DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW: … · tually, the introduction of digital files was to some extent accompanied by an unmanageable increase of (virtual) file cabinets:

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW:

MAKE YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES FUTURE-PROOF

2 | Intelligent Print-Management

This is mainly due to the ever changing requirements of

employees, partners and customers. Employees increa-

singly work on the move, from a home office or even di-

rectly on site at a customer location. As a result, the abi-

lity to efficiently handle projects, work assignments and

orders has gained in importance. In this respect, quick

and easy access to information is critical.

Companies must therefore ensure that employees can

quickly find and edit all relevant information in an un-

complicated way – anytime and anywhere. To achieve

this, all analog and digital information must be pooled

and optimized for availability – efficiently and flexibly in

terms of time and place.

That is not an easy task given that it is not only the ty-

pes of information which have become more diverse. We

are also faced with a larger variety of places where data

is being stored. At the same time, information has to be

protected from misuse – a highly complex task in today’s

networked world. In former times, the key to the filing

cabinet ensured that information could not fall into the

wrong hands. Today, it takes clearly defined regulations

that control who may access what kinds of information at

what time.

Document management is by far the best possibility to

improve the availability of information and to meet the

broad scope of security requirements. On the following

pages, we’d like to take you on a journey of discovery by

introducing you to the multiple benefits of document ma-

nagement.

To this end, we’ll first take a close look at the history of

document management and explore why and how this is-

sue has become so relevant over the years. We will then

show you what a modern document management system

(DMS) is able to achieve and finally examine future re-

quirements for document processes. In doing so, we will

share five useful tips on how how to make your docu-

ment-based workflows fit for the future.

THE ROLE OF DOCUMENTS IN BUSINESSWhether it’s issuing or settling invoices, entering and editing orders or negotiating contracts with new employees, suppliers or end customers – most centralized processes in business companies are document-based. Therefore, it is advisable – especially in the digital age – to put your own document processes to the test.


If you look at document management as a technology

which makes archiving and retrieving documents easy

and efficient, the history of DMS dates back to the early

cave drawings. The famous hunting scenes found in the

Lascaux caves in the South of France which originated

approx. 21,000 years B.C., provide us with historical evi-

dence of this fact. While our prehistoric ancestors were

limited to creating paintings or laboriously carving cha-

racters in wood, stone or clay tablets, a huge step was

made during the third millennium B.C. when the techni-

cal utilisation of the papyrus plant started – a reed plant

which grew along the entire lower Nile. Finally, written

documents could be easily created with the help of a

paintbrush and a bit of paint. What’s more, the papyrus

plant offered an enormous weight advantage, compared

to previous “data carriers”, plus it was flexible and sus-

tainable.

THE PAPER AND PRINTING REVOLUTION

The use of paper became even easier in the year 105 AD

when civil servant Cai Lun at the Chinese emperor’s court

first documented how it was manufactured. The handling

and duplication of information on paper became consi-

derably more efficient when in 1450 AD Johannes Gens-

fleisch, also known as Gutenberg, from the German city

of Mainz, revolutionized book printing by introducing

movable metal characters and the printing press. Ever

since then, documents can be easily and quickly dupli-

cated and stored in a space efficient way so that they can

be easily found even after many years.

Gutenberg’s invention still has an impact today. Less

groundbreaking perhaps, but certainly a huge step for

document management, was the invention of the le-

vel-arch file with eccentric locking by Friedrich Soenne-

cken from Bonn, Germany, in the year 1886 – the most

commonly used standing file to this day.

This enabled people to easily sort and group paper do-

cuments. Perforated separation strips and tab cards with

staggered, protruding chapters (”tabs”) made the storing

and handling of documents even more convenient. Ever

since then, retrieving the “Miller file” in the grayish stan-

ding file only takes a few moments.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AS IT USED TO BE:“WHERE THE HECK IS THE MILLER FILE?”

Even though the complex term “document management” only came into existence in the com-puter age, people have always – even in the earliest times – thought a great deal about how to securely store vital information so that it could be easily retrieved – not just by themselves but also by their offspring.


ANALOG STORAGE WAS INEVITABLE

Today it may make us smile, but actually this type of “file

management” was highly reliable. Until well into the

1990s, the storage and management of paper documents

was a firm standard. Even though most companies and

public administrations typically established an IT depart-

ment of their own in the 1970s, these departments were

seldom responsible for the digital storage of documents.

