7 Stats That Will Make You Rethink Your Document Management Strategy

Stats that will make you rethink your document management strategy 

The following document management statistics reveal the importance of effective and modern document management. They may make you decide it’s time to choose a document management system that’s a better match for your current needs. 

1. Ninety-one percent of data professionals say data quality issues hurt company performance. 

Data quality is a significant issue for many businesses. In the Great Expectations State of Data Quality report, which surveyed 500 data technology professionals, 91 percent of respondents reported that data quality issues hurt their operations and performance. However, only 23 percent said data quality was an organizational focus. 

The report cited common data quality problems, including a lack of shared metrics, unreliable data, and apps that do not work correctly when connecting to data.

Today’s cloud-based file sharing and document management systems can overcome many significant data quality issues by achieving the following:

• Improving document storage and searchability, thereby allowing organizations to easily access up-to-date and accurate information
• Providing better software tools for data cleaning, validation and monitoring to help maintain the integrity and reliability of data
• Enabling teams to collaborate from a shared database to reduce discrepancies and inconsistencies

2. Forty-eight percent of employees say it’s hard to find documents quickly.

Manual document management wastes a lot of time. In a 2023 Adobe Acrobat survey, 48 percent of respondents said they struggle to find documents quickly and efficiently, while 47 percent feel their company’s online filing system is confusing and ineffective.

These are some other telling statistics from the survey:

• Almost two-thirds of respondents have recreated documents because they couldn’t find the original.
• More than 1 in 10 employees spend more than four hours weekly searching for files online. 
• Ninety-five percent of employees have felt frustrated when searching for documents; 13 percent report being regularly frustrated. 
• Forty-seven percent said the online filing systems they work with are filled with outdated or irrelevant files, making it much more challenging to find the most accurate and up-to-date documents.

A top-notch, cloud-based document management system eliminates many of these frustrations. You’ll always have the most up-to-date information, which will reduce data and task duplication and provide easier access to documents across multiple platforms.

2. Forty-five percent of SMBs still rely on paper records.

According to a survey by Act!, 45 percent of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) still rely on paper records for customer, contact and vendor data — and an astounding 11 percent have no system whatsoever for managing documents. According to Joyfill, 60 percent of service businesses are still paper-based. 

Without comprehensive, streamlined digital document processes, companies waste time applying changes to outdated document versions. Fast-moving organizations will struggle to achieve high productivity if they continue relying on paper documents.

4. Eighty percent of businesses struggle with app integrations.

There is still much confusion about how cloud-based apps operate, including what they can and can’t do and how to integrate them into daily operations. In fact, according to MuleSoft’s 2023 Connectivity Benchmark report, 80 percent of organizations say app integration issues hinder digital transformation efforts such as cloud migrations, and that figure rises to 90 percent for companies that are behind on their digital transformation processes. 

When there’s a lack of clarity about how cloud-based apps function, business leaders might be less likely to move to cloud-based document management systems because of compatibility fears.

5. Fifty-nine percent of CIOs say cloud technologies are among their top investments.

Many chief information officers (CIOs) see the value of document management systems. In fact, in a Tata survey, 59 percent of CIOs cited cloud technologies as essential for innovation.  

This figure aligns with the anticipated growth of the document management market. According to Fortune Business Insights, the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.9 percent by 2032, making it a $24.91 billion industry.

6. Sixty-nine percent of IT departments are increasing their cybersecurity budgets.

Organizations are spending more to keep their information away from hackers and other cybercriminals. A survey by Infosecurity Europe found that 69 percent of IT decision-makers expect to increase their cybersecurity budget year over year, with cloud security being one of the top priorities. As more companies realize the risk to their document database, they’ll do what’s necessary to secure their confidential information. 

Business owners should seek advice from security experts to understand the risks of cloud-based document management systems and keep their companies’ and clients’ information safe. 

7. E-signatures improve close rates by more than 28 percent.

Taking the pen and paper out of the signing process can significantly reduce document turnaround time, thus improving close rates by more than 28 percent, according to PandaDoc. A faster turnaround means your team can close more deals.

Automate the signing process by allowing clients or prospects to sign digitally. Make it interactive; let them choose a color and font style to add a personal touch. Without extra steps, like printing and scanning, document recipients can sign contracts more efficiently. 

What is document management?

Document management is a system or process designed to capture, track and store electronic documents. A company may need to manage many documents, including PDFs, word processing files and digital images. Many organizations use document scanners to digitize documents, such as contracts, for central access and easy viewing.

The best document management software

Your document management software should be intuitive, budget-friendly, secure and collaborative. To help businesses find the right solution, we reviewed the best document management software solutions and evaluated them for ease of use, scalability and security. Here’s an overview of some of our top picks. 

Revver (formerly eFileCabinet)

Although Revver is built for scale, with up to 20TB of storage, its user-friendly desktop and mobile interfaces make it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes. The platform’s setup makes it easy to get the information you need quickly. You can create custom to-do lists and set up your dashboard to access recent items and your most important documents. Our review of Revver explains how workflow automation is a vital part of this platform and highlights its impressive integrations with OneDrive and Google Drive.

M-Files

M-Files has invested heavily in its backend, allowing users to quickly access the information they need and create time-saving no-code automation shortcuts to improve productivity. The company claims a 250 percent return on investment for its customers, and after reviewing the platform, we can see how. M-Files stands out for its ability to simplify data- and document-related teamwork and collaboration with clients and colleagues. Check out our review of M-Files to learn about its familiar File Explorer-type interface, which makes the platform quick and simple to learn.

FileHold Express

FileHold Express is flexible and customizable on all levels. You can build company-specific data and document management workflows and choose from cloud-based and on-premises versions. The company has thoughtfully considered various use cases across different sizes and types of businesses, and this attention is reflected in the range of service plans, add-ons and price tiers. We appreciate the platform’s expansive and clearly written knowledge base, which will help users get more from FileHold Express. Our FileHold Express review explains more about this platform’s features, including optical character recognition, indexing, electronic forms and advanced search. 

DocuWare

DocuWare is a highly capable document management platform with impressive functionality, thanks to the 500-plus integrations in its marketplace, including Sage, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP and Oracle. Its core integration with Outlook for archiving emails is helpful, as is the quick access it can provide through its customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning apps. Our review of DocuWare explains how this platform takes security very seriously with AES encryption and triple-data mirroring. These features are crucial for organizations that handle sensitive data.

DocuPhase

DocuPhase features an impressive set of productivity tools, including preset tags for inbound files and optical character recognition. This function eliminates the need to manually enter data into the platform. Setting up custom automations like file routing is easy, as is creating electronic web forms. These features allow team members to stay updated on various projects and workflows. Our DocuPhase review explains how the platform’s flexible pricing allows companies to tailor the service to their individual needs.

Kimberlee Leonard contributed to this article.