This millennium, technology has advanced fast. Advancements have been so fast, in fact, that myths about the latest, greatest technologies persist in people's minds before they have even had a chance to interact with the technology. One such example is digital document management. Document management software (DMS) provides a myriad of commonly known benefits, but some are held back from using it by myths like the following:
Myth #1: Your employees will make the transition to document management software difficult
Fact #1: People tend to think that employees will naturally be inclined to push back against the changes brought about by a DMS. While it is true that people generally avoid change, everybody LOVES anything that makes their job easier. Making jobs easier is exactly what a DMS will do for your team. The key for you is to educate your employees about its benefits and properly prepare them to use it. It's when you don't do these things that it will seem as though your employees are fighting your software.
Myth #2: You need an entire IT team to handle document management software
Fact #2: Modern technology has advanced to the point that DMS solutions are mostly autonomous, meaning that you don't need a computer expert overseeing it at every moment. They also don't put any undue strain on company servers, so you won't have to expand your IT team to handle any extra digital workload either.
Myth #3: In order to reap benefits from document management software, your company needs to be huge
Fact 3: The average office employee uses about 10,000 documents per year; 98% of all Canadian employers are small businesses and account for most of this document use. This means that no matter how big or small your company is, you will deal with a lot of documents. As such, a DMS will be instrumental in aiding your company's ability to streamline its operations and save money on paper.
Myth #4: Cloud-based document management software compromises document security
Fact #4: A cloud-based DMS is not like Dropbox or other commercial cloud systems. It is an enterprise document management solution that encrypts your data at multiple points (while it is being stored, during data transmission and after it has been shared). In fact, they enhance security by giving you full control over your documents, from anywhere. This allows you to, for example, revoke a disgruntled employee's document access remotely.
Myth #5: Document management software cannot provide immediate benefits
Fact #5: As soon as your new DMS is integrated, you will start benefiting from it. In many cases, the paper savings that you reap in the first year of digital document management will top six figures; the added efficiency provided by the software will provide impactful benefits immediately.
Myth #6: Document management software will make it difficult to use paper when I need it
Fact #6: Although your DMS will usurp the need for paper in many cases, it is not designed to get in the way of your paper use. DMS designers understand that paper will continue to be an integral part of company operations for a very long time; that is why your DMS will play nice with your future paper documents. In fact, many DMS solutions include features that allow them to integrate your paper documents directly into the digital system.
Never let a myth hold your business back
Myths like the ones discussed above can prevent you from growing your company if you allow them to. Don't allow such a mistake to cause you to overlook the value of a tool like a digital document management system.
