Content Management Software

Integrated Document Management: Its Elements

Integrated document management (IDM) has several dimensions to cope with the variety and quantity of documents that are the characteristics of today’s business. Technology has made it possible to do many things that streamline the capture, storage, processing, and usage of documents.

An integrated document management system has two major objectives:

It Improves business processes through an efficient workflow. Documents support workflows in any organization that cannot work through verbal communications alone. If the documents move speedily and come to the prompt attention of concerned persons, business processes can benefit.
It enhances knowledge management through content management systems that make available all the different kinds of information being generated across the organization.

It’s for achieving these objectives that IDM uses the potential of modern technology, as illustrated below.

Data Capture Methods

Opposed to writing down (or typing) data on paper to create documents, today it’s possible to:

Capture data online through computer controlled machines
Enter transactions directly into the system through devices such as POS (point-of-sale) terminals
Enter data into handheld devices in the field and transmit them directly to the central document management system
Scan paper documents and use OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the images of text characters into computer-readable characters in ASCII or other formats
Scan the information in paper form directly into relevant database fields
Use barcode readers to transfer information from paper documents, products, packages, etc. directly into the document management or transaction-processing systems

The above data capture methods are in addition to the standard ones such as word processing and data entry from paper documents.

Working with Different Kinds of Data and Data Formats

In addition to standard ASCII or rich text, today’s businesses have to work with image, audio, and video files, each of which can come in open or proprietary formats. All these kinds of documents can contain information essential to managing the business of the organization.

Another dimension is knowledge management. Typically, transaction information was stored separately from administrative documentation that can include correspondence, research reports, and varied other kinds of documents. An integration of all the information into a content management system can help managers tap the accumulated knowledge of the organization for making decisions.

Modern IDM systems adopt approaches that enable them to work with all these kinds of files and formats in a seamless manner.

Major Components of Integrated Data Management

In addition to using methods that are best suited to capture different kinds of data originating at different locations, IDM usually have the following major components:

It stores transaction data in databases optimized for speedy transaction processing and stores all data in data warehouses optimized for querying and analysis. Data warehouses make accumulated organizational knowledge available to users.
It utilizes techniques like data mining that uses the power of computers to identify patterns users may not consider.
It Indexes all information in a manner that makes flexible and fast searches possible.
It centralizes storage of (or accessibility to) all information being generated at various locations.

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