A document management system can transform your business. This type of software can vastly increase your company’s efficiency and profitability. However, in order to reap the benefits of document management software, you need to make sure the system is implemented well. After all, most problems that you don’t resolve initially will continue to get bigger and bigger until they substantially interfere with the software’s efficacy.
There are several big challenges you’ll have to overcome in order to properly implement document management software. If you’re preparing for your own document management system, read on to find out the three biggest challenges you’ll face and how savvy planning and preparation can help you overcome them.
Correctly Assessing Your Needs
After your executive team gives the go-ahead to implement a document management system, the first crucial step is assessing the needs of your company. Would an on-premises solution or a cloud solution work best? How many documents will you need to store? Do you need a component that can automatically generate standardized documents? How big of a budget do you have to meet these needs?
Another thing to keep in mind is the scalability of the solution and how well it could adjust to your future business needs. Although the solution you choose may work perfectly for your current needs, what happens when your company expands? Can the software adjust accordingly? What about the pricing model? How much would you have to spend to scale up the software’s capacity?
Defining the Project’s Scope
Once you’ve determined your company’s overall needs, it’s time to get into the details. You need a specific plan for how you’ll roll out your document management software. Which departments will be using this software? If your goal is to get the entire company onboard, you’ll need to figure out when you’ll introduce this system to each department.
A crucial misstep some people make is trying to move their entire company onto a software all at once. Moving from paper processes to a document management system is a huge undertaking, and your IT team will likely be completely overwhelmed with confused users if you move the whole company at once. In addition, the more untrained users interact with the software, the more likely it is that your data will be compromised or lost.
Preparing Users and Data
Now that you’ve defined your company’s needs and the scope of the implementation, you need to prepare both your users and your data for the change. If your employees don’t buy into the new software, both morale and productivity will suffer. Be sure to communicate with employees frequently so they understand the big picture as well as how the changes will impact them specifically.
You’ll also need to prepare your data. Although a document management software solution has many perks, it can’t tell which data is important and which isn’t. Carefully consider your workflows and documents: can any of them be simplified or even deleted? Which documents are most important? Check over your document templates, if you have any, and make sure they’re up to date. Consolidate data wherever possible—make sure you aren’t uploading duplicates into the system.
Looking for an Implementation Partner? Laminin Can Help!
If you’re looking for a team of experts to help you implement a document management system, look no further than Laminin. We provide implementation, customization, and integration support for M-Files, a flexible content and document management system that can tame your document chaos once and for all. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today.
