What is a Document Management System (DMS)?
A Document Management System or DMS assists with the tracking, management, and storage of documents. The documents are typically organized with software that a user can use to access, change, and centrally store these files. These systems are designed to handle several tedious tasks including:
Archiving
Distribution
Document Creation
One good example is online banking access through a banking website for users to manage and view their monthly statements. DMS is often a term overlapped with CMS (Content Management System): however, a DMS actually functions as a component for Enterprise CMS's. Document Management Systems provide a number of capabilities including:
Indexing
Metadata
Integration
Validation
Storage
Retrieval
Security
Benefits
A DMS provides versioning control benefits because it manages a record of each version that is created and tracks the history of user changes. A few other benefits include:
Digital Asset Management
Document Imaging
Records Management
Improved Workflow