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Defining Document Management
As defined by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), imaging is, “The ability to capture, store, retrieve, display, process, and manage business information in digital form.” Document imaging, often referred to as electronic file cabinets, provides the opportunity to replace paper and electronic-based sheets of paper (known as documents) with computerized images that are instantly delivered to your computer screen. Imaged document files (images) can be managed as regular computer files and can be retrieved, printed, e-mailed, faxed, and modified using IMS--Imminent Technologies’ premier document imaging software application. These images can then be shared by several users simultaneously and can be integrated with other systems.
Traditional document storage methods are resource-intensive and expensive. Document Management relieves costly inefficiencies by providing greater accessibility, lowering total cost, reducing space overhead, improving security, and improving document integrity. Images occupy far less physical space than paper records, allowing substantial savings by using former storage areas for more critical purposes. Another benefit is improved efficiency as you locate and retrieve documents faster and more easily.
Document management/retrieval is a necessity for most businesses and should strongly be considered for multiple reasons. Most companies can not afford to lose any percentage of their paper documents due to fire, water, or catastrophic situations. Another benefit is being able to easily manage and retrieve these documents within seconds. It should allow for easy conversion to new or different software packages and be an open platform architecture system. Additional features are available for making changes, annotations, notes, and converting documents to PDF for sharing/distributing.
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