Computers are good at handling organised data such as databases. They contain facts. However, in an organisation, ideas and insights-are found in documents and not databases. A document contains real information. The style of presenting the information gives value, meaning and insight into the information contained. Unfortunately, a document is unstructured information. This is because it can be in any format-a letter, e-mail, form, spreadsheet, memo, photo, report, sound, animation or video. It may be in the form of paper or microfilm, an e-mail or a scanned image stored on a hard disk. Electronic Document Management (EDM) is a computer-based technology used to manage electronic- and paper-based documents. It is a step forward in the quest to create a paperless office, and is part of document management technologies that ensure a document's availability anywhere, anytime in the desired format.

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Document Management Technology and Concepts
Electronic Document Capture (EDC): This includes scanning, optical character recognition (OCR) and image or document conversion technologies. Electronic Document Management System (EDMS): This locates, manages, displays, distributes, indexes and provides version control for a large collection of electronic documents in an organisation. Web Content Management (WCM): It focusses on data collected on Web forms and through e-mail to ensure accurate handling of information. Work Flow Management (WFM): It supports an orderly flow of documents. In the case of many documents, especially legal ones, policy decisions are created only after they are approved by a higher hierarchy. Such documents must reach the right person at the right time in the right order. Knowledge Management (KM): Relevant information is required so that managers can take proper business decisions and gain a business advantage for their company.

Why EDMS ?
It have been estimated that offices worldwide produce 7.5 billion documents a year. Executives spend 45 % of their time working with documents, while 90 % of the companies do not know how much money they spend on producing and maintaining documents every year. Document management is critical because it generates and enhances business value. For some industry verticals, the documents themselves are the final product e.g. for the print media, their books, magazines and/or newspapers are a direct source of revenue. For many businesses, documents provide support for their core product or service e.g. documents of lawyers, insurance companies, consultants, government agencies, etc. Document management enhances organisational communication because they contain important concepts, ideas, info about business deals, and terms and conditions of settlement or agreement. It enhances business processes and is a major component of organisational memory.

Document management is not done for the sake of the documents but for the benefit of the users to help them achieve their business objectives. It puts the user in control of knowledge which exists in the organisation. It merely structures and organises the documents so that they are available when they're needed in the proper format.

Benefits of document management:

• You know the status of the work. This improves workload management. The status of all work already done or currently being done can be known at any point of time.
• There is less duplication and accumulation. A document can be quickly distributed or retrieved from across the network and routed to the proper individual depending on the priority, content or workload.
• You can do a content search. An EDMS lets you locate the proper document every time by providing full text search. A user can specify words, phrases, expressions, criteria, etc. which are then searched against the index.
• There is information sharing. Any document, be it text, graphics or multimedia based, can be shared across the Internet or the company intranet if required.
• There's better communication. Notes can be annotated to record ideas, suggestions or changes.
• Long-term storage and digital archiving is possible. There is no question of a document getting lost or misplaced. Documents are protected by online security. Disaster recovery can be done quickly. Archiving means moving outdated, old and inactive files from primary to secondary storage. The EDMS searches for them in archives and restores them as and when required.
• There are no filing problems. Also, there is less requirement of office space, people to maintain files, investments in file cabinets, folders and paper.

The business value of EDMS includes reduced storage investments, centralisation of documents, faster and quality decisions due to organised and quicker document availability, knowledge sharing and business continuity. The system can be effectively applied to various industry verticals such as BPO, IT, BFSI, legal, education, government and manufacturing.

Bases on: The Financial Express

Intranet og web løsninger, information og forslag

Hvad er et Intranet ?
Et Intranet er et privat computer netwærk, baseret på Internettets kommunikations standarder. En mindre udgave som kun medlemmerne af den pågældende organisation har adgang til. 

Hvad er fordelene ved et Intranet ?
Et Intranet er et effektivt informations system, der reducere tidsspilde og optimere resurserne i en organisation. Samtidig skaber det Synergi, i form af nye muligheder for samarbejde og produktivitet. For første gang har en organisation mulighed for at se sin totale vidensbase igennem en fleksibel fælles interface.

Let tilgængelig information understøtter handling og innovation.

Fleksible webbaserede systemer reducere mulighederne for mange af de fejlinvesteringer, som ellers har præget de mere traditionelle database baserede IT- projekter.

Betydelige økonomiske besparelser i papir omkostninger kan opnås ved at flytte en organisations dokumentation online med følgende typiske fordele:

Definer ansvaret for Intranettet
Intranet starter ofte som en "grass-root" udvikling i individuelle afdelinger. For at sikre at retningslinier og struktur optimeres er det  imidlertid vigtigt at holde sig for øje at enkeltpersoner bør gøres ansvarlige for udvikling og kordinering. 

