Feature Categorization
Understanding how each of the following features fits into a particular benefit category is important for two reasons: 1) It traces specific features’ roles in generating ROI and 2) provides insight on these features so users can measure their efficacy inside the document management system
In the latter of these two reasons, product training may need to be revisited, not just from the end user/organization’s perspective but from the ECM vendor’s as well.
Please note that although all of the features below are categorized under a singular benefit, each feature may reap benefits outside the category in which it is listed. However, each feature is listed in its respective benefit category because this category most aptly describes the feature’s utility.
This is an important distinction given how many of the ECM features below share speed, functionality, and security benefits.
Although many of these features are components of a document management system (DMS) and ECM alike, they belong in different benefit categories according to their functionality within the ECM software, not the DMS software.
For instance, templating/predictive coding is a feature shared by DMS and ECM software, but templating/predictive coding is best categorized as a speed facilitator in the DMS software, whereas it is best described as a functionality facilitator in the ECM software
A Note on Software Integrations
DMS software’s integration with other third-party software is best measured via three metrics: A) the usability of the software integrated with the DMS software, B) the accessibility of third-party software features in their integration with the document management system, and C) the level of functionality retained by each software after the integration.
The highest degree of third-party software integration to a DMS is when the usability of each separate software is retained after their integration, whereas lower tiers of integration entail uploading, downloading, and information syncing between software.
E Recording
E recording is the process by which documents are submitted for recording online, allowing users to view, review, and store information, including the ability to send documents back to the submitter electronically. This a particularly useful feature for governmental organizations at the municipality and city level, including real estate professionals.
Mac-Compatible Document Management
The software world is condensing into one realm of functionality, whether in enterprise or consumer grade software, and that functionality is consumer grade functionality. The best document management vendors will eventually have On-Premise, Online, Cloud-Based, and mobile versions that work in tandem with both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
Presently, many DMS vendors are offering only Online, Cloud-Based solutions that integrate with Mac’s OS X operating system. However, as the trend toward enhanced usability intensifies, this will change in Mac’s favor. Mobile applications should also retain the ability to sync and integrate with iOS, Android phones, etc.
Directory Syncing
If an administrator is concerned by the prospect of manually re-creating what is stored in his or her Windows Desktop Directory after purchasing a document management system, this critical add-on tool resolves that issue, allowing specified users to sync and upload preexisting directories to the solution’s interface.
Digital and Electronic Signatures
Perhaps more so than any other feature on this list, digital and electronic signatures are split between two primary benefits: speed and security. However, these terms are not interchangeable and retain two different, specific definitions.
Document Imaging
Image processing applications allow businesses to automate what were once processes outside the desktop and digital space. Do note, however, that image processing and scanning are not synonymous: scanning is the uploading of documents to a digital format whereas image processing is a software’s ability to interpret and facilitate workers’ processes through content.
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