Many factors affect workforce productivity. One of these is the ability to find the right documents, resources, and files at the right moment. This affects enterprise productivity, the pace of work, and employee productivity. It also allows employees to concentrate on more valuable activities like innovation, strategy, training, and skill enhancement. Research shows that employees are spending more time searching for critical documents in cluttered online document management systems than they are focusing on providing workplace value.
The research found that 54% of US office workers surveyed said they spend more time looking for files and documents than responding to emails and other messages. In their day-to-day business, organizations generate a lot of documentation and data that includes details about business transactions. This includes key information such as the transaction's details, names of parties, amounts paid, dates, and the nature of the transaction. These documents, also known as source documents, must be stored in a way that is easy to locate. Organizations fail to address this crucial aspect, resulting in inefficiency and inefficient routine operations.
This is compounded when you consider the documentation and information created by remote teams or dispersed workers in a hybrid work environment. It is not about just storing and cataloging but also accessing the information quickly for correct decision-making. To make accurate decisions on pricing, delivery, and overall experience, the procurement department needs to have instant access to real-time and historical data from different locations. However, it is not possible to delay the decision-making process while you search for information. Time is an important component of any business outcome. Therefore, procurement must have instant access to both historical and current information.
Office 365 document management allows you to build highly scalable workflows. It also lets you say goodbye to clunky papers once and for all. You can create your own Office 365 document management software with minimal effort and all the customization options that you want.
Is Microsoft using a document management system?
It is. You can bet your bottom dollar! Microsoft 365 document management has become a reality due to the combination of solutions such as SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. These services allow users to share, store, and collaborate on documents anywhere they are.
It's easy to overlook Microsoft's document management skills on paper. This is until you discover the many perks that this ecosystem offers:
There are countless search and filter options
It can be difficult to find what you are looking for when there are many folders and documents. This problem isn't solved by many document management search systems. However, Microsoft offers a number of search and filter options to find your document easily.
Team collaboration
It's not easy to maintain project-specific documents. Document management systems today do a poor job of managing project documents and keeping relevant teams informed. Microsoft's offerings, like Office 365 and Teams, are certainly different.
Permission management and security
Most document management systems do not allow users to restrict who has access to certain documents. Only certain users should be allowed to view documents. One department might not want members from another department to have access to their files. A department or group of users may have to add/edit permission, while another group might only have read-only permission.Â
You might also want to share files with people outside of your organization. For instance, a member of the marketing team might wish to show the client advertising receipts or sales reports.
Microsoft Team's private and public files features are here to help. Depending on the type and content of communication, teams can categorize files as private or public documents.
Public document sharing
Files that are sent to the channels (team) automatically become available in SharePoint. Here, the files are saved in the cloud and available to everyone. SharePoint stores files that are shared with a larger group. This allows everyone to access all files.
Private document sharing
Contrary to team-focused SharePoint, OneDrive stores the files that are shared in private chats. OneDrive is the best way to save files that are private. Each employee can access his OneDrive account and use it to store his files.
Teams then filter files that are exchanged via a group chat or 1:1 chat with OneDrive for Business. Employees have the assurance that their personal files and documents are kept private or only shared with a select group of people.
Reliable version control functions
Have you ever made changes to a document only to have to restore the previous version? Many users find it frustrating that legacy document management systems do not allow them to save the document history or restore previous versions. Microsoft offerings have saved history to check what changes are made and by whom.
Keep the folder structure and naming.
Document management systems tend to use the same folder structure and naming conventions throughout the space. Users are unable to name or organize folders in a way that makes the most sense for them. All changes made to the system have automatically reflected all users.
Notification and approval
Some documents need executive approval before being sent to others (think invoices, performance appraisals, etc.). This is a major problem with most digital document management software. This problem is not an issue with Microsoft Teams. As Microsoft makes use of advanced automation like ChatGPT, Copilot, etc. Automation allows Teams to offer suggestions for various tasks, such as suggesting a file to be included in a conversation or reminding to follow up on an important message. Copilot may suggest files or documents included in a chat about a project. This can streamline communication and ensure all information is included.
Document management with Microsoft TeamsÂ
Microsoft Teams is one of the most effective modern workplace solutions to the question of "how to create a document management system." Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017. It consolidates all aspects of document management so that there are no duplicated files or scattered records.
It is important to know that Microsoft Teams document management occurs via SharePoint.
A SharePoint site is created as the storage location for a Microsoft Teams team when you create it. You have many options for file management and customization.
You can organize your files into folders, or you can create a library. First, create folders within each channel and then upload the files to those folders. You can then copy the link to the files and share it via a private message or in a channel post.
The possibilities for document management and communications with Teams are endless. You can create a knowledge repository to store all your documents. A knowledge library is a central place for all critical information that can be reused by your employees.
It may be beneficial to have separate libraries for each activity within your company. You could have a project management library that contains all the deliverables for your company's projects. Depending on the activities of your organization, you can have the same for deal collaboration, account management, and research and development.
Advaiya helps our clients leverage Microsoft solutions for their document management needs
A Microsoft Office 365 document management system using one of the core Microsoft services can be a recipe for small business success. You will enjoy top-quality file security, better regulatory compliance, better organization, simplified document workflows, and expand beyond your wildest dreams.
Are you ready for the productivity perks offered by Office 365 and other Microsoft Business Suite products?
Advaiya is a Microsoft implementation partner providing digital transformation and Microsoft Teams consulting services across the globe. We can assist you in implementing modern workplace solutions like MS Teams, SharePoint, and more for file storage systems. Based on your business requirements, we will design the Information Architecture (IA). The IA includes the site collections, subsites, and metadata fields.
Get in touch with our team today! Let's create a solution that suits all your unique business goals.
Jaideep Singh Charan
Jaideep is an Associate Principal, Web, and Digital at Advaiya. He has expertise in SharePoint, O365, and data implementations and has extensive experience in requirements analysis, agile methodologies, and software development lifecycle (SDLC). Over the years he has built a strong consulting background. He has a Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology from Rajasthan University.
Posted by Advaiya
document managementdocument management systemsenterprise productivityMicrosoft 365 document managementMicrosoft Business SuiteMicrosoft solutionsMicrosoft TeamsMicrosoft Teams consultingMicrosoft Teams implementationmodern workplace solutionsMS Teams document management systemsPrivate document sharingPublic document sharingworkplace productivity
