Going paperless is the goal for offices large and small, but the biggest challenge is managing and controlling digital documents, which can be a daunting task when dealing with physical files. Good document management software is the answer to this challenge of effectively sharing, storing, collaborating and ultimately deleting any outdated records. SharePoint is a great document management tool that many organizations often consider because they already use Microsoft products for various tasks.
What is SharePoint document management and what can you expect from it?
SharePoint document management is specifically designed to be an intranet and collaboration tool that offers a secure place to store, share, organize and also easily access any information. SharePoint is offered in on-premises, hybrid, and cloud versions. It comes with a rich set of features and function sets and also has constantly changing feature and complex license agreements. It has been implemented alongside Microsoft Exchange, Office Web Apps, Skype for Business in medium-sized organizations and large departments as well. Its main distribution channel has been Office 365. Cloud-based SharePoint was developed to improve the platform and improve the user experience and improve search in a world where speed and personalization are expected.
How to use SharePoint for document management?
A feature-rich document management system is a prime requirement for businesses that want to simplify, automate, and streamline the document-based process and also make employees more productive.
Capture and validation:
Business organizations have to deal with various unstructured data in varied formats such as JPG, TIFF or CAD files that are not searchable by content. To facilitate the handling of such documents, it is important that all documents are legible. This can be achieved by integrating document management systems with OCR software. Integrated with OCR, SharePoint can offer high-volume conversion of paper documents to digital documents that are easily searchable and can also be classified, indexed and stored in libraries.
Indexing:
In SharePoint, documents are automatically indexed and this makes it easier to retrieve them faster. The document management system assigns a unique ID to the document so there is no confusion due to similar document names. It also supports the creation of many metadata fields for each document and this simplifies document storage, sorting and searching.
Storage:
Large companies often need a large storage space for their digital documents and also need to keep sensitive information about employees, customers and other business activities for some time. The data that is collected in SharePoint Online is called a list, which consists of list items and has up to 30 million items. SharePoint supports most common file types and also works with file extensions like .odt, .ods, .ppsx which are rare. It also helps optimize content assets by automatically removing useless files.
Collaboration:
Collaboration is a main key feature of document management as it helps employees to easily edit documents simultaneously and also see changes through color bars, ultimately increasing productivity. The platform is also known for its co-authoring capabilities and this allows employees to work on corporate documents at the same time.
Regulatory compliance and security:
This is important for all companies, regardless of size. Companies must constantly adjust their external and internal policies to ensure regulatory compliance. And noncompliance can lead to fines, confinement, and even breach of contract. SharePoint helps control who can view, delete, or edit documents and establish a system with multiple permission levels for users.
Distribution and recovery:
All the documentation of any company must be accessible 24 hours a day and from any place and device. To remain competitive, business organizations must be flexible and quick to respond to partners and customers, and also distribute important documents in formats that are easy to change. SharePoint document management has a user-friendly user interface and is also available as a mobile version. Now even the absence of an Internet connection is not a problem, since users can work with documents offline. All changes made offline will be synced once there is an internet connection.
