Benefits of Enterprise Content Management for Financial Institutions

Competition, mergers, and regulation within the financial services industry have led to dramatic changes in the way that banks and credit unions conduct business. Historically, transactions were the main priority of lending institutions. Now, banks, brokers, mortgage companies, and credit unions find themselves responding to constantly changing customer needs. Institutions are likely to concentrate on activities that strengthen the customer relationship.
To be successful in a competitive marketplace, lending institutions require tools that enable them to gain a complete overview of their customer transactions. Organisations with paper-based processes are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to efficiency and productivity. Fortunately, enterprise content management (ECM) software has evolved to serve the needs of banking and finance organisations in their efforts to optimise customer service, address regulatory responsibilities, and improve accessibility to information. Here are some of the benefits of Enterprise content management for banks.

1. Eliminate Loan Processing Bottlenecks
* Capture new client data in electronic forms that can be digitally routed through origination, closing and funding.
* Use document versioning to ensure that loan officers, branch managers and underwriters are working with the most accurate loan documents.
* Reduce manual data entry by automatically pulling information from existing databases, records and forms.

2. Improve Back-Office Productivity
* Centralise customer records and make information available to all authorised branch employees on demand.
* Retrieve documents instantly based on loan number, CIF number, SSN, EID or document type.
* Eliminate time wasted tracking down physical documents.

3. Create More Responsive Client Service
* Enable simultaneous access to documents to allow customer service reps to efficiently answer customer questions.
* Create workflows that automate suitability approval and exception handling.
* Create online portals where customers can securely access and submit forms and review agreements and supporting documents.

4. Reduce The Cost and Complexity of Compliance
* Provide auditors with instant digital access to records.
* Reduce the cost of storing and transferring paper records.
* Automate document retention to eliminate lost documents and associated fines.
* Constantly monitor document access and retrieval to maintain the highest standards of security.


For more information on Enterprise Content Management Solution ECM, Electronic Document Management Solutions, Business Process Management Solutions call Julius/Fidelis on 08020619478/08062539412 or Visit www.tecres.com.ng

Starter Guide Tips On Document Management

Have you ever stopped to consider how much time you spend looking for a particular document? Could your file-managing habits be one of the reasons you are not productive? Do you think your filing habit needs improvements?

If you work on a computer every other day, it is very easy to drown in a pool of digital formats. You create presentations, write essays, analyse spreadsheets and edit images and at one point all these gets stored and saved. This goes a long way to prove that document management is behind almost everything we do electronically.  We have an understanding that document management can be one of the most tedious and time-consuming tasks of an individual life so we have put together a guide on some basics to keep in mind that can help you improve any digital documentation routine.

1.      Organise Email Attachments and Documents

Organising email attachment is a great place to start. Your email is a powerful tool which is unintentionally used as a document management tool. You use your email to send and receive emails on a daily basis all of which is easily but digging them up on the other hand isn’t. For a situation like this, it is best you download your attachment in bulk with a tool. Doing so can help you transfer and organise file attachments into your document system smoothly. With this, you can extract and download email attachment from all your emailing platforms, filter the files types and specify download location and other specifics.

2.      Integrate Cloud Storage Into Your Routine: The Web has grown into a cloud computing platform that makes everything accessible online.  Yet this approach can create more stress than they are worth if you don’t plan how you will be using them. Upload files wisely by integrating them with your working habits. Here are a few methods to consider:

·   For mobile work, automate your apps to upload files from your device straight to the cloud.

·   Use dedicated services for different formats of documents.

·   Create a designated cloud folder to download things you won’t need permanently. It will keep your local folders free from junks.

3.      Create A Nested Folder System: 

A structured system is reflective of how you remember information. It can literally point you in the right direction with every level you click through. All you need to do is make sure that your folders have a logical hierarchy. Start off with the main folder and then create subfolders to filter out files. The major thing is to remember to label folders according to your work process.

4.      Use A Standard Naming Convention: 

Use a consistent and logical naming process. Make sure your files include things like date, document status, names, and other details that can pinpoint and categorise the file’s contents. File names should be scannable, naturally ordered and highly descriptive. Remember to decide on the formats you would use for the d i.e. DD-MM-YY or first names.

5.      Separate Your Files By Format:

 Sometimes file names won’t come to mind easily as the format will. If this is the case with you, you might want to organise your files by format. If you use this method along with nested folders, it can be a faster way to find a file. You don’t have to resort through a folder full of different file formats.