For decades, such a project would have been simply too

expensive. Of course, hard drives have been around since

1956, preceded by drum memories and magnetic tapes.

However, the complete digital storage of all documents

would have required a huge financial investment. This

was partly due to the physical space required by hard dri-

ves in the early decades of computing. The first hard dri-

ve from 1956 had a diameter of 61 centimeters, weighed

around one tonne, and offered a storage space of just

about five megabytes of data. Even thirty years later, sto-

rage space was – compared to today’s standards – rare

and expensive: When in January, 1987, the first hard drive

was introduced, which offered 300 megabytes of storage

space (in a 5.25” format which was extremely compact

back then), you had to come up with almost 30,000 US

dollars –way more than a contemporary VW Rabbit would

have cost at that time.

MICRO STORAGE FOR LONG-TERM ARCHIVING

An advanced way of reliably storing all relevant proces-

ses without being choked to death by file folders was

and still is the possibility to minimize files and save them

as microfiche or on microfilm – a technology which was

invented in the 19th century. Microfilms can still be vie-

wed today, provided you have a corresponding reading

device. By means of magnifying devices, you can both

read and reproduce these documents. Until the emer-

gence of powerful, all-digital audit-proof archive systems

for bulk data, the legally required archiving of business

transactions, such as copies of invoices, was often done

by recording them on microfiche. The properties of these

so-called “microforms” are defined by various DIN, EN

and ISO standards. While archiving on microfiche might

not be quite as sustainable as some cave paintings, it

may well last for many generations to come: The durabi-

lity of a microfilm is estimated at 500 years (when duly

stored at a constant temperature of 21° C and 50 percent

relative humidity).

Even today, numerous historical and cultural documents

of the Federal Republic of Germany are stored in micro-

form in the Barbara shelter close to Freiburg im Breisgau,

Germany. The Central Library in Zurich also still archives

several daily papers on microfiche, among them all edi-

tions of the “New Zurich Newspaper” – the oldest daily

paper in Switzerland – beginning with the first edition

dated January 12, 1780.

DIGITAL DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT WAS INEVITABLE

The era of digital document management began with

the slow disappearance of typewriters, carbon paper

and analog photocopiers (although some sharp tongues

might claim there are still companies stuck in the ana-

log age). That said, it is a fallacy to believe that simply

converting your flood of documents into digital files in

your computer system will make them manageable. Ac-

tually, the introduction of digital files was to some extent

accompanied by an unmanageable increase of (virtual)

file cabinets: Electronic documents are stored in compu-

ters, servers and thousands of exchange drives – often

in geographically distant locations. Many important files

even dry up in the e-mail system because the recipient

has forgotten to properly save the document.

If, in addition, if a company fails to define how to cor-

rectly name and store files the result is pure chaos. The

simple request of the department manager to quickly re-


trieve the “Miller file” becomes an almost insoluble task.

This brings us directly to today’s situation, because in

our information era the availability of documents has a

direct impact on business success. The handling of do-

cuments has changed massively: physical messengers,

letters, internal mail, folders and binders have largely

become a thing of the past. This becomes particularly

clear with the example of incoming invoices: more and

more invoices no longer arrive at the company by mail

but rather by e-mail. In that case, they are often printed

for internal circulation. At this point it, the advantages of

digital workflows become perfectly clear, as we will see

in the following chapter.


Work has become more complex and flexible. All infor-

mation has to be available through various channels as

quickly and comprehensively as possible. This has a de-

finite impact on modern document management. It is no

longer sufficient to digitalize the well-known paper docu-

ment and to file it in a file structure on a computer or ser-

ver. The mere notion of a “file structure” as a designation

of an electronic organizational system demonstrates that

we simply lift the familiar analog world to a digital level.

Instead of searching for a paper document in a ring bin-

der, the employee clicks on an electronic document in a

file on a hard drive – for example, as a PDF. While such

a procedure may have a few advantages in terms of avai-

lability and duplication, the vast possibilities of genuine

document management are not in the slightest identified

and used. To make documents as well as linked informa-

tion, available to all relevant departments in a company,

it takes an elaborate management system with policies

and optimized access possibilities. For example, it has

to be clearly defined which employee may get access to

which documents and to what level. Furthermore, docu-

ment usage and embedding processed also need to be

standardized.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT TODAY:MAKING CAPITAL FUNDS AVAILABLEThe flood of corporate documents in everyday work grows steadily and is omnipresent. While in the past, documents were predominantly found in paper form stored in file cabinets in office environments, today there a virtually no boundaries to the form and location of our documents.

receive documents en-tirely or predominantly

in digital form

share documents entirely or predominantly in digital

form

print out many or a great many documents

for their work

file their documents exclusively in digital

form


DMS ACROSS ALL BORDERS

A current study of the market research institute IDC re-

ports that many companies still have a great backlog with

regard to the provisioning of documents or information.

