Increasing Efficiency and Productivity via Document Management

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Saving time and reducing budget outlays do not make up the full business value of the document management advantage. By removing the wasted labor associated with old filing methods, employees can execute more projects (increasing productivity) and spend more time and attention to client needs (increasing customer satisfaction). Therefore, the value of a document management system is more than just lower overhead; there is typically an amplification of business performance across the board.

The increase in productivity and revenue in most cases far outweighs the costs of the system, implementation, and training. According to an IDC study of new software adoptees, roughly half of the companies paid off the cost of their document management system within six months. Overall, all participants found an average return on investment (ROI) of more than 400 percent after five years.

ROI, of course, varies based on the choice of system and the specific circumstances of each case. In some business situations, a digital system will create a quantum leap in growth because new capabilities give the company an opportunity to expand in ways it previously could not.

For example, most document management solutions allow secure access to company records and information from anywhere with an Internet connection. This feature alone fosters fluid collaboration within a geographically dispersed organization that would not have been possible with paper files or unmanaged PCs and servers.

Read more in the recently-released M-Files white paper, Easy Document Management: A Guide to Features, Benefits and Selection, about how document management systems often eliminate entire steps from business processes, thereby producing tremendous gains in efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, profitability.

Posted in Advice | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Effective Document Management Saves Time (and time is money!)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Looking for an item in a file cabinet and not finding it happens quite a bit. In fact, employees spend one-fifth of their day looking for hard copies, and in only 50% of the cases do they find the information in the expected place. Labor expended for file hunting is by far the biggest expense related to paper record systems. In some cases, employees never find the document in question at all, and the staff has to repeat the work to produce it again, adding to the drain on resources.

One witnesses similar slowdowns with digital files when they reside in a traditional PC-folder structure. As employees create new folders in ad hoc fashion, files become increasingly disorganized. Over time, digital content is saved on different servers and workstations, in different folders, under different names. Much like paper systems, employees go to look for the most current version of the file, but have to check multiple possible locations.

Given that such a large portion of an employee’s day consists of file handling, there is then ample opportunity to increase staff efficiency by utilizing an electronic document management system.

With the right electronic document management solution in place, businesses have far more capabilities than they would with just paper-based file or standard PC folder structure. Effective document management enables employees to:

  • Retrieve the correct document out of myriad of items throughout the company within seconds.
  • Access up-to-date file changes while working from home or on the road.
  • Prevent overwritten changes, misfiled items, and confusion over file versions.
  • Share information confidentially with other employees, partners, and customers.
  • Recover automatic backups of digital content to protect against accidental data loss.

A document management system typically indexes each item with specific keywords, keeping all data content searchable company-wide. Employees can bring up the right document in seconds, without rifling through the wrong drawers or pecking through PC file locations. Digital document management significantly reduces the time for routine file search and retrieval while largely eliminating the interruptions in work caused by misplaced information.

Read more in the recently-released M-Files white paper, Easy Document Management: A Guide to Features, Benefits and Selection, about how companies with document management systems complete projects quicker and experience faster and more accurate responses to information requests.

Posted in Advice, News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reducing Operational Costs with Effective Document Management

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

There are several factors that can motivate companies to deploy a document management solution. Many organizations seek out more effective document control because it addresses a critical business issue, while for others it’s the ability to find the right information at the right time. However, firms that still employ paper-based systems and processes often make the transition to a formal document management because they understand the significant savings they can realize by reducing operational costs associated with this approach.

The Hidden Costs of Paper-based Systems
Beyond the sizable labor costs related to handling and maintaining paper documents, hard copy storage incurs ongoing material expenses as well. If records are on paper, then obviously one is going to use more of it, plus all the other office supplies that accompany it.

Less conspicuous are the costs associated with the space requirements demanded by the storage of paper files. Eliminating six average-sized file cabinets will typically free up office space for one additional employee workstation. In addition, older records often require off-site storage, as well as the material and labor costs of packing and moving.

Printer and copy toner, printer and copier repair, and other related handling adds up to six times that of the blank paper itself. Further research shows that companies with paper methods photocopy each document an average of 19 times.

Of course, printing and copying do not disappear entirely in a paperless environment, but when paper no longer constitutes the primary medium for information storage and distribution, an office prints and copies significantly less.