6.      Archive and Delete Files Regularly: 

The worst part of creating documents is the fact that they can quickly get outdated or obsolete especially with files created with ad hoc. Set up a time frame to delete files regularly to keep them from piling up. 

With the way file management and creation is constantly evolving, knowing just a few of your habits can go a long way in creating a document management system that works for you. 

How to Know The Best Electronic Document Management Solution

You are likely considering an EDM/ECM/BPM solution that will suit your organisation or you are probably thinking about it as a future undertaking. The truth is that if your organization still receives, generates physical documents frequently or your staff still spend considerable time trying to get those documents, or your auditors, customers/clients, workers still have to depend on business processes that are manual routines for service delivery, you are wasting resources and time running your business.
Whether you are considering it now or in the future, EDM/ECM/BPM solution creates a smarter way to be more efficient and effective in a cruelly competitive business era. Let me warn you that not all EDM/ECM/BPM solutions can meet your need; hence you need, at worst, a suitable one or at best a custom-built/flexible suit.
At worst, an EDM/ECM/BPM solution should be an easy-to-use yet extremely powerful integrated document and workflow management system. It should be able to capture, organise, and share any type of digital or paper-based document within a secure, central repository. Usage should be easy, document retrieval instant, integration with existing applications seamless, with an ability to support as few or as many enterprise users as your firm requires.
The solution should enable your privileged staff gain instant access to critical documents and files 24/7, regardless of their physical location. Documents scanned should be made available to secured, authorised staff via an EDM/ECM/BPM solution with highly secure electronic versioning capabilities.
Not only should an EDM/ECM/BPM solution be able to easily track and control client-sensitive information but also stores all of your firm's most critical content in a highly secure repository and provides comprehensive audit trail capabilities, including date/time stamps, task originators/descriptions, and related document activities such as who worked on or reviewed the document. Ability to manage privileges such as viewing (read-only), printing, editing, deleting, storing should be basic functionalities. This would virtually eliminate any possibility that the documents stored in your system will be altered without detection, ensuring the undisputed authenticity of records.
At best, an EDM/ECM/BPM solution should be custom-built or has the flexibility for such. Good EDM/ECM/BPM solution comes with Software Development Kits (SDK) which would enable your IT department (if you have one) adjust the solution and build on it to suit your firm or integrate it to the most ‘stubborn’ applications ever developed. Integration with existing applications as well as support is very important. Some EDM/ECM/BPM solutions come with web-based forms that enable firms capture and work with information. These forms could also be used to automate basic business processes using Business Process Model and Notation, and enable participation to users beyond your organisation

Central to all these, if not the deciding factor, is the cost of purchase and maintenance thereafter. No good EDM/ECM/BPM solution comes cheap – nothing good comes cheap after all. Continuous usage should not be contingent on supports from the developer as this can be financially draining at the long run. You should have the option to choose when to pay for supports.
Requests for a Proof of Concept (PoC) and visits to existing users of the solutions would enable you to conduct comprehensive comparative analyses.

How paper-light practices can help your legal firm win more cases

Few professions are as ‘docu-centric’ as law firms. Documents are important to law firms as evidence is important in a legal proceeding. In fact, documents are evidence, documents have become a unique feature of the legal profession.  A usual law firm generates or receives myriads of physical documents every year, ranging from pleadings to evidence files which are archived in shelves domiciled in a certain dark room. Emails received or generated are either printed out and physically archived or left in one’s email and on many occasions in different folders in several persons’ emails; hence central location is lacking.

Managing physical documents is crucially important to lawyers and on several occasions overwhelming, frustrating, costly and time-consuming. Of serious concern to every solicitor is taking care of any document entrusted to them. Many dream of a day when they would be able to access whatever documents, whenever they need them, wherever they are within seconds.

A Paper-light office makes it possible for you rely less on a physical document, ensures quick retrieval irrespective of your location, and provides secured storage among other benefits. Paper-light Office converts all physical documents into digitized format(s) with solution(s) that would ensure proper management of these documents. The simple goal is to turn your paper documents (physical archive) into a digital archive which can be securely stored more efficiently (in the cloud) and quickly be accessed anywhere, anytime, hence eliminating time wasting in searching for documents and the fear of losing the document.