The researchers concluded that despite its great signifi-

cance for productivity, German companies and organiza-

tions tend to make it rather difficult for their employees

to access relevant files and documents. Since many of

the prevailing systems or workflows in these companies

are not compatible with modern digital requirements,

many employees are driven by frustrated to use private

file-sharing services for business purposes! According to

the IDC, it is especially medium-sized businesses which

show an enormous potential for changing dated proces-

ses – and this is where document management comes to

the rescue.

Just how document management functions today can be

illustrated by this example: A medium-sized company

receives a traditional letter which contains an order for

the production of a machine part. The order gets scanned

in the mail room and is filed in an electronic folder sys-

tem, while at the same time the recipient, namely the

ordering department, is notified. There the person res-

ponsible links the order to a standard product and files

it together with the product and all necessary modifica-

tions. In the next step, the engineering department pro-

cesses the adaptations to the standard product and links

the plan to the existing order. Now the adaptation plan is

separated from the document package and made avai-

lable to an external employee outside the company via

a secure VPN connection so that this external employee

may process it via remote access.

ACCUMULATE, SEPARATE AND PROCESS

The many steps the original document had to take illus-

trate the advantages of a fully developed document ma-

nagement system. Information that is vital for individual

employees can be quickly separated and is – if required

– available without delay for external employees.

Throughout the various steps, the project managers have

an overview of work completed and tasks still to be done.

To ensure everything works smoothly, it takes a thorough

implementation of a DMS. Just what subsections of a

project may be accessed and processed by whom must

be defined beforehand. Additional documents, such as

plans or specifications, can be linked to the original do-

cument. Extremely important are commenting functions

which can be used to communicate hints and work inst-

ructions to others involved in the workflow. It is imperati-

ve to design – from a hard-copy order – an informational

and production process that offers maximum transparen-

cy for all users at any time.

But lt’s go back to our example: Once the constructive

adaptations of the component are concluded, the client

gets – apart from the digital plans – an animated 3D mo-

del which illustrates the functionalities. This 3D animati-

on is embedded in the document for the client as a video

file. Additionally, the document is provided with a digital

certificate and protected so that the client may not execu-

te any arbitrary changes.

After final approval by the client, the machine part is pro-

duced. The production site, however, is in another Euro-

pean country due to cost factors, hundreds of kilometers

away from the business location of the medium-sized

company.


To make the plans available, the final drawings for pro-

duction are extracted from the entire order, and access

is granted via a VPN connection again. Upon production,

the contract manufacturer links the protocols of quality

control to the entire order. Thereafter, the finished pro-

duct, including all certificates, is ready for delivery to the

client. The invoice is created – in print for the client and

in electronic form for archiving purposes.

INTEGRATION IN BUSINESS SOFTWARE

As this case study illustrates, a good document manage-

ment system has multiple requirements. Essentially it

requires the possibility to seamlessly link – if necessary

– documents from various sources to business procedu-

res. Intelligent search functions and indexings support

an efficient search. In addition, it needs to be integrab-

le in CRM and ERP systems so that even those applica-

tions give access to the relevant documents via links.

Since decentralized working is becoming more and more

important, cross-channel availability is a decisive factor

for a good DMS. This also includes the integration of prin-

ters and multi-functional devices. However, DMS is not

synonymous with having a paperless office. Even in cur-

rent corporate environments, printing still plays a role,

although the requirements of the digital workflow do

reduce the need for printed documents. Output devices

are linked in a cloud, and the respective user can access

a decentralized printer that’s ideally suited for the par-

ticular application. Thus the DMS workflow enables you

to quickly and economically produce documents exactly

where paper documents are vital.

Fraunhofer study: Digital work increases productivity

Finding and forwarding documents quickly

Easier sharing of information

Working independent of time and place

Reasons for digital work Consent in %


STUDY ON “DIGITAL WORK”:

DIGITAL WORKERS ARE MORE EFFICIENT

A study on “Digital Work”, conducted by the Fraunhofer

Institute for Work Management and Organization (IAO) gi-

ves yet another argument in favor of establishing digital

workflows. Their central research findings show that the

degree of digitalization has a direct impact on the pro-

ductivity and performance of employees.

