Document Management Security
Why your business needs to secure its documents.
The threat of identity theft and other privacy breaches has escalated in recent years, increasing both awareness and the need to ensure that confidential information remains private. The right EDM solution can ensure that your information is protected.
Security and privacy go hand in hand, and many businesses are
required by regulations (HIPAA, SEC, SOX, ISO, etc.) to ensure
the privacy of customers’ and employees’ personal
information. With a paper-based filing system, there is no
efficient way of securing files beyond locking the filing
cabinet.
- Physically restricting access can hamper legitimate access to files for normal business operations.
- This method fails to differentiate employee access to various types of files (credit information, shipping records).
- Multiple, locked file cabinets restrict legitimate searches for information as files become spread among cabinets and departments.
The need for security must be weighed against the ability for authorized personnel to have quick access to information. Some document management systems take an “all or nothing” approach, while others may weigh down the organization with cumbersome procedures to address even simple security setting needs.
With comprehensive document management security, you can control not only who can access the virtual file cabinet, but also who can access individual folders and documents. This approach enables all documents to be filed in one place, providing a complete, unified view of records for authorized personnel.
Document management systems provide security based on a number of factors, while allowing instant, anytime access from any location. A complete document management solution should provide the following:
- A mechanism for classifying documents when they are entered in the system.
- A mechanism for defining access classes or groups, so employees have uniform access to the documents they are authorized to use.
- Ability to apply retention policies that electronically preserve documents.
- Security mechanisms that define access at every level of the document system. (Folder- and document-level access are a minimum requirement.)
- An audit trail that records which users have accessed which documents, and what modifications, if any, they have made. This is a requirement for HIPAA legislation.
- The ability to view documents from multiple office locations.
- Workflow to route files electronically to the appropriate person or group based on standard rules and procedures.
- An efficient method for quick access to documents without the need for labor-intensive searches.
- Management for both scanned images and electronic documents.
- Integration with other business software and systems such as word-processing, accounting, and email. This allows users to file and access documents from applications they are already comfortable using.
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