As more and more companies realize how expensive paper files and filing cabinets can be (our friends at Altec have some great stats on the cost of paper), eyes naturally tend to turn towards document management software. Options are plenty in the market and a simple Google search will yield more pages than you have time to read (about 70 million results on my last search). So how do you narrow down the options to something more manageable and that will actually provide value?
10 Questions You Should Ask When Selecting Document Management Software
The answer is in using key criteria that will allow you to focus only on the solutions that will actually be a good fit for your company. There are ten key considerations you should use during your selection process:
- Is the document management solution fully integrated?
- Does the document management solution respect the integrity of the accounting application?
- How extensible and scalable is the document management solution?
- How tight is the security?
- Are reference calls and site visits provided?
- How much should you expect to pay for a document management solution, and is the total cost of ownership stated up front?
- How self-sufficient can your organization become with the document management solution?
- Is your ERP Partner involved?
- Is the document management solution certified by your ERP vendor?
- Is the document management solution endorsed by your ERP vendor?
Understanding the Document Management Software Selection Process
Even if you haven’t done software selection before, these 10 questions will put you at an immediate advantage. When selecting software, be it document management or other business management systems, most people typically fall into the feature comparison trap. This means that if you focus only on checking boxes off an imagined feature list, you will find software that matches all the features you wanted but that may not be useful. The solution selected may end up being a costly mistake.
Focus instead on the bigger picture. Sure, there are certain specific technical and functional requirements that the solution must meet, but look also at integration with your ERP system, the reputation of the vendor, and scalability.
Select the best document management solution for your business. Contact ERP experts now for guidance.