The cost of Paper-light Office pales into insignificant when compared with the costs of maintaining an archive room, the man-hour lost in searching and retrieving documents which in some cases are never found, the actual  cost of losing the documents, and other mental distresses and inconveniences experienced as a result of depending on physical documents.     
   
From our experience in dealing with legal firms, Paper-light Office helps to:

1. Increase billable hours and improve client service quality.
2. Streamline the process of retrieving and distributing essential information.
3. Provide simultaneous access to client information.
4. Improve operational efficiency with minimal disruption.
5. Improve information security and document integrity.
6. Enable productivity tracking and accountability, ensuring turnaround requirements are always met.
7. Streamline compliance-driven documentation requirements.
8. Reduce paper, paper storage, photocopying, and faxing costs.

Migration to Paper-light Office is gradual, systematic and custom-built, hence we suggest that you first consider digitization of the most important, frequently consulted or searched documents. Depending on the volumes, cloud storage could be free. To increase your confidence in Paper-light Office, we offer, for a start, to digitize for free 1.5 % of the estimated number of pages of your documents. You determine the most important documents for this test.

We at Tecres Technologies help Legal firms realize that dream with Paper-light Office. Why not allow us to help you make your work easier and more efficient!

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Picking a Document Management Software (DMS)

1. Not buying enough scanning capacity. Too often, organisations use their average document processing volumes when determining scanning capacity.
2. Not including all stakeholders – both business and IT – in the requirements definition. In some cases, the IT department will unilaterally choose the organisation’s scanners, in turn, saddling operations with scanners that don’t meet their requirements or are not easy for operators to use.
3. Buying a solution without conducting a proof of concept. Organizations should never purchase a scanner without first seeing how it processes their documents.
4. Making decisions on front-end and back-end systems separately. An organization’s front-end scanning and capture solution must work in concert with its back-end workflow technology.
5. Not coordinating software and hardware vendors during system deployment. No one wins in this scenario. A lack of coordination typically results in wasted effort, finger pointing, and delayed implementations.
6. Not using a phased implementation approach. In their drive for fast results, too many organisations bite off more than they can chew when implementing a scanning solution.
7. Letting “fear of change” take over. Too many organisations are close minded when it comes to re-engineering their processes, falling back on the way they’ve done things for the past five or 10 years.
8. Not thinking LEAN. Organisations should always be looking for ways to do more with less.
9. Not cutting the paper cord. Many organisations use unique transaction separator sheets for each type of work that they process, creating an enormous breadth and volume of paper.
10. Not sharing – as in shared services. With the economy still struggling, and capital budgets tight, organisations should look to consolidate multiple scanning functions on a single platform.

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

4 Creative Ways You Can Archive your Documents for Enhanced Productivity

Document management software comes in different types. There are the web-based document management system, Client Server based, Database and the most recent one which is the Cloud-based document management system.

How do you decide which of this software is the right approach for you? This might be one of the toughest decisions to make because each document management vendor will give you their personal reasons as to why you should buy the software they are offering you. However, your final decision should be based on how you want to use your document management system and how your It infrastructure is designed.

Here are some of the key features of each document Management System that can help you in your decision-making process.

1. Web Based Document Management System: One of the strengths of this platform is that it doesn’t need the deployment of a client software package. The internet browser on each workstation is the access point for the document management. Most Web-based packages lend themselves to supporting multiple branch operations right out of the box.

2. Client Server Based Document Management System: This type of DM is based upon a system where a server-based software package is linked to a client software package which resides on each user's workstation.  The principal behind this type of system is that the server software does the heavy lifting like database searches, managing capture systems, file conversions from scanned paper and security management.  The client software handles the user interface, document viewing and some of the data processes.  These types of systems are often found in legacy document management packages since the computing horsepower to deal with large document sizes was not generally available a few years ago.

3. Database Document Management System:These types of packages are usually integrated with the underlying data based structure like Oracle or SQL (Structured Query Language). By storing all of the information of the document management in the same database, they have the opportunity to have a more robust and sophisticated linkage between image and date. The downside is often in licensing model of the date and the additional horsepower they may require.

