How to Select a Document Management System:

Transcription

1 How to Select a Document Management System: Criteria and Checklist There are numerous document management systems on the market, and every company has different needs and objectives, so understanding the selection criteria and making a checklist is crucial in the decision-making process.

2 How to Select a Document Management System Organizations may have one or several pain points related to their current state of document management. Instituting a formal document management system can resolve most, if not all, of these pains. And often can elevate a company s productivity. Where s your Pain? Focusing on addressing your primary pain points yields the most satisfaction and productivity with whatever product you select and positions you for the best return on investment. Common problems organizations without robust document management systems experience include: Searching Users either can t find documents they are looking for at all, or it takes a significant amount of time to find desired documents Organization The existing document storage system is unorganized, making it difficult to know where to put new documents and hard to find existing documents Versioning Users store multiple copies of documents, so when they later find documents, there is confusion as to what is the right version Security Existing systems don t handle security adequately, ensuring only the right users (authorized users) can view, edit, or share important intellectual property Workflow Current work processes are leaky and inefficient, allowing important work to fall through the cracks or make tracking timely progression difficult Access Users don t have online access to needed documents outside the office, on the production floor, or at third-party locations; or vendors/contractors and customers don t have access to important documents Sharing Because files reside in different locations, users either don t know about needed documents or have limited access to them; or document versions are not synched causing confusion and rework Retention The company is buried in old documents, but can t delete files because they don t know the good from the bad. 1 Provided by equorum

3 What Software Architecture? While virtually all vendors now offer some web capabilities, the web features of some older Client-Server products are too light to be useful. Web-based solutions enable a full set of document management features without the need for installed client software. Web-based document management is great for organizations with geographically distributed users, users who travel, or to enable external user collaboration (with vendors, customers, or suppliers). What Document Types? If your document management issues are primarily business oriented, then important document types include memos, , invoices, purchase orders, etc., and important files include Microsoft Office (docs, ppt, xls) and Adobe (pdf). If files are electronically generated you have a significant advantage of directly managing digital data. If you have a large volume of paper files, or paper documents are sent to you on a regular basis (such as invoices or purchase orders), your document management system needs to include well-defined scanned data capture features. Business or Engineering? If your document management issues revolve around engineering content, such as preliminary design data, detailed design files, 2D CAD, 3D CAD models, calculations, design notes, schematics, manufacturing instructions, etc., then advanced capabilities to handle these unique engineering data management requirements are a must. Some of these features include: CAD file support for major 2D/3D CAD products such as AutoCAD, Inventor, MicroStation, and SolidWorks This includes important features such as reference file detection, reference linkage in the database, and serving up correct reference files upon check-out and check-in Title Block Integration, which is the automatic capture of file properties displayed in the CAD properties dialog or drawing title block Direct check-out/in of CAD files within the CAD applications Integrated high performance engineering file viewer (web-based) Large (wide format) scanned drawings can be displayed CAD file vector display with layer control is available Extensive engineering markups NOT ALL DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CAN HANDLE ENGINEERING DRAWINGS AND DOCUMENTS, CAD GENERATED FILES REQUIRE SPECIAL HANDLING Configurable markup feature for various engineering disciplines with markup text input and symbol support, automatic markup notifications, etc. 2 Provided by equorum

4 Engineering drawing transmittals Transmittal letters generated automatically through customized transmittal templates and populated with files selected for distribution Transmittal of mixed file sets, including CAD, Office and scanned files Auto-conversion of sets to PDF and links to transmitted files An integrated engineering batch printing (plotting) subsystem Complex engineering/cad plotting support without downloading individual files Single click plotting to engineering (wide format) printers, anywhere on the network Direct plotting support for any engineering printing device Saved print sets for easy re-printing of large batch print jobs. Beyond document management basics? Document management systems provide significant benefits in document organization, security, search, version control, view, print and convenient access for users throughout an organization. Once users find documents, they perform the work they do with those documents, often in traditional ways established over many years by their organizations. Technologies like Document Workflow and Lifecycle offer opportunities for organizations to leverage the benefits of Document Management Software. Workflow moves organizations beyond the benefits of organized document storage and retrieval and enables business process improvements in the work processes completed by users with their documents. Companies should review their business processes and understand if implementation of integrated Workflows and/or document Lifecycles can yield efficiency benefits and improve system ROI through this type of automation. Integrated Workflow modules Automation of flowchart-based, schedule-driven work processes such as document review and approvals, engineering change requests, and document release approval Routing of documents through highly configurable review and approval processes Automation of actions with/to documents based on predefined conditions, such as approval status, revision conditions, etc. Document Lifecycle modules Automatic categorization of documents based on type/category/intended use Lifecycle state rules that automate actions performed on documents as documents change from one lifecycle state to another, including: 3 Provided by equorum Change to a document's metadata (such as an approval status value) Modification of a document's security settings Copy or move of documents from one location to another Delete or archive documents.

5 KEY FEATURES CHECK LIST General System Features Store and manage any document or file type Totally web-based Choice of web-server software Database software included Explore and search functions for documents Unlimited projects Project templates Highly scalable. Security Features Multiple/robust data access security Secure Socket Layer (SSL) implementation Security for mobile device access Configurable user interfaces, based on security profiles. Document Management Features Document attributes (metadata) for fast search and print Simple searching features Advanced search options Full text search (documents and metadata) Automatic metadata propagation Rapid indexing for scanned documents. Integration Features Automated CSV searches Bulk document uploading Selective search using URLs No proprietary data storage (files still available even if database is down) Automatic data acquisition Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are simple and easy to configure. Collaboration Features Multiple document display options Extensive markup tool set Custom symbols in markups Event subsystem notifications Measurement tool for distances and area Electronic "sticky notes" Project news. Mobile Device Access Mobile device independent Download of any drawing or document for offline viewing Touch to select and pinch-push to zoom Easy access to recently viewed documents View, pan, and zoom CAD drawing files without needing CAD software Fully secure using user access profiles from document management system. Extensive Revision Control System Configurable revision naming schemas Multiple revision schemas Upload not dependent on revision order Optional major and minor revisions tracking and display Engineering release and change management Linked file families (e.g., major/minor/published) Authorized check-out and check-in Automatic new revision detection Complete revision history Complete audit trail feature set. 4 Provided by equorum Multi-Site Synchronization (if required) File synchronization across multiple locations View of folders and documents across the organization, not just the local server Security and access control over home server documents on remote locations Management of synchronization behavior (where, how, and when synch occurs) Directionality of synching.

6 KEY FEATURES CHECK LIST Configuration Features Configurable user interfaces Configurable search user interface Automatic launching of any application. Enterprise Batch Printing Batch plotting management Server-side plot processing Print/Plot to any networked device Configurable print destinations Highly configurable printing options One-click printing Save and reprint set printing Conditional document stamping Print requests and direct printing. Electronic Distribution URL linking Transmittals subsystem Encapsulations - field markup upload. CAD/PDM Features (if required) CAD software support Browser-based CAD features Title block integration Dynamic CAD reference file support Automatic reference file updating High performance, integrated viewer, not requiring additional licenses. 5 Provided by equorum

7 Summary The decision of which document management solution is best for you is comprised of many factors; the company environment, its document profile, its workflows, and other company-specific dynamics. equorum has offered a web-based, reliable, highly configurable, and affordable document management solution for almost 20 years. Due to ImageSite s robust feature set and ability to be configured per the specifications of the customer it meets the needs of many organizations, especially those with many different file types and more than one location. ImageSite is also easy to deploy as a webbased system, not requiring any client-based (individual computer) software be installed. Quick and painless implementation allows for faster access to system benefits and increases project ROI. For more information on ImageSite features click equorum is an engineering document management software provider offering cloud, on-premise, and hybrid solutions for companies with a large number of files, files types, or locations. It s solutions have been utilized over the last 17 years by some of the country s best known manufacturing, engineering services, and utilities companies, as well as major universities and government agencies. 6 Provided by equorum