Data is the lifeblood of companies, so it’s important to make sure you don’t have it pouring out all over the place. Instead, you want to make sure that your data is neatly collected and curated somewhere while also ensuring that it’s accessible to everyone on the team who needs it. That’s why you’ll want to consider an enterprise (ECM) system of data capture, storage, and access. Even so, not all such systems are created equal, so you need to make sure you’re getting a quality setup and one that’s right for you.

1. Documents Go Digital

It seems like everything has gone digital nowadays, and that includes vital documents for your company. Whether you need to scan hardcopies or simply make existing digital files more accessible, ECMs can help you build up a more accessible and secure repository of data. Some of the most common types of files digitized and stored via ECM systems for data capture and usage include:

• Invoices, such as those you might gather from various vendors
• Contracts between your company and other parties
• Resumes, such as those you might gather from different applicants for a certain position
• Correspondences that you may need to archive for future reference
• Reports into subjects that may require future application, action, or research

2. Methods for Capturing

Some of the most commonly practiced ECM methods of capturing and digitizing documents include:

• Using software and forms that digitize documents from the moment they’re created
• Using scanning technology to allow you to get your files uploaded to a digital repository
• Uploading and, as needed, converting already-digital files (Word documents, photos, PDFs, and so on)

3. The Cost

ECMs already help cut down on the price of storing paperwork in your office. You’ll also want to see how much these programmes and subscriptions cost to maintain.

4. Quicken the File Distribution Process

Another hassle associated with data in the workplace is getting it where it needs to go. How many times have you and your clients been stuck in limbo on a task because you have to wait for a letter of authorization to come through? When this is a paper file, the delay can be all too real, but with digitized methods of capturing and disseminating data you can take hard copies of files, scan them in, and send them off wherever they need to go. You can even potentially automate portions of this process to automatically submit certain kinds of digitized data at given intervals.

Systems can also be designed to recognize and alert you to any errors in the system so as to help eliminate delays.

For example, you can set certain files that need to be signed to automatically be scanned and sent off to wherever they need to go, thereby streamlining the process.

You’ll thus want to see how quickly these programmes can accomplish these processes. For more information, you may find the resources at Adlib to be useful.

5. Security Strength

Last but certainly not least, you’ll want to ensure that the encryption quality and password protection employed by these programmes is top notch. The last thing you want is for your sensitive data to be exposed due to a data breach.

All of these factors can help you find the right data protection and capture programme for your company.