4.  Cloud Based Document Management System: This type of document management was originally called “Hosted Document Management”. Cloud-based packages make use of software that is run on the host’s system and permits the users to operate using a link over the internet. They are similar to the Web-based packages except that  in the cloud scenario, the user date is stored on the host’s server rather than on a server located in the user’s office. The benefit, is that there is no software to acquire but a monthly subscription is used to pay for the services.

Every one of these types of document management system has their uses, benefits, attractions and their challenges. In most scenarios, it is not the platform decision that will dictate a choice of software but the key features that each platform provides. These features include;

• Level of document security
• Ability to easily integrate other devices
• Need for remote or local access
• Types of files being stored
• The amount of data to be handled
• Price
• Licensing provision
• Support plan
• Software operating system etc.

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

What is Enterprise Content Management (ECM)?

Enterprise content management (ECM) is a set of defined processes that allow a corporation, agency or organisation to obtain, organise, store and deliver information crucial to its operation in the most effective manner possible.

A primary goal of ECM is to eliminate ad hoc processes that can expose an organisation to regulatory compliance risks and other potential problems. Full-function ECM systems include features such as document and records management, content taxonomies, auditing capabilities, check-in/check-out and other workflow controls and security mechanisms.

An effective ECM can streamline access, eliminate bottlenecks, optimise security, maintain corporate integrity and minimise overhead. The first step is to document all the types of content that the organisation deals with, the business processes it's part of and who handles it. ECM software tools can be used to identify duplicate and near-duplicate content, allowing the organisation to keep a few copies of a particular piece of content instead of hundreds.

ECM has become increasingly important and complex in recent years for a number of reasons. Financial fraud and data breaches, and regulations designed to prevent them have made effective information governance essential not only for compliance reasons but also to help protect the organisation's reputation. Enterprises also need to manage content effectively for integration with business intelligence/business analytics applications that help them to use the available information to guide business decisions.


For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

Increase Productivity with Paperless Approval and Payment Processing

Movies and comic strips have often used an image of a frazzled boss piling papers onto an employee’s desk, demanding that he “have those reports back on my desk by the next day morning.” In reality, as business demands increase, work becomes more efficient if a number of paperwork decreases.

Gone are the days of paper files shoved into cabinets lined up end to end in a basement. Instead, successful business owners are saving time and improving productivity by shifting internal processes in the direction of paperless enterprise content management and digital document management.

Though there are costs associated with switching to a paperless business, the benefits include: saving money, better-utilizing space, boosting productivity, keeping confidential information more secure, making documentation and information sharing easier and helping the environment. Here are some benefit of switching your accounting process to paperless process.

Accelerate AP and AR processing- Enable more timely payments and lower collection costs.

• Scan and capture information from multiple invoices at once.
• Automatically route invoices to multiple employees for review, approval and cheque processing.
• Audit activity throughout the A/P process to maximise productivity.
• Securely store invoices and related financial documentation for easy retrieval.

Demonstrate regulatory compliance-  Manage information access through a web-based administrative console.

• Limit access by user, role, folder, document and/or data field.
• Maintain round-the-clock visibility of who is accessing, printing or emailing financial records.
• Grant contractors and others read-only access to content, minimising the need for A/P staff to pull files and provide status updates.
• Help ensure compliance with DoD 5015.2-certified records management tools.

Integrate with ERP Systems- Facilitate information transfer between Laserfiche and existing accounting software.

• Reduce data entry with automatic lookups for vendor or invoice numbers.
• Access documents stored in Laserfiche directly from accounting applications.
• Transfer files from network directories, fax servers and more.
• Trigger invoicing review and approval from actions taken in PeopleSoft®, Microsoft® SharePoint® and other popular back-office systems.

Content from Laserfiche Solution with additional content from Tecres technologies

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our DMS solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

[Infographic] 10 Things to Know About Document Management in the Public Sector

Are paper-driven tasks taking longer than they should? If yes, it may be time to modernise your business processes with document management. In the following infographic, the Center for Digital Government (CDG) compiled survey responses from 203 US state officials regarding their use of document management solutions. Over 80 percent of respondents agree that document management is a priority. Get informed about the 10 things you need to know about document management in the public sector and how Nigeria Government at the various level can work more efficiently.

infographic

Content from Laserfiche Solution with additional content from Tecres technologies

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our DMS solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

[Infographic] 10 Things to Know About Document Management in the Public Sector

Are paper-driven tasks taking longer than they should? If yes, it may be time to modernise your business processes with document management. In the following infographic, the Center for Digital Government (CDG) compiled survey responses from 203 US state officials regarding their use of document management solutions. Over 80 percent of respondents agree that document management is a priority. Get informed about the 10 things you need to know about document management in the public sector and how Nigeria Government at the various level can work more efficiently.

infographic

Content from Laserfiche Solution with additional content from Tecres technologies

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our DMS solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

8 Must-haves Features for Every Document Management System

A document management system (DMS) is a system (based on computer programs in the case of the management of digital documents) used to track, manage and store documents. This system should be capable of keeping a record of the various versions of the documents created and modified by different users (history tracking).

