Article by Stephanie Onofri
In the early 2000’s the Federal Office of Management and Budget announced its intent to allow the option for government agencies to maintain electronic files and corresponding e-signatures as valid forms of documentation management and interaction with the populace. Although the field of document management solutions has made a staggering amount of progress since the early 2000’s, in the field of government – as well as insurance and mortgage – “paperless” still seems to translate almost exclusively to “e-signatures” and some vague concept of electronic document storage.
Granted, e-signatures are convenient and effective, but they are certainly not the cherry on the cake or the cream of the ECM crop (being introduced to OnBase and inquiring solely about e-signatures is like meeting Einstein and asking him how many times 3 goes into 6). The release highlights both the issues and the benefits of implementing an electronic document solution and verily, over ten years later, the ECM solution tackles all of the mentioned issues and then some.
Here are the main issues associated with these electronic implementations according to the release of the Office of Management and Budget, and some corresponding Enterprise Content Management solutions:
- The legal risk of possible compliance infringement – OnBase automatically audits data for inconsistencies, which reduces human error and ensures accuracy of information
- Management control of important documentation – ECM gives the ability to control who can access classified and personal data, ensuring privacy protection
- Technological clarity so that products are user-friendly – Not only is your ECM system tailored to fit the specific needs of your organization; resellers like DataBank, provide continued support and guidance on how to get the most out of your solution
- The risk-to-benefits ratio associated with implementation – since most of government’s concerns with the possible risks of implementation ten years ago are solved with today’s ECM, this risk-to-benefit ration ceases to be a concern
Perhaps not enough information has yet been made available to such organizations regarding the myriad of other solutions an agency management system can offer, such as workflow and process streamline improvements, OCR, AP Automation, security controls, compliance audits, remote accessibility to records, web-based document hosting, risk management tools, and many other benefits for underwriting, claims, and policy management.
One thing is certain, with document imaging conversion services and web-hosting available, the switch to paperless has never been easier or more affordable. Connect with one of our business process experts below to learn about what ECM solution fits your industry’s needs.
