When it comes to benefits that come with using a document management system, the list could be endless. Lucky for us, Mamoun Chaouni at business2community.com has laid out the top 7 most meaningful examples of advantages provided by DMS usage.

Gone are the days of spending countless hours finding that one document. Save time and energy by really taking control of your document workflow within your organization or agency today.

“Aside from helping keep trees upright to protect the environment from health and economic hazards such as pollution, landslides and flooding, employing a cloud-based document management software solution comes with a host of advantages.

1. Document/file repository

Cloud-based document management systems serve as a central repository for all your important documents that can subsequently be accessed, viewed, changed and shared with colleagues. No more wasting hours upon hours of precious time frantically looking through stacks of folders to find a single document.

2. Document/content security

When documents are not managed, the possibility of important information being exposed to the wrong people is considerable. Vital, sensitive information falling into the wrong hands can bring irreversible damage to a business. Document management software solutions let you safeguard confidential business information through rigorous security policies and role-based access control (RBAC) where authorized users alone are allowed to view certain files or documents.

In the case of disasters like fire or flooding, cloud-based DMS ensures your business-critical data are kept intact, not wiped out from the face of the earth.

3. Anytime, anywhere access

As is the case with cloud-based software solutions, web-based DMS affords users the ability to access files and documents anywhere, anytime, regardless of device used, which is particularly handy when collaborating on projects with team members who are on the go or located remotely.”

To read more of the list, join our friends over at business2community for the in-depth article. 

E-discovery may be common in today’s legal world, but that certainly wasn’t always the case. This month’s history of cybersecurity looks back to how discovery technology was developed, and what it has to do with the Iran-Contra affair.

“With the aggressive pace of technological change and the onslaught of news regarding data breaches, cyber-attacks, and technological threats to privacy and security, it is easy to assume these are fundamentally new threats. The pace of technological change is slower than it feels, and many seemingly new categories of threats have been with us longer than we remember. Nervous System is a monthly series that approaches issues of data privacy and cybersecurity from the context of history—to look to the past for clues about how to interpret the present and prepare for the future.

In November 1986, an internal leak to the press exposed a secret United States operation to funnel the proceeds of weapons sold to the Islamic Republic of Iran (in violation of an arms embargo) to fund the revolutionary Contras in Nicaragua (in contravention of Congress). As the press started to cover the scandal, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North went to his computer at the National Security Council and started deleting emails pertaining to his role in the scheme. Over the course of a frantic weekend, he manually deleted around 750 emails.:

Click here to read the entire breakdown written by Davis Kalat for law.com.

An electronic document management system (EDMS) is a software system for organizing and storing different kinds of documents. This type of system is a more particular kind of document management system, a more general type of storage system that helps users to organize and store paper or digital documents. EDMS refers more specifically to a software system that handles digital documents, rather than paper documents, although in some instances, these systems may also handle digital scanned versions of original paper documents.

Techopedia gives a detailed description on what exactly electronic document management is and what it means to store large volumes of digital documents. Click here to read the full report!

“Digital asset management (DAM) is a business process for organizing, storing and retrieving rich media and managing digital rights and permissions. Rich media assets include photos, music, videos, animations, podcasts and other multimedia content.”

Join Jonathan Gourlay from TechTarget for a robust breakdown of what exactly DAM is and why it is so crucial to understand the strategy behind software that saves your organization time and money. Jonathan provides interesting use case examples to further inform your business approach.

“Use cases:

Anyone who needs to optimize digital asset workflows needs a digital asset management system. Marketers can grow their brands and increase brand consistency with a DAM system. Designers can use DAM to optimize their workflows by being able to quickly search for files and repurpose assets. Sales teams can have up-to-date materials and resources anytime and anywhere. Agencies can use DAM to keep all of their creative files organized, enabling for faster turnaround times. And distributors can optimize their delivery process”

Keeping records straight is not just good business practice – it is critical to maintaining a productive, functioning company. Having a proper record management system is the foundation which supports business intelligence and the ability to make data-driven decisions which alter the bottom line.

However, businesses are seeing more and more data, such as paper-based documents and digital records, flowing through their core. In other words, keeping track of all of these documents has become a full-time job.

A document management strategy can provide the tools businesses need to keep record management streamlined and in control. Document management solutions rely heavily on workflows to deliver the correct data to the right places. Due to the various ways this can be done, organizations should consider making their records management processes more effective by analyzing it in the context of a document’s lifecycle. Here are five ways to make that happen.

Make document management system more efficient

1. Leverage automation to identify important information

Not all documents are records. Depending on the business, documents such as rough drafts and duplicates do not require the same storage and information management. Likewise, it’s time-consuming and impractical to read through every document for necessary information. It’s essential to leverage automation such as keyword scanners or auto-detection, to identify critical documents and clearly define what document information is important and what constitutes as a record.

2. Integrate devices to assist with document capture

There are many different methods of ​collecting ​document information and records because there are various document sources (scanners, mobile devices, multifunction printers/copiers, etc.). Many offices today rely on ultra-efficient multifunction printers which are capable of performing numerous actions on the same device. Likewise, these devices typically come with software which integrates the printer with the rest of the office workflows.

Click here to read the entire list of steps towards efficient record management or just stay here to solve all of your record management needs. .

Lawyers, ask yourselves:

Can I ethically connect my work laptop computer to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network?

What data security measures are in place at the technology vendors that store and process my clients’ confidential information?

Do the software applications that process my clients’ confidential information have the latest security updates?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, there’s a strong likelihood that you’re violating the ethical obligation to “make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.” [ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6(c)] That’s because the duty to make reasonable efforts to prevent the disclosure of client confidential information necessarily includes (1) the duty to understand the confidentiality implications of each technology used in firm operations and (2) the duty to make inquiries of all technology vendors to ensure that their cybersecurity practices are sufficiently robust to protect client confidential information. Lawyers who fail to carefully vet technology vendors are already failing their clients from a professional ethics standpoint.

Click here to read more!

When data files must absolutely, positively remain forever unalterable, immutable storage technology is one affordable approach to consider.

Sign in the read techtarget’s entire article on the basic ideas behind immutable storage and how it remains completely static in the process.