Document management software makes it easy for businesses to combine paper and digital files and store them; physical documents or paper files are scanned and digital formats are imported. File formats supported can range from Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, etc.

Document Management processes are essential to ensure statutory or regulatory compliance, such as tax declarations, conformation to various standards, such as ISO, FDA, etc. Such requirements demand easy traceability of documents and audit trail of document creation, access, modification, approval and submission.

Document management is essential in all sectors: Commercial Businesses, Banking, Non-Banking Finance & Insurance, Government & Non-Government, Education, Healthcare, Research & Development, Construction and many more.

Today, implementing a quality document management system is critical for a business to succeed. Therefore, when searching for a reputable document management system, have in mind that an ideal DMS should contain the following 8 groups of features:

• Document Input
• Document Indexing
• Document Search
• Document Processing
• Workflow Automation
• Document Security
• User Dashboard
• Customization
• Special Features

Document Input

When it comes to document input, most of the businesses combine paper and digital files. The ideal Document Management System should allow inputting files trough the following sources:

1. Scanner
2. Email
3. Manual Upload
4. Bulk Upload
5. Automated Process for Mass Uploading
6. Mobile Applications
7. Web Services

Document Indexing

Document indexing is the process of associating or tagging documents with different “search” terms. Indexing is a path to the documents. That path is based upon your business processes and your staff.

There are different types of indices. If your documents are text documents, you might have indexed the documents for full text search where you can find a phrase contained in the documents. All document management systems have some level of system indexing too. Default system indexing might be the date or document type or some other identifier that describes the document. An ideal Document Management System should provide:

1. Indexing of all documents
2. Custom Automatic Document Numbering
3. Content recognition and indexing
4. Indexing Meta Data
5. Indexing all revisions
6. OCR in different languages (Vienna Advantage DMS currently covers 27 languages)
7. Supports innumerable formats
8. Extendable meta data fields

Document Search

No matter what indices we use, the power of document indexing is revealed when we do a search later on. The document search engine should provide:

1. Safe and Powerful search
2. Document content and meta data search
3. Advanced search on all documents attributes
4. Scalable Document Search Engine

Document Processing

Document Processing involves the conversion of typed and handwritten text on paper-based & electronic documents (e.g., scanned image of a document) into electronic information utilizing one of, or a combination of, Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and experienced Data Entry Clerks. An ideal document management system should provide the following features:

1. Create Documents using Templates
2. Link Document to records in System
3. Link to ERP/ CRM system
4. Forward, Move, Share Documents
5. Email Documents
6. Revise Documents
7. Inbuilt Document Editors for various file types
8. Check-In and Check-out documents

Workflow Automation

A good document management system, should have inbuilt an enterprise level Business Process Management and Workflow Automation that automatically routes the documents to their destination. The workflow automation should provide:

1. Rule based processing on incoming documents
2. Setup individual rules and document actions
3. Automatic and Manual workflow
4. Document Routing
5. Business Process Modeling with Customized Windows, Reports
6. Configure multi-level approvals
7. Automatic creation of records based on documents
8. Update records based on documents

Document Security

Security is one of the most critical aspects of a document management system. The ideal software will provide a high level of documents encryption and role based access, as well as:

1. Audit Trail
2. User and Roles
3. Advanced Access rights
4. Encrypted Documents on file system
5. Indexing all revisions
6. Supports SSL
7. Modify Ownership

User Dashboard

An ideal DMS interface should be simple and easy to navigate. Not everyone is technologically inclined, so the simpler the software, the better. But the main dashboard should also include:

1. Workflow Inbox
2. Document inbox
3. Alerts and Notifications
4. Reporting Dashboard
5. Follow-ups and Chat
6. Inbuilt Calendar, Email, SMS

