What types of DMS are there?
There are many different types of document management systems, each of which differs from the others in certain features. In the DMS market, a large number of companies offer these different systems, resulting in a wide and confusing range of products. Finding the right document management system is not always easy. Therefore, before implementing a DMS, organisations should be clear about what type of digital document management software solution is right for them.
A document management system goes beyond simply managing and processing PDF files and can be broken down into 3 main areas:
1. Open Source DMS
The easiest way to get started with electronic document management is to use open source document management systems. Open source software is usually free of charge and is often easy and intuitive to use. Provisioning of stored documents is usually web-based.
The disadvantage of this option is that open source software is only a slimmed-down version of a highly functional DMS and does not offer all the functions necessary for a company’s complex business processes.
2. On-Premises
With on-premises software, a company has a fully functional DMS in-house. The software, in this case the DMS, is purchased as a licence model and hosted on the company’s own servers or outsourced to an external data centre. he advantage is that the software is used locally. The DMS does not run on the provider’s hardware.
The disadvantage, however, is that the licence fees can be very high and a large one-off payment is due for the introduction of the DMS. Maintenance fees are also not insignificant. In addition, the high degree of customisation of the systems severely restricts the ability to update and is associated with high costs. Today, on-premises systems are generally regarded as outdated and the number of providers is constantly decreasing.
3. SaaS
The counterpart to on-premises is cloud computing. Under the banner of ‘software as a service’ (SaaS), the software (in this case the DMS) is only offered and used as a service. This means that both the software and the necessary IT infrastructure reside with the provider. In addition, the data is no longer stored locally on a server, but in the cloud.
One of the advantages is that all maintenance and operational responsibility lies with the service provider. Costs are also significantly lower than with on-premises solutions, as there is only a monthly fee based on the number of users and no expensive up-front licensing fees. This puts all the risk on the provider, not the customer. Another advantage of cloud software is its high availability, i.e. the documents in the DMS can be accessed at any time and from anywhere, regardless of the end device. All you need is Internet access and a web browser.
Apart from the lower costs, the biggest advantage is probably that cloud software is subject to very high security guidelines. There is still a lot of doubt about data security, which is why many companies still stick with their on-premises solutions. However, these concerns are usually unfounded, as providers are very aware of their responsibility for customer data, and security standards in the SaaS model are now particularly high.
Over the past few years, the cloud computing market has become increasingly important. Compared to on-premises or open source solutions, SaaS offers companies many advantages. Most notably, it reduces IT complexity and costs. These benefits have led many companies to consider moving to SaaS.