Three Steps to Prepare for the Future of Document Management

Document management has progressed significantly throughout the past decade, as organizations deploy more advanced and exciting solutions to get the highest possible value out of their information.

Although some companies have only begun digitizing their information management strategies more recently, the world is quickly moving toward an entirely paperless business landscape, and this is going to have widespread, positive impact on the economy.

Several trends that have taken shape since 2010 are now beginning to have vast implications for document management.

On one hand, organizations that have sufficiently modernized their strategies and solutions will be able to capitalize on these new movements in corporate IT and operational transformation. On the other, those that are behind the curve will struggle to remain relevant with both their clientele and employees.

Proactively identifying advantageous trends and moving quickly to position a business for success is paramount in the fast-paced, competitive market landscapes of the modern era. So many of these changes will be directly reliant upon document management optimization, which needs to be the core focus in the coming years.

Here are three steps that companies can take now with respect to their document management strategies and technologies to prepare for success in the near future.

1. Take ‘capture’ to the next level

The Association for Information and Image Management recently published a blog post from its president, John Mancini, who discussed some of the ways in which data and document capture capabilities are evolving. Essentially, he argued that examples of exceptional capture are clear when looking at major search engines such as Google.

It is worth noting here that virtually all organizations have begun to not only need advanced capture capabilities, but also a clear understanding of how the technologies involved are changing and what the implications will be for search processes.

According to Mancini, the term “capture” might be somewhat dated currently and will certainly need to undergo some kind of upgrade in the coming years. For example, he stated that intelligent information capture, which will be necessary for analytics, will need to be on the table, while leaders will also need to recognize the fact that formats are diversifying significantly.

So, if their solution can only manage basic document capture, employees will not be able to take full advantage of all their digital assets, such as images and audio.

Document management systems will likewise need to evolve to be able to handle the demands of capture that are rapidly spreading and rising within modern offices. Mancini added that all types of information need to be captured more quickly, especially when it involves customer and process matters, and that the technologies and techniques necessary to do so could not come soon enough.

2. Optimize for mobility

Mobile devices and applications are interacting with document management solutions and frameworks at a rising rate. As more employees and customers demand access to information and services through their mobile devices, businesses need to proactively optimize their document management and processing strategies to ensure seamless user experiences at all times.

Gartner recently argued that organizations will need to become far more proficient in mobility management—and all of the backend demands placed on internal systems—to be prepared for the next waves of apps and devices that are right on the horizon.

“The future of mobile will provide ubiquitous services delivered anywhere, by any person or thing, to any person or thing,” Gartner Vice President and Analyst David Willis explained.

He added, “While users are constantly looking for new and compelling app experiences, the importance of apps in delivering services will diminish and the emergence of virtual personal assistants (VPAs) and bots will replace some of the functions performed by apps today. Alternative approaches to interaction and service delivery will arise, and code will move from traditional mobile devices and apps to the cloud.”

Leaders and managers have likely already begun to experience more pressing demands related to mobile capabilities in the past few years, and are hopefully already offering access to document management solutions through smartphones.

After optimizing document management strategies and tools for modern mobility, the next step will be to incorporate provisions to handle another major trend in the private sector today: the Internet of Things.

3. Prepare for the IoT

When employees first started using smartphones to access information on the job, it caused major problems and disruption for many businesses. Although those challenges are not to be understated, they do not come close to the types of strain that will be placed on managers and IT departments when the Internet of Things becomes a central strategy within the average business.

At that point, companies will need to make documents and services available to employees who are using countless different devices and the apps they run.

International Data Corporation recently reported that the IoT is scaling up more quickly than initially thought, with more than half of leaders now viewing it as a critical strategic shift rather than a potentially advantageous trend for the future.

What’s more, IDC found that a combined 74.4 percent of respondents to its latest survey have either already deployed solutions for the IoT or will be doing so within the next year. This is having a profound impact on several industries.

“This year we see confirmation that vendors who lead with an integrated cloud and analytics solution are the ones who will be considered as critical partners in an organization’s IoT investment,” IDC Vice President Carrie MacGillivray affirmed. “We also note that network and traditional IT hardware vendors are slipping down the charts, as software and systems integrators makes strides in customers’ minds.”

Document management will play a major role in the success or failure of the IoT on a case-by-case basis, as the devices involved will not be yielding their full value should end users not be able to access information.

To learn how PairSoft can help your business capture, integrate and automate your business processes, feel free to watch our personalized demonstration or visit our case studies page to read about our clients’ success stories.