It is a frustrating fact, but employees are still wasting time searching for the information they need to be productive. In fact, each employee spends at least 25% of their time searching for— and not finding — the documents they need. And their managers? They spend half their time doing routine tasks that could be better handled with workflow automation. Overall, up to 21% of total staff productivity loss is directly related to issues surrounding documents.

That is because manual document management is a sticking point for productivity and profitability.

Unstructured data — those documents that are misfiled, miscommunicated, and disorganized has become the bugbear of the modern business. Employees are bombarded by data from various sources — paper documents, digital documents, emails, texts, PowerPoint presentations, and more. To make things worse, much of that data is spread across the typical organization in applications and siloed systems.

Need more proof that this data causes serious time and cost management issues?

• 83% of employees spend time recreating documents lost in the company’s network
• 50% of knowledge workers’ time is spent preparing documents
• 92% of professionals collaborating with others risk losing files in email

That is compelling evidence that a way to manage unstructured data is not only necessary, but essential to healthy business growth. Fortunately, today’s document management systems (DMS) can provide a cost-effective, simple way for businesses to get control of unstructured data and move closer to an efficient digital information model.

How Document Management Can Control Unstructured Data

Eliminated unstructured data is nearly impossible, but managing it is not only doable — it is crucial to keeping your workplace functioning efficiently. Below we examine several ways that a document management system (DMS) can assist businesses in moving forward digitally.

The Need for Asynchronous Information

The proliferation of hybrid work environments — where employees work part of the time in-house, part of the time remotely — is accelerating and tagged to become the “new normal” as we head into our first post-pandemic year. For many businesses, that acceleration means driving data not only across systems, but to diverse, geographically scattered locations as more remote employees join their ranks.

A strong DMS provides asynchronous access to important information when — and where — your staff needs it. This is a boon for hybrid workplaces since it gives employees the leeway to be productive regardless of time or location.

A Tool for Better Collaboration

Unstructured data can be a curse for collaborators. Documents can be mistakenly overwritten, or the wrong changes can get published or moved forward, causing embarrassment, reputation damage, and even monetary loss. A DMS provides smart ways to share documents that optimizes the collaboration experience. Co-authoring becomes easier when changes are tracked and versioning control is applied to reduce the possibilities of incorrect information being dispersed, and documents shared and stored securely to keep compliance on target.

An Easy-to-Use Interface

One of the most critical needs for most employees is an interface that provides an intuitive user experience. With an information management solution that uses search terms such as key words, key phrases, or any other number of possibilities, searching and finding the right information becomes simple and efficient.

Today’s DMS’ feature built-in artificial intelligence (AI) that helps properly classify and retrieve information so employees can be productive without having to spend a great deal of time learning how to use the product. Document can be properly and automatically routed to the right individual or team, relieving the burden on staff and reducing the chance of human error.

Blue Technologies Has Full Spectrum DMS Solutions for Any Industry

Blue Technologies offers a comprehensive document management system (DMS) that can position your company to embrace a digital future. Our IT experts can assess your needs and challenges and design a customized solution to bring control of your unstructured data into reach.

From data capture to document processing, collaboration, and archiving, our DMS provides the technology you need to enable digital transformation across business processes that require intelligent access to information. In addition, we offer secure interfaces that are not only intuitive, but feature leading-edge security for assured compliance and peace of mind.

Get control of your unstructured data and get control of productivity, operational efficiency, and profitability. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and learn how our suite of DMS solutions can put the power of information at your fingertips.