, and its complexity in the filing of documents, search and retrieval activities, often with resistance from those who benefit most from the use of can be conducted.

Web recently, employ-based technology solutions for the storage and retrieval - Corporate intranets and browser-search tools - emerged. Becausethe simplicity of its architecture and the fact that document is storage, search and retrieval technologies that almost everyone knows, such as content management solutions can often be purchased for less than 10 percent of the cost of proprietary predecessors. Just as importantly, its web-based design is virtually no resistance, because everyone knows of the Web search is now looking into the situation on the corporate content solution.

By centralizingKeeping of documents, document retrieval process can be implemented with indexing or text search. Currently indexing is most commonly on the documents manually and individually but technology has become available, that the documents are automatically indexed as they can be created and archived to be applied.

Corporate consolidation offers content via Web-based document storage and the opportunity for intelligent document retention policies to establish. The key is the availability ofsimplified storage and retrieval techniques to consider and document visibility. Document retention decisions can be very complex, one reason is that there are few hard-and-rules about what to save and for how long. Another reason is that different documents have different functions, with features often determine their retention time span, for example, would expect documents, patents or legal discovery in the context that they be retained for an indefinite period of time - much longer, say than to pay toElectricity bills.

It is important to a document retention policy: This only provides some legal protection under the term "good faith has taken root." Once established, the policy should regularly for adequacy to keep it / purge procedures and the effective collection and delivery of all business will be reviewed to secure documents.