Document Secure Management

Since a Document Management system (document management system) streamlines the process of managing documents electronically, data security plays a very important factor in a document management system. The companies who design the document management system pay enough attention to the data security for the document management system enabling it to provide secured and an organized way of electronic data management.

What are the various methods to achieve data security in a document management system?

There are many ways that a good document management system or a document management system company would employ to ensure that the data is secured at all times.

  • High Tech Vaulting - This is further categorized into Data Vaulting, Media Vaulting and Server Vaulting. These vaulting techniques allow the clients to send and retrieve the back-up data. The responsibility of maintenance of the back-up data rests with an off-shore site. The benefits of Data Vaulting include a company's adherence to legalities as laid down by the state government. As an example, HIPAA rules are extremely security sensitive with primary importance given to protecting business documents and vital patient medical records. Vaulting techniques also allow companies to preserve the data for a longer time than conventional storage techniques like the CD-ROM.

  • Records Management Services - The security of a document management system is directly correlated to the record management services provided by the document management system.
    1. Essentially, records management services encompass records (business, commercial and personal) storage and systematic record destruction - achieved by archiving and destroying the documents.

    2. Destroying records will be decided by the client depending on his internal business policies on the retrieval times for the documents. Various laws like the HIPAA, GLBA and SOX govern the act of destroying records in a lawful manner. The critical decision which a client needs to take would be what, when and how to destroy. Heavy penalties have been charged on defaulters who did not destroy the records in a law-governed way. This can be achieved by the elementary practice of document shredding and document recycling.

    3. Document Archiving is a slightly different concept which advocates the documents being handled properly while destruction. Document archiving will ensure that vital records are retained and the non-critical records are shredded or destroyed regularly.

    4. Proper records management services take a step towards document secure management by safeguarding confidential information, maintaining official accountability of records destruction and reduces the liability and risk factor to the business.

Businesses that have realized the importance of Document Secure Management have emphasized heavily on data security of a document management system. "How the document management system will ensure my data is secured at all times", is one question that many business owners ask before implementing a DM practice in their companies.