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ROI of Document Management SystemA Cybage perspective

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ROI of Document Management System

The larger the scale and spread of business functions, the more is the documentation created around it. Every function or department in a business will maintain their own set of documents such as contracts, purchase orders, reports, bills, statements of work, among others. In a traditional environment, these documents are physically maintained, and the process involved is both time-consuming and expensive.However, most businesses these days have started adopting Document Management Systems (DMS) to maintain their documents seamlessly.Years of research and innovations towards creating a ‘paperless offi ce’ have culminated in the emergence of E-documents or Electronic Documents worldwide. The last few years have seen most businesses proactively adopting technology to achieve business effi ciency. Furthermore, the reduction in technology costs has allowed even small and mid-sized businesses to go for it. Implementing DMS is one such practice towards achieving the aforementioned goal.But before adopting any technology, entrepreneurs will expect a substantial Return on Investment (ROI), and this holds true for technology too. This paper conducts a quick overview of the DMS trend and focuses on the ROI it generates for investors.

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Abstract

1. Quick overview of Document Management System (DMS) ...... 3

2. Features of DMS .................................................................................... 3

3. Return on Investment (ROI) for DMS ............................................... 3



Table of Contents

1. Quick overview of Document Management System (DMS)A DMS is designed from the ground up to assist an organization in managing the creation, access, distribution, storage, and expiration of content. A DMS revolves around a centralized repository that manages the storage of any information that could be of value to an organization—and protect the same against loss. Furthermore, some DMS allow integration of workfl ows and rules over document access or usage. Capture process is not mandatorily a primary component of a DMS, but it usually comes as an add-on component with the basic solution.DMS implementations are present across all businesses—private companies, government agencies, universities, legal setups, fi nancial institutions, among others.

2. Features of DMSMany types of DMS software are available in the market, but the ‘best of breed’ DMS will have the following features: • Focus on pure document

management including document expiration; although they can often

manage other ‘electronic content’ such as media fi les

• Each entity (document) is self-contained

• Documents can be grouped using a classifi cation scheme

• Powerful workfl ow for integrating business processes into the administration of the documents

• Access security at all levels; be it a single unit, a group, or multiple groups

3. Challenges in traditional document managementHere, by ‘Traditional document management’ we mean techniques such as manual fi ling or shared network folders.

The quantum of unstructured data exceeds the structured data in any organization. This leads to accumulation of this unstructured data on hard drives, fi le cabinets, or shared network folders. All this snowballs into little or no control over this unstructured data, or sometimes even knowledge of the existence of this data, which is supposed to be confi dential. The problems associated with manual fi ling are as follows:• Human error: Studies have

recorded that the ‘human error’





factor is a signifi cant contributor to non-effi ciency and cost. For instance, according to a study by Cooper and Lybrand, 10 out of every 100 documents are placed on the wrong desk or are removed from the offi ce, and so on. (Source: Imersion Technology Inc.). This may be due to wrong storage or misfi ling of documents or pure human execution error. As insignifi cant as it may seem, this is a vital contributor to increasing costs.

• Storage space and cost: As your data grows or copies are generated, especially with mandatory retention of old copies, the amount of physical space required for storage and the cost of ownership or lease of this space is an ever-growing number. And we are not even talking about the efforts and costs required for search, retrieval, and delivery of these documents to the end user.

• Security issue: File cabinets or shared network drives have one problem in common—the security applied to both will be common for all items stored inside them. So if a person has access to a fi le cabinet, that person can obviously reach out to other documents in that cabinet. This is applicable for shared network storage too. Yes,

you can have multiple folders within this shared folder and segregate your documents, but this is against the best practices of document and records management.

• Slow accessibility and diffi culty in sharing: Access to hard copies of documents is limited because such data can only exist in one location at a time. To overcome this challenge, we may have to obtain multiple copies, but then this opens a Pandora’s Box of problems such as synchronization between these documents, cost of printing and maintaining multiple copies, and so on. Furthermore, retrieval of physical documents can be a ginormous task (especially with organizations storing lakhs of documents), not to mention a delayed and costly one too. Statistics reveal that ‘professionals spend 5-15 percent of their time reading information, but up to 50 percent looking for it’. (Source: Coopers & Lybrand, Imersion Technology Inc.)

