| |February 201719CIOReviewWith the amount of data being handled by organizations, document management systems are going to be among the most valuable assets a firm can possesswill have their own set of distinctive requirements. Accordingly while a good "cultural" fitment could bring multiple benefits, a non-intuitive interface can lead to non-acceptance of the product.Fit for future: Technology is ever changing and its usability is increasing multi-fold by every passing day. Given the growing adoption of emerging technologies like a) hosting and management over cloud platforms, b)access to data from any device & anywhere, c) content collaboration with internal & external stakeholders, and d) social integration specific requirements as per organisation policies; it becomes very critical to understand the product specifications and future roadmap in-alignment with the business strategy of the organization.Security: Unfortunately, all of us are now used to hear "breaking" news around security breach on routine basis and security of data is a more important issue today than it ever has been. Given the specific nature of the business, it's very critical to identify specific requirements or considerations that would be relevant to current and future use of selected DMS. Apart from diligence around security "as a critical consideration"; it's also imperative to address specific implicit or explicit concerns, that businesses may have about the use of DMS. Ease of Management: Any commercial off the shelf (COTS) product, if selected for specific purpose, shall need certain degree of customization. While the customization aligns products to precise specifications, it may also creep in complexity to manage the product in the long run (including day to day operational support and upgrades / updates). Very much like ease of use for Business users, one shall also evaluate technical compatibility of shortlisted product with the in-house technical expertise; given the effort required for both implementation and on-going support.In SummaryDMS investment is strategic by nature and selected product would have utility of a "business application" accordingly:· Apart from the techno-functional capabilities of the product, assess the product fitment with usability, scalability and security requirements. · Since every organization has a defined way of working, the evaluation criteria can be, accordingly aligned to the critical factors (which matter most in given environment). · Involvement of business users (at leadership level) is must· Speak to your peers and spend as much (as possible) time on research and due-diligence, to understand the finer nuances of implementation and on-going management· Recall learnings from implementa-tion of any other "business applica-tion" and factor those in your imple-mentation plan.
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