Australian businesses are staggering under the weight of the information they need to manage. For some, especially those in compliance-heavy industries such as construction, the sheer volume of paperwork they have to get through is creating significant amounts of frustration and overwork.
For these businesses, implementing document management solutions can help improve not only document storage and retrieval but also streamline document workflows, so you can get more done in a day with less work.
Enterprise content management solutions can sometimes only add to the problem. Many of these electronic document archiving approaches simply overlay an already-complex online file storage system with an electronic document management solution that is hard to use and still requires staff members to know not only exactly what they’re looking for but also where to look.
However, especially for a small business, document management needs to be more intuitive and contextual, and less about remembering where documents are saved. Unfortunately, traditional approaches to online document management are inefficient, error-prone, can lead to effort duplication and stalled document management workflows, and interfere with secure document storage.
Security is a constant and significant concern for Australian businesses. Cybercriminals are getting better and more sophisticated in how they target businesses, and information compromise is a real risk for organisations. Document management solutions must include security and governance features to help businesses protect their valuable data.
There are five ways that electronic document management systems can help improve security in your organisation:
1. Workflows. Document workflow software can help ensure sensitive or confidential documents aren’t sent to the wrong recipient inadvertently. With automated workflows, the document goes to the right recipient every time.
2. Access. An advanced document management system can set permissions so that unauthorised users can’t open documents they’re not entitled to read. And, with full visibility and control, you can see who has accessed documents and when, as well as what changes they’ve made.
3. Versions. When documents are manually saved in file shares, transactional systems, or other siloes, it can be impossible to tell whether you’re working with the most recent version. And, having multiple versions of a document spread across multiple locations can make it harder to maintain security over that document. Good document management software manages version control and access and provides comprehensive audit trails of changes.
4. Destruction. When access to documents is unrestricted, all users can potentially destroy documents, creating a security challenge and an operational one. Restricting access and choosing a cloud document management solution with easy recovery features means your documents are never at risk of unauthorised destruction or can be retrieved.
5. Encryption. Your documents may reside in a secure server but as soon as you transmit them to someone else, you’ve put them at risk of being intercepted by cybercriminals. Encryption can help overcome this challenge, protecting data both at rest and in transit.
Security is a crucial issue in any business and it’s important not to overlook the myriad ways cybercriminals could access your data, as well as the innocent human errors that could put your data at risk. It’s important to choose the best document management system that can help you improve data security in your organisation.
Document management companies such as Upstream Solutions can help you implement the best solution for your needs, keeping your data safe and secure, as well as easily accessible by those who need to work with it. We can provide solutions for any industry, and we’re specialists in construction document control software. Talk to us today about how we can create a secure document management system that works for your business.