The digital age has caused many changes in the modern business world; chief among them is perhaps the ability to paperless.” While the promise of a paperless office” remains largely illusive due to the convenience and flexibility of traditional paper for daily work, digitizing paper has become an incredibly popular and powerful tool for document storage once its utility in day-to-day operations is over.
This has sparked a rapid rise in the importance of document management software to Document Management Professionals. Document management software involves the digitization of paper documents, the addition of metadata that allow for the fast and efficient sorting and searching of those documents, optical character recognition (OCR) to transform text and other elements into digital assets, and the database system that stores and tracks all of the imported documents. A robust document management system allows for the disposal and recycling of paper documents for a more environmentally friendly and less storage-dependent office.
That makes the choice of software paramount. Accurate and reliable document management software reviews are a vital tool for any modern business seeking to streamline and reduce costs.
Document Management Software Reviews
M-Files DMS
Pricing: $200 per seat.
M-Files is widely regarded as the best Windows-based DMS system in most document management software reviews.
The main benefit of M-Files is the way the system is designed to work seamlessly with the Windows Operating System. It creates a virtual drive on the network which can be interacted with just like any other networked drive. Permissions can be granted to users to add, delete, or access files. The management system software interface is layered right on top, and is very standardized on the Windows design template, making it instantly familiar to almost anyone in a modern office.
M-Files includes an approval process for all changes that can be set to require managerial approval of any alterations or deletions, standardized PDF creation of all imported files regardless of original file format, and one of the best and most flexible search engines bundled with a DMS anywhere. It’s no wonder th at its document management software reviews are so positive.
PaperPort Professional
Pricing: $199.99 for physical media, download, or volume license
PaperPort Professional is another DMS designed to integrate seamlessly with the Windows Operating System, tracking every file dropped into or removed from a designated shared folder. It features robust OCR and PDF conversion tools, and unlike M-Files allows those PDF files to be split into individual pages and merged with other files. It’s easy to use and includes built-in permissions to limit access on a user basis.
The one drawback is its lack of email integration; PaperPort will not recognize any email client and allow for automatic sending of files or reports. However, most document management software reviews agree that the relatively low price point and simplified pricing schedule makes up for this small drawback, making it an ideal DMS solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
DocPoint Personal
Pricing: Ranges from $259 – $399 for corporate installations, $194 – $299 for professional licenses, and $97 – $149 for express licenses of 1-25 seats.
DocPoint Personal is a great budget DMS solution whose main drawback is an old and clumsy interface that harkens back to the 20th Century. The interface takes a lot of getting used to and has a high learning curve, making it very slow to get going with this DMS solution.
DocPoint Personal features the standard tools necessary for a modern DMS system: Document importation, metadata tagging, and OCR. It also provides something other DMS installations don’t as rule: Deadline management, enabling users to set reminders and other time-sensitive flags on specific files.
While DocPoint integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office (including the email client Outlook) it doesn’t even acknowledge the mobile revolution, which can be limiting to a modern office. Most document management software reviews agree that DocPoint Personal is saved by its pricing and eventual robustness that make its clumsy startup worth fighting through.
– Data Czar @ DEO
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