Customization

As previously mentioned, different business have different needs of a DMS. Every business has its own specifics requirements that need to be take in consideration. For that reason an ideal Document Management System should provide a certain level of customization allowing users to:

1. Create customized Windows and Records
2. Generate Custom Fields and Reports
3. Add custom Document Attributes
4. Describe custom workflow
5. Create Custom Dashboard Reports

Special Features

Industry leading document management system providers, always go beyond the basic features and provide to their customers innovative features and solutions that will improve their overall business productivity. Tecres ensure it deploys a DMS that includes special features such as:

1. Inbuilt Word Processor
2. Supports multiple languages
3. Multi Tenants
4. Collaboration Portal
5. Deploy on premises or on cloud
6. OCR in 27 languages
7. Supports SSL
8. Modify Ownership

If you want free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our DMS solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

TECRES TECHNOLOGIES NIGERIA LIMITED

Tecres Technologies Nigeria Limited is a Document Scanning and Management Company providing paperless solutions to public and private organisations throughout Nigeria and West Africa Region.
Tecres was founded in 2014 to support organisations that face critical document management issues and challenges in their desire to go paperless and become more efficient.

With in-depth technical knowledge, we are building on our strengths as a National provider of quality document scanning, conversion, data capture, document management, enterprise content management, assembling of archive boxes and rack solutions that meet the changing needs of our customers.

We enable our clients to successfully unlock the true value of the information contained in their files, our work results in increased productivity, performance, competitive advantages and in most cases, significant reductions in cost.

WHY SHOULD I SCAN MY RECORDS?

This question is probably the best place to start when considering scanning a collection of records.

Share and track records easily

Scanning your records can help you share the information in those records instantly with a variety of users, such as staff and customers in multiple locations. Scanned records can eliminate the need for costly reproduction and mailing. They are also easier to track electronically.

Prepare for disasters

Scanned records can be an integral part of your agency's Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) and disaster recovery plan. Scanned documents provide backup copies of your paper vital records in an easily portable digital format.

Respond to audits and discoveries

Digital records are easy to store and search. Rather than digging through mounds of paper for information, auditors and regulatory compliance agencies can quickly access critical business documents in electronic form to avoid censure, fines, and negative publicity.

Protect aging paper originals

If your collection includes fragile paper records, scanning can offer significant benefits. Digitizing fragile records preserves the integrity of the originals by allowing them to be handled less. And often, the scanning process increases legibility of aging or hard-to-read records.

Save money and free up office space

Storing paper records in the office can be extremely costly. If you have paper records that are currently taking up space in your office, digitizing these records can save you both storage space and money.

Julius Macaulay-Agbi is an IT Consultant with more than 10 years of experience in document and content management as well as Enterprise architecture.
Julius is a Principal Consultant at TECRES Consult, an EDMS ECM BPM Company in Lagos Nigeria.

BEYOND SHAREPOINT AS A DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

As an #ECM Expert, I am continuously faced with the question of using SharePoint as a document management solution compared to the core #EDMS #ECM #BPM solutions i.e. Laserfiche in the market.

Comparing Laserfiche to SharePoint is like comparing an apple to an orange but apparently, people are using SharePoint just like we would want them to use #ECM. They are both fruits but totally different.

SharePoint is well-suited for organizations that need to manage multiple web sites with one tool that takes advantages of templated site design, but you are limited in its design strategies and "box-building" layouts.
SharePoint does not have its own scanning interface and also no PDF. I know the metadata is the same and it is user friendly as SharePoint is an intranet system 'out of the box'. It will do search and retrieval with metadata. That is all.
No Scanning, No Workflow, SharePoint does have audit trail however. All the functionality for SharePoint comes from 3rd party add-ons which have an additional cost to both purchase and to configure. SharePoint implementations double or triple what the system actually cost to purchase.

Laserfiche however with the introduction has most of these things 'out of the box'. Scanning, Workflow, etc. with relatively little configuration, therefore reducing costs. It too has 3rd party add-ons which add additional functionality to match or trump SharePoint.
Basically the main differences is what the 2 products do 'out of the box' which is the key comparison. It's also important to note that the Laserfiche SharePoint integration components also come free.

