Able Copiers - Document Management

Electronic Document Management Systems (EDMS) is an integration of hardware and software that allows you to scan hardcopy (conversion of paper documents into electronic images) and upload existing electronic files to a computer. The EDMS software will allow you to store, index, manage, retrieve, archive and distribute virtually all file formats quickly and easily. This also provides the peace-of-mind that in the event of a fire or similar disaster you will be back in business quickly. The files are stored in industry standard secure formats. Typically organizations can leverage existing hardware investments that have been made for digital copiers, networks, web sites, and computer servers minimizing the implementation costs of the EDMS system.

Why do Organizations Invest in EDMS Systems?

The basic reasons for using EDMS are

• Prevents lost documents
• Provides for easy "disaster recovery"
• Reduces the cost of printing
• Increases the efficiency of office staff
• Find documents quickly and easily
• Allows for efficient centralized storing of documents
• Reduces real estate costs by cutting down on filing cabinets
• Documents are available to authorized staff in a secure manner 24/7

What are the Steps of an EDMS system?

Scanning: Paper documents are scanned using appropriate scanners or digital copiers. Scanning is the process of converting paper documents into electronic images.

Uploading: This is the process of uploading existing electronic files from your computers hard drives to the EDMS application.

Indexing: Indexing creates an organized document filing systems and makes future retrieval simple and easy. Typically the EDMS will mimic an organizations paper filing system thus reducing the learning curve for office staff.

Conversion: Files are typically saved as industry standard PDF's (or for certain applications TIFF). PDF's are popular as almost all computer users have Acrobat Reader (the PDF viewer) installed on their computers. TIFF viewers are much less familiar to typical users.

Retrieval: A variety of search tools are built into the software to allow users to search and quickly retrieve the documents they need. Typically the system searches on index fields or uses "key word" searches to search within the index fields, or within the documents.

Access: Files are accessible to individuals or groups of individuals. Administrators can determine whom has access to what files, and hat rights they have. Individual rights depend on their level of security and what they are authorized to do. Typical rights include; view, annotations, email, append etc. Files are accessible 24/7 for authorized staff over the intranet or Internet.

Conclusions

By leveraging current investments in networks, computers, servers, web sites, and digital copiers an inexpensive EDMS system can be implemented which will greatly improve office efficiencies and office procedures saving time, money and provides a hedge against disaster.

Please click here for more in-depth information about Sharp's SentryFile Electronic Document Management System.