The landscape of business today looks much different than it did just 10 years ago. Many companies are managed by a remote executive team, or they have all virtual employees. While this offers benefits such as flexible schedules, working from home, or managing small offices in more locations, it changes the document workflow of how important information is communicated, shared, and stored.
Importance of Document Sharing for Business
What will likely never change about business is the power that communication and collaboration hold to cultivate client relationships and move business forward through idea sharing. Today’s workforce still requires regular communication and document sharing, but the delivery vehicles have changed in an age that is highly digital and electronic. They have increased the need for sharing and security.
Not only is there a need to securely access information and documents necessary for work, but people need to be able to open, view, and respond—all on the go. Technology has grown to accommodate the busy nature of business by making our work devices portable—laptops, smartphones, tablets. This creates the need for a secure document-sharing portal.
Important meetings and information exchange happen more often through virtual office networking than face-to-face. This all serves to underscore the point that document sharing is very important in business, but what is the best way to do that?
Many businesses collaborate on a virtual Cloud. While this solution may boast massive storage and be easily accessible on the go, it is also more prone to security leaks and issues. A better solution for today’s business needs is to use document management software, which is portable, is secure, and is packed with the powerful sharing and collaborating capabilities of a peer-to-peer network.
Vulnerabilities of Document Sharing without Secure Document Management Software
An electronic file sharing system needs to be user friendly and convenient, but not at the risk of failing to keep your important, sensitive business information and collaborations secure.
Without using a document storage and management system that is properly secured, you leave your business prone to security breaches. You jeopardize the value and integrity of the data you’re seeking to share in order to grow and make your business better and stronger.
The below methods of sharing data in a peer-to-peer network are just not secure enough to protect your business any longer.
Email is a great way to communicate in a fast-paced and increasingly paperless work environment, and it definitely enables office-to-office networking and communication. You can send messages quickly and get a response almost instantly.
However, sharing sensitive and private business information via email is extremely unsafe because it is a system that is easy to breach. Additionally, it opens you up to errors in sending information to the wrong person and makes it easy to intercept by third parties.
USB Thumb/Flash Drives
USB drives are convenient, are portable, and can hold a lot of information that you can keep at your fingertips. However, they are small and easy to lose and/or confuse if they’re lost, misplaced, or stolen. When they leave your grasp, the information they contain can be accessed by anyone who has a computer.
Consumer File-Sharing Services
Consumer file-sharing services have become very popular, and for good reason. They are user friendly, and they give you the ability to share a lot of information. However, it’s very easy to share files you didn’t intend to send, and it may not always be as harmless as a folder full of kitten pictures.
Public Computer
No publicly shared computer, no matter where it is located, is secure. Sensitive matter should never be stored or sent using a public computer.
Fax
A fax creates a documented, paper copy of the information you’re sharing. You can specify the phone number and person who should receive it, but you can’t guarantee the person who picks it up off the machine is the one it was intended for, or if they should have access to the data it holds.
How Document Management Systems Help
Document management systems such as eFileCabinet can help you achieve all your data-sharing needs—from creating a peer-to-peer network to streamlining document workflows—and they do it all in a secure document sharing portal.
Integrating document management software into your business can make your communications meaningful, productive, and secure by providing you these advantages:
- Enhanced security
- Confidentiality
- Less information falling through the cracks
- Increased speed
- Improved efficiency
- Reduced costs on paper, printers, and shipping
Additionally, using offerings from eFileCabinet, such as eFileCabinet Online and SecureDrawer, will help you keep your important information organized, secure, and accessible only to those who need it. And you can have peace of mind that all your business interactions will be safe, fast, and secure.
If your business relies on office-to-office communication, requires collaboration to thrive and grow, and needs a secure but shared place to keep information, then you need document management software. The industry leader in digital document storage, security, and organization is eFileCabinet, and you can even demo the suite of products so you can choose what you need to help your business.