Afhængig af organisationens størrelse og karakter suppleres ofte med et Intranet Team eller en Steering Commite, for at give feed-back og inspiration til den videre udbygning.

Etabler dokument/website heraki
Det er vigtigt at fastlægge en hensigtsmæssig data/fil struktur fra Intranettets hjemmeside, baseret på organisation (afdelinger) eller funktion (rapporter, formulare etc.).

Retningslinier for layout og style
Da udviklingen af et Intranet ofte er spredt over forskellige afdelinger, er det en god ide at publicere fælles retningslinier for følgende:

• Font size, farve og stil
• Default skærm opløsning
• Farve valg og grafik
• Logo standard
• Andre standarder for eksempel for fodnoter og kommentare
• Etabler eventuelt eksempler på anbefalede standards på Intranettet 

Behov for sikkerhed og tilgængelighed

Stadig flere fortrolige oplysninger placeres på virksomhedernes Intranet, specielt for større organisationer er det derfor vigtigt at have en politik for adgangsrettigheder og sikkerhed således som det kendes fra konventionelle netværksløsninger.

Opdatering og vedligeholdelse af dokumentation

Information forældes hurtigere end nogen sinde. For at bevare informations værdien og forebygge fejl og misforståelser, er det derfor vigtigt at opretholde procedure og automatik som sikre at dokumentationen holdes opdateret, så snart den er indlagt på Intranettet. Følgende liste giver eksempler på relevante faciliteter:

• Dokument oplysninger, forfatter, dato, emne, etc.
• Godkendelse før publicering
• Markering af læst dokumentet
• Revisions historie
• Dokument konvertering
• Anmærkning og revisions historie på tegninger 
• Søgefaciliteter
• Abonnement på E-mail advisering
• Bruger analyse
• Link management
• Database management

Integration af database standard

Intranet trafik analyse

Software for trafik analyse, kan besvare spørgsmål om hvorledes Intranettet benyttes, nyttig information for forbedring af navigation og indhold. 

Inviter alle til at deltage

Inviter alle medarbejdere til at drage fordel af organisationens Intranet og giv dem mulighed for at påvirke dets udvikling og succes. For eksempel ved hjælp af Steering Commites og koordinering. 

Personaleafdelingens Intranet

• Håndbog for ansatte
• Telefon og E-mail vejviser
• Ledige Job
• Organisations opbygning
• Nyhedsbrev
• Trænings programmer
• Oversigter over ferie og udstationering 
• Ansattes personlige sider
• Indkøbs foreninger 
• Etc.

Salgs og Markedsførings Intranet

• Produkt demonstration
• Prislister
• Salgsprognoser
• Markeds undersøgelser
• Kunde information
• Reklame kampanger
• Relevant nyhedsformidling
• Etc.

Intranet for Informations Systemer 

• Bruger dokumentation
• Teknisk support
• Internet resurser
• Tekniske/sikkerhedsmæsige procedyre
• Resurse og tidsplaner
• Information og database
• Ofte forekommende spørgsmål
• Slide presentationer
• Etc.

Ledelsens Intranet

• Intern afdelings information
• Information om eksterne samarbejdspartnere
• Møde referater
• Aktiemarkeds information
• Forretningsanalyser og reporter
• Regnskaber 
• Personlige sider med links etc.
• Projekt oversigter 
• Oversigter over resursefordeling
• Etc.

Kundeservice Intranet/Extranet

Dette er et af de områder hvor et Intranet ofte udvides til at betjene kunder og samarbejdspartnere udenfor organisationen, et såkaldt Extranet. Illustrative eksempler er kurer firmaer som UPS, FedEx og Post Danmark, som giver kunderne indblik i hvor deres forsendelse er netop nu (package-tracking).

• Kunde relevant information
• Teknisk information 
• Reservedels kataloger
• Tegninger og illustrationer
• Instruktions manualer
• Etc.

Intranet for teknisk samarbejde i projektgrupper

• Tidsplaner
• Projektbeskrivelser
• Udbudsmateriale
• Specifikationer
• Resurce fordeling
• Projekt budgetter
• Tekniske beregninger
• Foto
• Skitseforslag
• CAD Tegninger i 2 og 3D
• Revisions historie og anmærkninger for Tegninger
• Etc.

Regnskabs Afdelingens Intranet

• Debitor og kreditor konti
• Lønregnskab
• Finans reporter
• Procedure
• Bugetter
• Inventar 
• Udgift bilag
• Prognoser
• Etc.