The higher the degree, the more efficient and motivated

they are. Conversely, the results show: The more proces-

ses performed on the basis of paper documents, the lo-

wer the productivity and performance of employees. This

relationship applies across all industries, regardless of

company size. The study proves: If you wish to remain

competitive, you can’t shut yourself off from the fourth

industrial revolution, i.e. digitalization. This is particular-

ly the case with medium-sized businesses whose global

competitiveness may become a matter of survival.


Theory and practice are closely aligned in this case. The

recently published study “Digital Work”, conducted by

the Fraunhofer Institute for Work Management and Or-

ganization (IAO), clearly shows: According to nearly 700

interviewed managers, whenever digital transformation

in an office environment is already well advanced, work

has indeed become more productive. In other words, the

complex conversion to digital business processes pays

high dividends. The idea of working in the digital office of

the future is not as utopian as one might think: The exch-

ange of digital documents – already common practice

today – is going to increase and will be more and more

perfected. While today paper is still widely used, for ex-

ample, in team meetings where, 86% of all interviewed

by the IAO, it is still considered easier to use than elec-

tronic devices, in the long run the amount of paper will

almost drop to zero – at least the amount of conventional

paper.

PAPER BECOMES INTELLIGENT

Even in 10 or 20 years, we will probably still jot notes

down on paper, and the frequently cited phenomenon

of a completely “paperless office” will most likely never

become a reality. Thanks to innovative hardware, howe-

ver, our “paper” will simply become more intelligent.

Instead of the current, relatively bulky and “weighty”

tablets, in ten years from now we will have sophistica-

ted electronic papers which are nothing else than highly

flexible touchscreens that can be rolled up and folded.

Background lighting which we know from today’s tablets

or smartphones will only be necessary in exceptional ca-

ses because future paper displays will be reflexive – just

like paper. Just like on current tablets, there will be virtual

keyboards, and even our handwriting will be immediately

recognized and transcribed into digital information. Such

future devices will weigh hardly more than current paper

documents and be only marginally “thicker”. All the in-

formation that’s recorded will be available for all team

members in real time, for example, during a project. Each

document can be immediately shared and examined, and

changes to shared documents are immediately visible

for all. Strict rules concerning the storage of documents

will no longer be necessary because future systems will

store digital data in an automated manner, and digital

assistants will not only know how to reasonably index a

document but also “understand” which document we are

trying to find or want to edit.

MOBILE COMMUNICATION IN REAL TIME

Access to documents will be possible at all times and

from anywhere – the 5G mobile phone network schedu-

led to be released by 2020 will provide us with a mobile

infrastructure in real time, which will increasingly expand

its reach across the globe. Not only digital documents,

but also complete DMS options, will be available “as-a-

Service” (aaS) in the cloud from everywhere. The DMS

will seamlessly grow together with their companies, and

innovative features will be available immediately upon

approval.

FUTURE DOCUMENT PROCESSES: SIMPLY EVERYTHING IN VIEW! If you ask specialists and managers why deploying a DMS is reasonable, they usually mention the significant advantages of finding and forwarding documents faster, easy information sha-ring and the ability to work independent of time and place.


Open communication standards and the support of stan-

dard protocols will be a must for future DMS: whether we

work with a device running on an operating system from

Apple, Google, Microsoft or a totally different provider,

will be totally unimportant in the future. All relevant da-

tabase servers will be supported, and all services will be

available as an on-premise or SaaS solution.

INTUITIVE OPERATION

Very important: Any future DMS solution will not only be

applicable everywhere at all times, it will also be compa-

tible with other relevant software in a company. What’s

possible today will become an absolute obligation in the

future: All documents or e-mails will be archived in an au-

dit-proof way, optionally also in the form of a vault-com-

pliant long-term archive. The future DMS will be intelli-

gent and know which documents the respective user

needs for his task. All documents necessary for the bu-

siness process will be made available – anytime, along

the complete process chain and directly on any preferred

device. The DMS will always be on our side, serving as

an unobtrusive, almost omniscient assistant who speaks

our language and looks us deep in the eyes – albeit for

safety reasons. No doubt the time has come for every

company to address the future sustainability of its docu-

ment processes. You should pay attention to five points:

1. ALLOCATE ENOUGH TIME

The effort required to create a modern document infra-

structure for the first time and the know-how needed

to digitalize documents should not be underestimated.

