Five ways to increase data security with document management

Documents are a necessary part of any business. Everything from contracts, invoices, and memos to compliance forms and tax documents must be created and filed for future reference.

Managing it is a frustrating and costly time-suck, not to mention a security risk. That’s why increasing numbers of enterprises are turning to document management.

An efficient document management system (DMS) improves data security in the following ways:

Access Control:

Access to documents can be controlled for different individuals or groups. A document management system also leaves an audit trail of who viewed a document, when it was accessed, and how it may have been modified. A DMS can also help you manage passwords, making it easy to retrieve them when requested or retire them when a user leaves an organisation.

Encryption:

Files and documents may well be sitting securely on your server, but as soon as you send them to someone, they’re vulnerable to being intercepted by cybercriminals. DMS encryption protects data from falling into the wrong hands.

Version Control:

Manually saving documents in file shares means it can be nearly impossible to tell whether you are working on the latest version. And it can be a security nightmare to have multiple document versions spread over several locations. With version control, you know everyone is working from the same document and that it’s the latest version. Good version control beefs up security by keeping an audit trail of how files were changed, who saw those changes, and whether they have been approved.

Workflow Automation:

A sound document management system will automatically route documents to their destination. This helps ensure that sensitive information isn’t accidentally sent to the wrong person.

Protects Your Documents From Destruction:

When documents are securely tucked away in the cloud and access is restricted, they cannot be destroyed. When access is unrestricted and documents are easily available, there is always the potential for them to be accidentally destroyed. This cannot happen with robust DMS solutions. 

If you’re looking to invest in a document management solution to safeguard your data, contact us for more information.