10 Best Practices for Cloud Document Management

Cloud document management is a new virtual way to lead companies towards a more connected and productive world

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10 Best Practices for Cloud Document Management
Cloud-based document management systems can do miracles to simplify workflows and help your team accomplish more in less time, with tools that help you store, track and edit any of your company's documents comfortably and safely. - While promoting sustainability and paperless survival, Cloud Document Management provides solutions for offices looking to simplify and standardize their document management, what are the most important good practices for cloud document management?, We'll get to know the answer in the rest of the article.
 
 
Cloud Document Management Practices
 

10 Best Cloud Document Management Practices 

 
Cloud document management systems help reduce operating costs, run your infrastructure more efficiently, and expand your business as your business needs change. Below are 10 best practices to make the most of the cloud document management system:
 

1. Streamline your remote workforce

 
Cloud document management systems improve workflows by providing organizational tools for users who need to manage, store or edit documents accessible from anywhere in the world. They allow remote workforce access to a central hub that safely stores all their documents, with customizable platforms that provide standardization and architecture for virtual workspaces.
 

2. Identify several levels of access according to personal files

 
Cloud providers have a logical task: to provide access to intangible data storage tools, but it is not up to them to determine what policy the company will pursue in managing documents in cloud. It is up to the organization to set the right rules to ensure access to and security of data. Therefore, it is necessary to identify several levels of access:
 
  • Add documents, consult, amend
  • Amending and consulting documents
  • Document Consulting Only
 
In addition, the cloud in the document management system should be divided, as not all employees have access to all documents - which is absolutely true when cloud access is provided to third-party providers, so care should be taken to open certain files only for the right people, and only for them.
 

3. Conducting vulnerability tests

 
Whether you choose an "in-house" cloud solution in the document management system or a solution offered by an external provider, you must not neglect the vulnerability test, which is also called "intrusion tests" or "pen tests," you will simulate the behaviour of a third party, whether a real person or a robot, who will try to hack into your computer system, without any prior knowledge of it.
 

4. Choose a special cloud

 
There are many "public" cloud solutions: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox... However, these solutions are not recommended in the management of your documents, in fact, it is best to choose a special solution that provides you with the necessary security, control and traceability for companies, and therefore, you will have full control over your data hosted in the cloud, and full access to it, you can even offer your customers a secure connection, so that they can also enrich this collaborative data center!
 

5. Antivirus Software

 
The best security for cloud document management solutions starts at employees' workstations, in fact, the virus found in a file that is not detected by the company's installed computers can infect all the data in the cloud, and all the computers of those who reach it, so it is recommended to ensure that anti-virus software and firewalls of employees are updated and ready to identify the lowest threat to data safety.
 

6. Improved passwords

 
The company's cloud document management security begins with employee passwords, which are often overlooked, so it is important to choose strong passwords when managing documents, which must meet the following characteristics:
 
  • More than ten characters
  • It has some special letters, such as @ or # for example, and large letters.
  • They do not constitute readable words, such as "value password".
  • They are changed regularly.
  • Not used for other applications (email account in particular)

 

7. Implementation of collaborative tools

 
It seems difficult to track document management processes in terms of editing and multiple drafts within a single document - not to mention the many tasks you can take to complete a task, without collaborative tools that simplify and facilitate the management of your documents.
 
Here are some tools available in most cloud document management systems to help collaborate:
 
  • Comment directly on the documents, which allows you to clearly show the texts and drawings and make suggestions about them during editing
  • Integrate email and conversation features to facilitate group project discussion and planning
  • Use auto-save and record features to take a look at previous drafts and track changes
  • Create multiple versions of individual documents and easily organize them using metadata
  • Customize your platform to include tools that will work best for your team

 

8. Use of metadata

 
One of the biggest advantages of using a cloud-based document management system is the ability to enable metadata searches and keywords and quickly find any file you're looking for, the software does this by scanning the contents of the entire document and finding relevant keywords based on your search terms This will make your life a lot simpler, and it will remove guesswork from document storage.
 

9. User access control

 
In any office, security is everyone's responsibility, newer document management systems offer security features that allow you to grant or deny access to anyone based on geolocation or other risk-based criteria but if you are unable to restrict user access based on network connection or geographic location, It has become standard practice in most companies to request multi-factor authentication while logging into systems with sensitive information.
 
This can be enabled in your document management software and requires employees to simply use their phone number, email address to log in alongside a secure password, requesting or suggesting that this feature be enabled by your team will greatly improve your company's cybersecurity.
 
Cloud document management systems also keep detailed records on when and who information is accessed, helping you in the constant effort to stay in compliance with industry regulations, most systems offer notification alerts as well, so you immediately know if there is any questionable activity on your accounts.

 

10. Audit and retention policy

 
How long do you keep stored files? Is it a year or more? Depending on the industry in which it operates, there are usually regulations in place to ensure that any sensitive information is stored, Then dispose of them correctly, this can include employee records or your client's personal information, Anything that can prove harmful in case of data breach For the legal industry, the rule is to destroy documents after five years. But for small businesses, you must have records dating back seven years for tax purposes.
 
After you know what's expected in your field, you can use the cloud document management system to:
 
Search for documents based on the date of their creation or the date of their last modification.
Delete or dispose of old documents as required in your business
 

Conclusion:

 
Paper document organization and archiving can quickly become a time-consuming task, often leading to clerical errors and misconduct. When using a cloud-based document management system, this process is avoided, but you and your team still need to agree on a coherent document management system so everyone can easily find the documents they need.
 
 

Important Topics

 
 
 

 

Reference

1. << Electronic document & records management system to manage records like money>>, openaccessgovernment
2. << The importance of document storage in today’s digital age>>, citizen
 
 


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