Computers were supposed to make our lives easier and create a paperless office. Now we have less paper files yet too many in this era of technology. In addition to the paper documents, we add thousands of electronic files. How can my organization take control of our documents and ensure information is available to employees where and when they need it?

To ensure the proper flow and archiving of information/documents to users and throughout the organization most organization rely on methodologies who respect their business process. This is very good and it is the prelude of managing electronic document properly. Once the methodology is partially implemented one concept needs to be understood. Without understanding the Document as an object the methodology can't be properly implemented. Documents – whether paper or digital – are an essential part of conducting business for every organization. In addition they constitute the fastest growing component of most organizations' information assets. They are the corporate memory of your business transactions, activities and functions. Your business could not achieve its objectives if it were not for the information contained in your documents. These documents contain business process, financial data, production data for internal or partners and much more.

The concept of document in our day has changed. A document came from being a simple paper to becoming an object which an organization uses to store information. The information contain can have various format, size, security level, origin, destination, author, technological age, etc. In addition to their content these object have became virtual living being. They are created, posses a lifecycle, different guardians according to the level in through the lifecycle and eventually destroyed. No matter their content or how they are wrapped to accommodate the technology level they all go through a cycle as a result of your business activities.

At GD System we can show you how to manage your electronic documents through all of the phases in this life cycle, to increase efficiency, minimize costs and reduce risk. With our powerful and proven electronic Document management ( Scanfile ) and Enterprise Content management [ECM ] - ( FileDirector ), we can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of information flow in your business – getting the right information to the right person when and where they need it – without compromising the privacy and security of your information assets.

GD System's ECM technology ( FileDirector ) is comprised of several core components including Web Content Management, Document Management, and Collaboration.

Other components, such as enterprise Search, Imaging solutions, and Digital Asset Management have traditionally been purchased as separate systems. FileDirector is bundling ECM and Document management technologies as a suite, expanding the capabilities and reducing the overall cost of a single solution.

With the .NET framework on which it has been developed and XML enabled, FileDirector brings another concept to the table like “ Software delivered on-demand ”, also known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

An electronic document management/ECM must evolve to meet today requirements and enable the CIO to manage with more efficiency the following business facts/assets.

• Geographically dispersed workforce
• The right information, right now with no consideration to location
• Collaboration on multiple levels
• Security among multiple access rights and network platforms
• Communicating/exchanging with third parties application and legacy application

While implementing an ECM/Electronic Document management system with a business methodology some challenge will come along the way and the Electronic document management system must be able to cope or enable the organization to customize tool to respond to.

• Outdated Information. You want your field organization and customers to have the latest and most relevant product and pricing information. Because there is no immediate way to share updated material, field representatives use old information because it's the information that's available. As a result, inaccurate pricing and product information goes to the customer. Your organization loses valuable time and business revenue.
• Blind Spots. You are still using paper processes in some parts of your company, and these paper processes lead to “information black holes” – documents and other content that are hard to discover, retrieve and manage. You have data store on legacy application not accessible by current technology or network and user group. Therefore the data must be put on paper of legacy technology before transfer and lead to “information black holes”.
• Lack of Access. Your goal is to have geographically dispersed employees, remote workers, distributors, and clients collaborate on projects, contributing information and reviewing that which is created among team members. Projects include: preparing proposals, sharing competitive information, resolving billing disputes, repurposing marketing materials, update software or mechanical design specification and requirement data and much more. Relying on specialized remote access software (e.g. VPN), however, that is not usable on every company's network may mean someone is out of the loop. Your goal is at risk of being realized.
• Wasted Time. You send a document by e-mail for several people to review; each edits the document resulting in several uncoordinated yet edited versions. Some data are exchange through email and are not attached to the document vor versioning of added data in the lifecycle process. Your company spends time you don't have to reconcile the pieces.
• Technology Roadblocks. You send out an e-mail only to have it rejected by the receiving party's system as being too large. The data is critical, but cannot be delivered either because the message itself is too large or the user's inbox is full (of other large e-mails and attachments?). Your project is delayed and time spent working around this limitation is a drag on productivity and a distraction from higher-value tasks.

FileDirector comes as a ECM/EDM bundling multiple capabilities to address a variety of needs in today document management needs in an IT controlled environment here is a list of option that FileDirector support and recommended option that a good ECM should posses.

• Capture and Imaging. These systems convert and store physical paper documents and forms into electronic versions. Optical character recognition (OCR), converts the document to text and/or XML and extracts data and makes these scanned documentsreadable and searchable by a document management system. As a result, files, or segments of files, are re-usable in other applications.

• Document Management (DM). Document management usually consists of a centralized repository in which electronic documents are stored. Revisions to these documents may be carefully controlled through a versioning process (check in/check out). Relevant content in a document management system is searchable using an embedded search engine. Variations in system implementation can make a large difference in the ability to retrieve content and assign security controls indicating who is able to view and edit each document. Add-on features, such as Digital Signatures, can accompany document management solutions.
• Collaboration and Workflow . Team collaboration capabilities allow geographically dispersed members to manage group calendars, coordinate document reviews, conduct online discussions, or capture comments. Workflow processes for document routing and forms approval can reduce information bottlenecks by automating structured processes.
• Records Management . Governs the archiving and destruction of content according to corporate policies. Electronic documents and e-mails are treated as records that are subject to the same retention policies as physical, paper documents.
• E-Mail Management . Allows e-mail messages to be managed alongside other electronic documents. Eliminates searching for important content that lives in two places, the document management system and the e-mail system, by having e-mails centrally stored in context with the content or project to which they pertain.
• Digital Asset Management (DAM) . Document management features, including check in/check out functionality for managing rich media such as sound, image, and video files. Collaboration tools specific to DAM and Digital Rights Management, for images and proprietary content, are often included in these solutions.
• Web Content Management . Manages the creation and deployment of content for Web sites, intranets, and extranets that may start off as documents in a document management system or as images in a digital asset management system. Implements version control and security on Web pages, like document management, and utilizes workflow for approving content and deploying the Web site.

The larger your organization, the more dispersed the participants in your information chain. When critical business information changes frequently, the more pressing the need to distribute that information to the right people, wherever they are, immediately.On one hand, the demand for access to content has never been greater. The increase in mobile, outsourced, or distributed workforces means that access to information is required in more places at once – places often not protected by a corporate firewall. Your employees, partners, and customers expect to be able to access relevant and accurate information when they need it. On the other hand, today's environment of increased compliance and regulatory scrutiny, means tracking content throughout its life cycle from creation through use, and finally through retention and controlled destruction, is becoming a business imperative.

• SAP enabled; In the past decade SAP has became the leading ERP application for major coporate.For this reason any ECM or EDMS (Electronic document management system) must have a mechanism to enable it to connect to some or all SAP modules (BW, Fi-Co,MM,SD).