1. Dealing with Catastrophe
Seventy percent of today’s businesses would fail within 3 weeks if they suffered a catastrophic loss of paper-based records due to fire or flood. Businesses today absolutely must have good disaster recovery plans in place. Utilizing electronic document management processes and records management practices considerably reduces the time to get your business back online after a catastrophe.
2. Litigation and Risk
Litigation is a major risk for companies and the cost of not knowing where your records are located can be staggering. For instance, one large financial services company paid more than $16 billion in litigation costs over a three-year period.
Every organization needs a records retention schedule with a written policy that determines which documents are created and retained, by whom, and in what location. Employees who don’t adhere to these practices put an organization at risk, especially in times of audit or litigation. Going paperless and using an enterprise content management software tracks processes and ensures employees adhere to policies.
3. Remote Access
Forbes recently projected that within the next five to ten years over 50% of the US Workflow will be working remotely. Having a system where employees can have remote access to documents, or more importantly, information on those documents wherever they are and whenever they need it will be a crucial strategy for growing companies.
4. Automation
Companies are in the midst of the digital transformation age. This includes smart devices, AI, and connected applications. Customers expect higher levels of service and companies are competing and winning these customers when they can optimize organizational efficiency. Gone are the days where you can take a stack of invoices, drop them in someone’s desk for approval, and then manually key information into your processing systems. Automation is only possible when you take advantage of best in class practices to maximize efficiency and scalability. It is clear that companies that manage their content well, gain visibility, control critical processes, and achieve a higher level of excellence.
5. Integration
Information is everywhere and in a multitude of systems. Historically, software solutions focused on specific areas of functional expertise, developing and supporting systems in a very siloed approach. Today, companies must be able to successfully integrate these systems to gain better data insights for their organizations and their customers. It is critical not just to make your paper electronic but to select systems that have this integration in mind.