So if you have already invested a lot of money in SharePoint and would like to use it as an external portal for upload and download of documents, put some metadata in SharePoint and Laserfiche grab the files and their metadata to use them as Laserfiche metadata to do some workflow with them.
"Send to Laserfiche" allows users to manually move a document from SharePoint to Laserfiche, using Laserfiche as a "Records Center". The typical use case for this is that collaboration is done in SharePoint, and when the document is complete you move it to Laserfiche to take advantage of our Records Management functionality. You can leave the document in SharePoint, delete it, or replace it with a link to it in Web Access.
Federated search allows SharePoint to crawl a Laserfiche repository and present Laserfiche documents in the results of a search performed in SharePoint.

The Laserfiche-SharePoint integration perfectly illustrates how ECM software provides more key features to make business process management—and workers—more efficient. For example, as the deployment of SharePoint sites has accelerated, so has the unstructured content created by these sites. SharePoint users are now able to look into Laserfiche through links in SharePoint, and can retrieve Laserfiche and SharePoint content simultaneously from the SharePoint interface. (Organizations that create large amounts of content through SharePoint will find this integrated search capability especially appealing as it capitalizes on Laserfiche's ability to efficiently store voluminous content collections, helping users to keep the size of their SharePoint site within limits.)

Also, prior to this integration, SharePoint offered no simple way to handle scanned paper. However, now integrating scanned paper documents into collaborative functions is easily and quickly managed with Laserfiche's intuitive document capture and imaging functionality. Paper documents can be scanned directly from SharePoint into Laserfiche.

Julius Macaulay-Agbi is an #EDMS #ECM #BPM Consultant with more than 10 years of experience. A specialist in document and content management as well as Enterprise architecture.

PRESERVING PAPER TRAILS: Advisors & Fintech

[This article appears in the February 2016 issue of ETF Report].

Running an advisory service means a lot of paperwork—whether it’s client communication, trades, emails, research, social media—the list is nearly endless. And considering that regulatory requirements mandate pristine paper trails, proper archiving is critical.
For email, Mike Forker, chief compliance officer for CLS Investments, part of NorthStar Financial Services Group, says his firm uses Global Relay, which offers compliance archiving and monitoring, and integrates with Microsoft’s Outlook email system.
“From my perspective, the best part about it is the search capability,” he said. “It has a pretty robust archiving system that allows us to search in a number of different ways, so it makes it easy to find emails even if you don’t know exactly what to look for.”

No Need For Scanning Dept
Document storage can take up huge amounts of file space, and keeping the integrity of these documents is important. Forker said Laserfiche is a “WORM” [write once, read many] compliance system for data storage, meaning documents cannot be edited once entered. Using Laserfiche helped CLS Investments save money and time by eliminating the need for a scanning department, he notes.
Prior to using Laserfiche, CLS Investments managed documents by using FileNet. Similar to Laserfiche, FileNet combines enterprise content, security and storage with workflow and process management capabilities. Forker says they switched to Laserfiche because it integrates with their back-office systems.
Dave Huffman, president and founder of the Huffman Financial Group, says he exclusively uses Advisors Assistant for his customer relationship management software, but also likes its archiving capability.

All In One Place For Compliance
“It helps me keep really good notes, and it has helped me become a lot more compliant because everything is in the clients’ files. When my compliance department comes in to do my audit … I always get a perfect inspection. They ask for a file, I’ve got it within 30 seconds,” he said.
David Garff, chief executive officer and chief investment officer for California-based Accuvest Global Advisors, says Datto is the hardware and cloud-based system they use as a backup server. Datto backs up all work several times daily, and if the firm has a problem, whether a server issue or power loss, they can spin up a virtual server with all of the information on it in 15 minutes, letting work proceed as normal, he notes.
For social media compliance, Forker said CLS Investments uses Social Assurance, which integrates with the company’s social media sites including its Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and the firm’s Twitter account.

Archiving Social Media
Social Assurance has a workflow built in, so whenever someone at CLS wants to post to social media, all of those posts are immediately routed to compliance for approval. Those posts are also archived, and it records any changes to social media posts.
And if by some chance a social media post gets around compliance, it will send an alert, Forker adds. In addition to monitoring and holding internal postings for compliance approval, the software can monitor what is said about CLS Investments.
“So if someone mentions us on Twitter, we get a notification; or if someone writes a Facebook post about us, we get a mention,” he said.

Article Originally written By Debbie Carlson for February 2016 issue of ETF Report