Allow sufficient time to prepare and implement such a

solution. For small and medium-sized companies, it can

be worthwhile to optimize individual processes, such

as incoming invoices, first. Scalable solutions like the

KYOCERA Workflow Manager offer a perfect entry into the

DMS topic area.

2. CLEARLY DEFINE TASKS AND OBJECTIVESClarify well in advance which requirements the preferred

solution has to meet. Set up the (measurable) goals you

want to reach. Please consider that a conversion to elec-

tronic archiving will be accompanied by changes to orga-

nizational processes. Create – possibly with the support

of external advisors – an actual current state analysis. To

this end, it is essential to answer the following questions:

AWhich documents exist

(and where do they come from)?

AWhat storage systems do you have?

AWho has access to the documents from which

locations?

AHow many documents and files are currently stored,

and by which quantities does this stock grow?

A FIVE-POINT PLAN: EVALUATING YOUR DOCUMENT PROCESSESOpen communication standards and the support of standard protocols will be a must for fu-ture DMS: whether we work with a device running on an operating system from Apple, Google, Microsoft or a totally different provider, will be totally unimportant in the future. All relevant database servers will be supported, and all services will be available as an on-premise or SaaS solution.


This is follwed by a target concept. The most important

question here is: What shall the future workflow look

like, or rather what improvements have to be achieved

without fail?

3. AUDIT SAFETYClarify exactly whether the requirements for the elec-

tronic storage system are audit-proof once it is put into

practice.

4. SELECT THE RIGHT OPTIONSIf choosing a new DMS solution is still “to be determined”,

here are two steps that will help you find the most suita-

ble product: First you should create a criteria catalogue

and then compare the desired performance characteri-

stics with the product features of each solution.

5. INFORM AND QUALIFY YOUR EMPLOYEESDo not confront your employees with a done deal. A DMS

system can only function if it’s accepted. Iron out pos-

sible acceptance problems by illustrating the benefits of

a digital archive. Demonstrate how quickly they can find

documents (e.g. with a full-text search). Train your em-

ployees thoroughly so that they can start working with

the new solution from day one.

Document management can take on various levels and

characteristics. Some rules regulating the handling of

documents may be defined across the organization whi-

le others only apply to certain departments or locations.

Some only apply internally while certain aspects may also

relate to external specialists, vendors or clients. In any

event, it is mandatory that the document management

system is accepted, understood and used by all parties

concerned. If each department sets up its own usage ru-

les, a company-wide DMS would function ad absurdum.

In the industrial world of the 21st century, there is hard-

ly a line of business where trouble-free, efficient work is

permanently possible without a fundamental DMS sys-

tem. Not every business may need its own department or

organizational unit for document management, but legal

regulations and the frequently demanded obligation to

meet standards (e.g. DIN EN ISO 9001 4.2.4) require high

sensitivity when it comes to managing and archiving bu-

siness information.

The examples illustrated in this eBook underline that do-

cument management is basically nothing new. However,

the importance and usefulness of intelligent document

storage has significantly increased as compared to 50

years ago. Today we are confronted with huge data vo-

lumes as well as rationalized and massively accelerated

processes and workflows. All of this calls for a smooth

and intelligent exchange of information, a secure storage

and quick retrievability of documents.

You will find further information on this subject in our

eBooks “HOW MUCH DMS DO YOU NEED?” and “HOW TO

MAKE YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES MORE AGILE WITH DI-

GITAL WORKFLOWS”.


ABOUT KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONSKyocera Document Solutions headquartered in Osaka, Japan is a leading manufacturer of document imaging solutions

and document management systems, including colour and monochrome multifunctional products and printers and

wide format devices. Kyocera’s products are renowned for their unique long-life imaging components that provide grea-

ter reliability and less waste — resulting in a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over the life of the product.

The Kyocera Document Solutions portfolio does not stop at hardware. A full suite of business applications and consul-

tative services allow customers to optimize and manage their document workflow, unleashing the full potential of their

hardware investment. Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. is a core company of Kyocera Corporation, the world‘s leading

developer and manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products, including telecommunications equipment,

semiconductor packages and electronic components.

Documents

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW: … · tually, the introduction of digital files was to some extent accompanied by an unmanageable increase of (virtual) file cabinets: