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Digital Documentation – A Surefire method for Indian Organizations to avoid tedious paperwork
Organizations and businesses in India are rapidly advancing, innovating every now and then and making good use of technology to streamline their operations. Documentation and paperwork have always consumed enormous time and energies of these businesses, curbing their speed and efficiency, and therefore limiting their growth prospects. Each day, heaps of important documents are created and processed, which further need to be duly stored or recorded for future use. According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study, workers spend an average of 40% of their time managing non-critical business documents. Thus, managing these documents physically is a difficult and costly affair for businesses, due to a multitude of reasons.
Shortcomings of Manual, Paper-based Processes
Firstly, it requires additional storage space to house these huge stacks of documents, which appears to be a sheer wastage of office space. Secondly, the costs of printing, scanning or faxing these documents are fairly high and are completely undesirable. Using large quantities of paper in itself is a huge cost for organizations. Moreover, the trouble of stifling through piles of files to get hold of the right documents takes a toll on employees. Also, the high risk of losing important information and data cannot be ignored, which could have serious implications for the organization.
Technology – The Perfect Solution!
Due to the above stated reasons and many more, the forward-looking enterprises of today are on the lookout for smart digital alternatives which could take over the stress of managing these important information records. A digital, paper-free environment is the need of the hour, where automation comes to the fore, putting these tedious paper-based processes to rest. The human workforce could be freed to perform other vital, productive organisational roles, broadening the vision of the company and pushing its growth to the next level. As per reports, 46% of workers spend more than 11 hours per week dealing with document management issues. Calculating this time in months or years, it turns out that the manual way of documentation poses a sever risk to the productivity of the organization at large.
Go Digital! Go Paperless! – The Many Advantages
With a right document management system in place, all the company’s data gets neatly stored and saved in the cloud, avoiding the need of building any office clutter.
All files can be easily managed from a single digital platform, and could be retrieved by any authorized employee, even remotely. Documents can be easily viewed or edited, even by employees situated in different cities or countries. Simply put, there is no need to manually prepare, print, fax or file documents, and then dig into those bundles of papers to locate the required file. According to reports, businesses spend 19.8% of their time in locating the right documents to perform their tasks effectively. Almost a day in a week! And this is quite a lot of time wasted!
Besides streamlining processes and reducing costs, such systems rule out all possibilities of errors, as the software is designed to give out only accurate results. The data organized is quick to interpret, offering greater business insights which leads to better decision making. The performance of the business eventually improves and the future growth possibilities expand, contributing to a stronger bottom line.
Another critical part in any business environment involves chasing approvals from multiple stakeholders, by exchanging umpteen rounds of communication and documentation. This elaborate back-and-forth process of taking consent from different
parties eats away a lot of human hours, or sometimes weeks, thereby delaying closure of various activities. Again, the new-age document control solutions comes as a rescue, as they are in-built with the most up-to-date e-signature technology, which facilitates automatic collection of signatures or approvals from all the parties on the go. This results in a speedy completion of all assigned projects.
Also, compliance with the increasing regulations becomes simple, with robust audit trails being in place. In case a business is required to furnish any data (client, accounting or workforce data) as evidence in times of any company dispute, this data can be quickly and conveniently presented to the legal authorities to settle the affairs.
Lastly, as the use and consumption of paper for business purposes slashes, organizations take an unconscious step to save and promote the environment. Being an eco-friendly brand puts another feather in their cap. Thus, automated workflows create a win-win situation for all – promoting the growth of people, businesses and the environment which we live in.
Choose the Right Document Management System for your Business!
Having said this, there are a variety of document management systems available in the industry, which differs in size, technology and offerings, and are suitable of catering diverse business environments. Depending upon the nature, size and scalability of the enterprise, one must opt for the right solution, which could help your business move ahead in the digital age.
Well, the transformation is happening and is real! Indian organizations are readily welcoming these leading solutions owing to a plethora of benefits that they offer. However, there is still a long way to go. The future is definitely paperless, the future is certainly digital! Get ready to embrace the new technology.