Many executives have no idea how to implement a document management system or how critical it is. Managing large volumes of documents and data can be time-consuming and overwhelming, but it’s necessary for any business because it ensures that sensitive information is protected, organized, and in compliance. 

SharePoint document management is a powerful option that can help you manage your documents securely and efficiently. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore what SharePoint document management is, why it’s important, and which industries benefit the most from it.

What is SharePoint Document Management?

Almost every organization needs a platform that can manage their documents and allow users to digitally collaborate in real time.  However, traditional document management methods such as having files on paper or scattered in shared drives and Dropbox (for example) are time-consuming to search, retrieve and use for processing.

SharePoint document management provides a web-based collaboration and document management solution that allows users to store, organize, and work on documents in real-time. It also offers various tools such as document libraries, version control, and compliance features, making document management easier and more efficient for organizations.

Here’s a breakdown of some of SharePoint’s best features.

Document libraries:

 SharePoint’s document libraries are a central repository for storing and organizing documents. Users can create new documents, upload existing ones, and set permissions to control who can access and edit them. 

Why SharePoint Document Libraries/Control Are Important For Security

One of the biggest pluses of SharePoint is its document control and how it limits risk and increases efficiency. With SharePoint document management, you can control who has access to documents, who can create them, and who can modify them.

It’s extremely important that businesses have these features available to ensure that they are in compliance with regulatory bodies. 

The reason for these regulations stems from the danger imposed by unsecured documents. If anyone can access a document easily, this can lead to malware attacks if a document becomes infected, breach of confidentiality, and more.

 With SharePoint document management, all of these problems don’t exist due to its strict protocols that only allow access to approved users. What’s more, even if a document is damaged or altered in an unfavourable way, a previous version of the file can be restored. 

Automating Tasks With SharePoint Document Management

Another benefit that goes unnoticed by most is how SharePoint document management can optimize workflows. The approval process is a common problem that most businesses face because of how long it takes. In my personal experience, I had a client whose construction business took one year to get started on a project due to their long approval process until I implemented a SharePoint document system with a circulation and approval service. 

How it works is SharePoint can be optimized so that users can set up rules that automatically route documents to the appropriate reviewers, track the entire approval progress, and notify the correct people when a document has reached its final approval. You can even take it as far as automating an entire proposal process so only a limited number of people have to sign off on a document before it’s fully approved. 

Effortlessly Streamline Workflows: The Value of Document Templates

If you don’t have a document management system like SharePoint, then your employees likely spend a lot of time creating documents from scratch. This can lead to your usual errors and missed deadlines which ultimately affect your bottom line. 

Not with SharePoint! 

Document templates (or content types) are pre-designed documents that include placeholders for text, images, and other content. By using templates, employees can quickly and easily create new documents without having to start from scratch.

Unlock the Power of Your Data: Locate Documents Easily With SharePoint

Having paper documents or digital files on a Google Workspace might seem like an efficient way to handle document management, but when your number of documents becomes too large, it will inevitably become disorganized. 

Files in a filing cabinet will make finding the appropriate document tedious, and the search capabilities of Google Workspace are limited, making locating a document very challenging. 

One of the best things about SharePoint is its Search and Discovery feature that allows users to quickly find the documents they need. Employees can search for documents based on keywords, file types, topics, metadata, or author, streamlining the search process and reducing the time required to locate documents.

Nothing is worse than having to recreate a document due to not being able to find the original in a sea of files. 

Industries That Benefit Most from SharePoint Document Management

SharePoint document management can benefit businesses of all sizes and industries, but certain industries can benefit more than others. Here are a few of them.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry is one of the most highly regulated, and for good reason. Patients should have their information protected. 

Not every DMS is up to the task of protecting client data and keeping it organized. One mistake or misstep can lead to lawsuits and reputational damage, which are extremely common in this field. A whopping 23% of lawsuits in the healthcare industry are because of data breaches. 

SharePoint document management can help mitigate risk and assist healthcare providers in managing their documents securely by complying with regulations like HIPAA.

Legal

Law firms handle large volumes of sensitive documents and data. The average practice creates about 100 new documents a day, making organization and security a tall task. On top of all that, complying with GDPR on a paper-based or standard digital system is very difficult. 

SharePoint document management is the best Matter Management System for law firms because of its document library features that make collaborating, redaction, email integration, searching, and securing documents a breeze. 

 Finance

Financial institutions handle sensitive information such as financial statements and client data. There are also strict compliance requirements around data security. It’s critical that financial documents be on-hand at a moment’s notice for obvious reasons. 

SharePoint document management can help financial institutions manage their documents securely, maintain privacy, extract data from key documents and ensure compliance with regulations like SOX.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing companies often have complex supply chains and manage large volumes of documents, such as product specifications and quality control documents.

SharePoint document management can help manufacturing companies systematize their management of documents efficiently and ensure consistency across teams.

SharePoint Document Management: The Bottom Line

This was just a short list of industries that can benefit from SharePoint, but in truth, any business that operates with more than one employee can benefit tremendously from SharePoint document management.

If you’re looking for a document management solution to improve your company’s efficiency and compliance, please contact us for a free demo to show you how SharePoint can be implemented into your business.