Handling massive amounts of documents remains one of the key challenges faced by every company and organization on the market. Fortunately, the development of innovative technologies brought numerous improvements in this area. Electronic document workflow and document management systems are two solutions, which enable companies to greatly improve the quality of everyday work with documents and effectively support companies and organizations in achieving their business objectives.
Document management workflow in the past and now
Document management workflow is a broad concept, which denotes all the activities linked with handling documentation within a company. About a decade ago, virtually every company used traditional document workflow based solely on paper versions; however, it was fraught with numerous problems, making working with documents time-consuming, prone to errors and inconvenient. The situation changed dramatically a couple of years ago, when electronic document workflow took enterprise environments by storm and changed working with company documents for the better.
Electronic document workflow is a modern, future-oriented concept which can be combined with a dedicated document management system (DMS) to elevate the everyday work with company documents to a higher level. The concept envisions digitalization of all or just some of current and archive document sets, storage in a digital archive and managing document workflow using a dedicated DMS-class software solution. Electronic document workflow management is time- and cost-efficient, secure and virtually error-free – all of this is ensured by business process automation, one of the key features offered by modern document management systems.
How to choose the best document management workflow software?
Every company, which wants to implement modern, efficient and compliant document workflow should look into investing in purchasing and implementing an appropriate DMS-class system. Future-proof software should be based on a strong foundation of high-end enterprise IT technologies. In addition to key document management features, a good DMS-class system should offer a number of additional functionalities, including business process automation (BPA), workflow engine and business process management (BPM).
It is also worth keeping in mind that the most innovative systems supporting document management workflow tend to increasingly include features such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), OCR, robotic process automation (RPA), digital signature and many other bleeding-edge technologies and mechanisms used by companies in the age of digital transformation, as they rightfully see them as tools that enable them to gain and keep a competitive advantage over their rivals.
One of the most notable solutions include low-code platforms, which effectively combine comprehensive document management workflow features with business process automation and optimization. The most advanced of them enable quick development and deployment of bespoke business applications, as well as efficient change management in developed and already deployed instances without code – all available and usable instantly. This allows the company to flexibly adapt document workflows to its current needs, in full compliance with the rhythm and dynamics of business and changes occurring in the company's business surroundings.