What are the dangers of storing documents on the company network?

Recent research has shown that over 50% of employees openly admit to not being able to find documents which have been stored on the company’s network or intranet. A high majority of these people blamed the lack of guidance as to how files should be saved.

Most networks do not offer sufficiently effective search tools to enable users to find a document in a system containing vast amounts of data. Most users would try to retrieve files based on the concepts they relate to but this is not necessarily reflected in the search capabilities of a company network. This results in users wasting time and money and consequently, inefficiencies within the business.

The solution to this is to implement an electronic document management system which provides a highly logical structured  repository for documentation. ‘Cabinets’ of information are created, each being named and operating completely independently from other cabinets within the system. Each cabinet consists of various document types which represent the nature of the paperwork which is being stored in the system. Each document type then has a series of index references which a user will use to file the electronic document away and ultimately retrieve it whenever it needs to be accessed. Document types and search references can be pre-defined and ideally, drop down lists created to ensure conformity and eliminate spelling errors. Retrieving documents then becomes a simple task and less time and potential business is lost through inefficiency.

For advice on selecting an electronic document management system to suit your requirements, please contact The IPC Group on 08081 45 46 47.