4. Return on Investment(ROI) for DMSThe factors that work in favor of DMS over manual documentation are listed below:



• Storage costs: The cost incurred for storing physical documents at a commercially leased or owned property contributes signifi cantly to the overall business expenses. Furthermore, the mandate to archive older documents in compliance with regulatory norms means that this cost may be an ever-increasing one. Scanning documents and integrating them into a DMS can greatly reduce the amount of prime storage space required for physical documents.

• Controlled and improved document distribution: Imaging makes it easy for sharing documents electronically with colleagues and clients over a network, by email, or the Web. This is in contrast with physical documents which require printed copies to be shared. DMS helps save on costs by reducing the overheads associated with physical document distribution. In other words, print costs, post or courier expenses, and the typical delay associated with providing information in a hard copy are eliminated.

• Improved internal operations: The reduced time to complete processes provided by the tangible benefi ts of DMS improves the day-to-day

operations of all functions within an organization. This, in turn, leads to an improved fl ow of information, an increased confi dence in the staff regarding their ability to solve problems, and a general ‘feel good’ factor.

• Data security: A DMS can provide better, more fl exible control over sensitive information. Most DMS solutions permit access to documents to be managed at the folder and/or document level for different groups and/or individuals. This level of exclusivity is not possible when dealing with physical documents. A DMS provides an audit history of who viewed a document and when, who modifi ed a document and when—something that is diffi cult to track when dealing with physical documents. A DMS also eliminates the chance of having confi dential material or trade secrets lying around unattended in an offi ce.



• Flexible retrieval: Retrieving documents stored as hard copies, or on microfi lm takes up a lot of time. A DMS creates editable and/or non-editable electronic versions of documents and stores them centrally. Less time is spent in locating the documents as they can be retrieved electronically through DMS. The possibility of loss of physical documents cannot be ruled out when they are retrieved from the storage house and taken to the personnel’s desk. This also means that if one person is accessing the document, the same may not be available to the others.

• Preserve intellectual capital (organizational knowledge): New or revised content can be ‘pushed’ to the employees, without

having to rely on ‘coffee machine conversations’ or ‘round robin’ emails. The storage of information is not locked away in the minds of specifi c individuals and can be easily shared across the organization (even physical locations), thus increasing the value of that information to the organization.

• Lowered document handling costs: Direct or indirect reduction of manual document handling and processing contributes to the overall cost effi ciency of a business. This can be calculated on the basis of some factors such as:o Number of employees working in

an organization regularly dealing with documents

o The number of times an individual accesses or stores a physical document per day

o Time taken to retrieve a physical document

o Employment cost spent on such employees

o Physical copies printed per dayo Effort spent by an individual on

document fi ling



The ECM CoE at Cybage enables customers to capitalize on their organizational data and transform it into meaningful information for making effective business decisions and strategies for optimizing operations.

The CoE offers: o Consulting, reviewing, and strategy

developmento Comprehensive implementations

and maintenance serviceso Enterprise integrations with HRMS,

CRM, ERP, and BI platformso Specialized technical support

A few quick facts about the CoE:o 164 specialized resourceso Microsoft Gold competency in

collaborations and portals

o Skills in three large enterprise platforms and 26 WCM systems

o Executed 96 projects, 55 case studies, and 50 live reference links

For more information on document management implementations and how your business can adopt DMS solutions to optimize productivity, effi ciency, and increase cost savings, please contact Cybage Enterprise Content Management, Center of Excellence.

About Cybage ECM CoE



Founded in 1995, Cybage Software is a leading offshore software services company offering solutions that accelerate, simplify, and enrich business processes to give its customers an edge over competition. We are an CMMI-DEV v1.3, Maturity Level 5 and ISO 27001 company based in Pune, India. Our success is built on a pool of 4,600 software professionals. Based on a remarkable record of quality, consistency, and outstanding technological prowess, we have partnered with more than 200 global software houses of fi ne repute. Our array of services includes Product Engineering (OPD), Enterprise Business Solutions, and Value Added Services. Cybage specializes in the implementation of the Offshore Development model.

The Cybage domain expertise spans across several business verticals such as Media and Entertainment, Travel and Hospitality, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Retail and Distribution, and Hi-Tech. Cybage has eight technology focused Centers of Excellence (CoEs) — E-commerce, Enterprise Mobility, Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Content Management, Cloud Computing, Education & Learning, and Supply Chain Management.

Our unique model of operational effi ciency, ExcelShore®, helps de-risk our approach and provide the best value per unit cost.

To know more about us, visit us at www.cybage.com or write to us at [email protected].

About Cybage Software Pvt. Ltd.