Handwriting skills are fading away and typing skill is a necessity. MFDs are the fastest selling products nowadays. All these developments are bits and pieces towards Document Management Systems (DMS). To define DMS- It provides a framework within which a user can intelligently, logically, and systematically organize and manage electronic documents created by word processors, spreadsheets, graphic programs, e-mail and other applications. DMS is a structured, systematic approach to controlling, describing, cataloging, storing, retrieving and sharing the information contained in the documents.

DMS has given rise a slew of hardware and software products, with a common goal of storing and retrieval of a requisite document at the right time in the right manner at the right place. This could involve intranet connectivity, Internet connectivity, remote control of the document or centralized DMS structure. All document management sytems should have five basic components-Scanning or importing tools to bring documents into the system; Methods for archiving and storing documents; Indexing systems to organize documents; Retrieval tools to find documents and Access control to provide documnets to authorized people.

Technology right now is coping with supporting and upgrading the likes of Windows 2000, XP, Office 2000, XP or Exchange 2000, SQL 2000, etc. With the size of a simple two-word document now taking up to 19,000 bytes v/s 500 to 1,000 bytes a few years ago, document storage is ever increasing. Also with the explosion of networks and intranets and the use of the internet, especially downloading graphics documents, there is no end to the insatiable desire by users to store and manage more and larger documents. A comprehensive application-DMS is the only real solution for organizations who wish to seriously and intelligently address their burgeoning 'electronic landfill' and the infrastructure or cultural problems of sharing of documents.

ADMS can begin to solve this cultural problem by establishing a common storage methodology and location for all documents, ie, a logical 'home base for each document,' thus providing a central point from which users can work together. This document sharing and common storage methodology requires new, but 'livable' conventions and in-house standards, 'fail-safe' functionality (for document management is 'mission critical' or requires 100 percent availability) and changes in users attitudes.

The DMS got a new angle-Document Imaging, in which a document is saved as an image which can be read by an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This system allows you to retrieve files by searching for any word or phrase in the text, by folder location or by 'index card' information. These documents can be read and actions or modifications can be performed on these documents depending on the level of security, controlled by the document imaging system.

Canon is one such OEM that is trying to create a smooth Total Document Communication system, which would enhance the total workflow management in the organization through MFDs that can scan, mail, fax, print, copy and intelligently store a document. This imaging solutions replaces physical papers with scanned images, implements bar coding forms and indexes. Allows rapid access and retrieval of documents and can be scaled up easily.

DMS infrastructure is constituted of hardware component and software. Hardware components could be fast scanners, MFDs, Printers, storage components such as Magnetic Media (Hard Drives); Magneto-Optical Storage; Compact Discs; DVDs or WORM.

Coming to DMS software, it is a fast growing arena. Major players are-Novell's Group-Wise, Lotus/Domino.Doc, Microsoft SharePoint, Intel's Reference Point, WordPerfect, Adobe's Acrobat suite.

DMS is a mission critical process, which is growing with the penetration of IT down the masses. Corporate are becoming IT dependent and knowledge management is gaining impetus. With these paradigm shifts, DMS might need greater efforts in implementation than shown right now.

DMS should

• Enable one to manage millions of records and retrieve the one you need in seconds.
• Lets you share documents with colleagues while protecting confidential information.
• Allows you to e-mail or tax files with the click of a mouse.
• Customize the way you work, rather than forcing you to change.

The Global PC storage market has had dramatic changes. In the mid 90s, there was a decline in disk storage prices (50 percent annually) with a resulting growth of disk storage capacity and numbers of documents. According to IDC, the need for storage will triple by 2003. In terabytes, this means the current 1,459 terabytes of storage in India will increase to 5,706 TB by 2003.

Courtesy : The DQweek