In the recently-released M-Files white paper, Easy Document Management: A Guide to Features, Benefits and Selection, we examine many reasons why companies seek to gain a higher level of control over their operations through effective document management. In regards to reducing operational costs, this white paper features an analysis of the total yearly cost of utilizing a paper-based system for a department of ten employees — enabling you to see just how expensive this approach can be.

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

M-Files Earns Excellent Scores in Customer and Staff Satisfaction Surveys

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

According to a recent customer survey, M-Files users are very satisfied!

Innolink Research recently conducted a customer satisfaction survey among 350 Finnish M-Files customers. The survey was administered via telephone interviews during Fall 2011 and respondents held executive-level or decision-making positions in customer companies.

The results just came in — and we’re happy to report that our customers are very satisfied with the M-Files solution, as well as with our company as a partner. In fact, 95% of respondents said they were very or quite satisfied with the M-Files document management system, and 93% were very or quite satisfied with M-Files Corporation as a partner. In addition, 95% indicated they would recommend M-Files to other companies.

Furthermore, the study revealed that M-Files is utilized as one of the primary systems for more than 80% of companies surveyed, which reflects the significant importance and integral role of document management in business operations.

M-Files Employees Also Express Their Satisfaction

And it’s not just M-Files customers who are singing our praises — our M-Files team is too!

In addition to the customer satisfaction survey, we also conducted an internal well-being survey last Fall. The survey was administered by a Finland-based insurance company (Eläke-Tapiola), and according the results, M-Files is a great place to work! We received an overall score of 4 (out of 5), while the average score for other Finland-based companies was 3.6.

The results were no surprise to us — the positive and supportive atmosphere at M-Files can be seen and felt every day. We’re proud of the corporate culture here at M-Files — where information is shared, communication and collaboration are king, and colleagues receive the help and support they need.

We are looking at the results very carefully and considering numerous ways for improving the M-Files product and company operations. Our goal is to earn even higher marks in the future as we continue to enhance the M-Files experience for our customers, partners and employees.

Posted in News, Partners | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pure Cloud Versus Software Client-based Document Management: Achieving Optimal Speed and Reliability

Posted on January 4, 2012 by

By Mika Javanainen, Director of Product Management, M-Files Corporation

Cloud-based document management is becoming more and more pervasive. This is clearly evident here at M-Files as one out of every three new customers we sign up chooses our cloud option (M-Files Cloud Vault).

Most cloud services add value to customers through scalable performance and cost effectiveness. Based on our experience, many M-Files Cloud Vault customers are seeking the accessibility benefits of cloud solutions but are not ready to sacrifice the convenience and speed associated with traditional on-premise systems.

The Need for Speed in Accessing Documents
Our customers expect that a large PowerPoint presentation opens about as quickly in M-Files as customer details in their CRM system, for example. Achieving this user experience with a web-client is virtually impossible since even the latest web technologies do not offer sufficient caching capabilities that Windows applications can support natively. This is why we developed the M-Files client to cache recently opened files, which means requested files open as quickly as from a user’s local C drive even if the data repository resides in the cloud.

Access to Information Even When Offline
Local caching of files by the M-Files client also offers the ability to access documents even when a network or Internet connection is not available. With an on-premise deployment, if Internet access goes down, it’s typically still possible to access the document repository on the company network. With a cloud-based service, however, no Internet connection usually means no access — and potentially critical work stoppage. This situation can also occur even during the course of normal business, such as when in transit when traveling, visiting a customer or prospect site, or working from home (basically, anywhere where Internet access might be unavailable or restricted). Having fast, always-available access to documents offsets the potential downside of cloud-based services related to the mandatory requirement for Internet access.

We offer three M-Files clients: web, mobile and Windows, all of which are offered with both on-premise and cloud-based deployments. It is too early to say which solutions will become the de-facto standards for cloud-based services, but we do know that our customers appreciate the option to buy document management as a service, and thus outsource system maintenance to us. Because the ability to quickly open files as well as accessing them when offline is important to our customers, most see installing the M-Files Windows client as an advantage that boosts document management efficiency, especially when using a cloud-based repository.

As companies begin to adopt cloud-based services, hybrid cloud deployments that leverage cloud-based solutions in concert with client software and/or existing on-premise systems can provide customers with a smoother and more productive transition to the benefits of cloud computing.

Posted in Products, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment