Document Management Apps to Go – Why Mobile is the new Mantra

Mobile working now makes so much of an enterprise available to employees on the go. Document management is no exception. The days of paper-based workflows are fading away, as even legacy document bases are scanned into document management apps and converted into fully editable, searchable versions. As soon as documents are available in electronic form, mobile workers using different document management apps can accomplish:

• Template-driven document creation, rapidly and to organizational requirements


• Shared review and modification, via collaboration between remote users


• Content population, by specifying different data sources


• Document search and retrieval, using indexes and tags

They can also convert scanned documents into searchable text documents, using optical character recognition (OCR), and perform archiving. These two functions, often at the start and the finish of the document management life cycle, may be accomplished in preference using a desktop PC, along with the document scanning that creates the image files. But vendors often provide both desktop and mobile versions of their document management software to cover all cases: FileHold, Hightail, ShareFile, IntelligenceBank, Selectica and Zoho Docs are some examples.

What Mobile and BYOD Change in Document Management

With consumer IT now driving business IT in terms of user interface innovation and design, the use of smartphones and tablets at work is a natural consequence. Statistics from Logicalis indicate that 44% of employees in developed markets use their own devices at work (BYOD – Bring Your own Device.) That figure rises to 75% for growing nations like Brazil and Russia. That poses some challenges.

• The line between professional and social use is increasingly blurred. Employees can work on documents at home if they can access them over the web.


• Documents may inadvertently remain on an employee’s device even if that employee moves departments or leaves the company.


• As more employees access documents from outside the organization, the load on the network grows. In addition, smarter mobile devices mean the ability to download more, placing an even greater strain on organizational resources.

In addition to these aspects of mobile computing devices, document management software must also ensure that they:

• Display correctly on screens of differing sizes, including relatively small ones


• Offer functionality adapted to simpler user interfaces


• Ensure that security remains at the right level, whether access is made from within or without the organization’s own network.

The Business Benefits of Mobile DM

On the other hand, when the mobile document management requirements above are met, the advantages can be considerable:

• Workflow efficiency. Employees can interact with document workflows anywhere at and any time. Documents can be reviewed and approved even when key actors in the workflow are off site.


• Increased productivity. Similarly, employees can collaborate on the creation of documents or immediately generate documents from templates and different data sources, independently of the employee’s location.


• Competitive reaction time. Being able to get immediate approval for a quote document or signature for a contract even while the signer is out and about can sometimes make the difference between business won or lost.


• Cost reduction. When employees buy their own devices, their employer saves on its IT equipment budget. This should be balanced against possible other costs, such as upgrading to a suitable mobile document management app for enterprise and business partner use.


• More up-to-date technology. Company technology refreshes may happen at a slow pace compared to employee purchasing and replacement of mobile computing devices.


• Employee satisfaction. Last, but not least, employees who can choose the devices they prefer or who have the possibility to leverage what they know from social to professional device use are likely to be more satisfied in this respect.

Document Management Apps and Enterprise Departments

While document management applications often have broad applicability across an organization, certain functions make them particularly suited for specific enterprise activities and workers who move around:

• Sales. Providing consistent, profitable quotes is always uppermost in the minds of the sales department. Selectica gives sales people and directors this capability on the go, for instantly clinching deals the moment the customer says “I’ll take it.”


• Marketing. Zoho Docs and Hightail are two apps that can help marketing teams to work more efficiently with documents such as marketing plans and product manuals. The Zoho FirstDraft module gives mobile users the possibility to quickly produce text-based presentations for capturing ideas whenever or wherever they happen. Hightail allows large files (graphics-heavy brochures for example) to be transferred reliably and conveniently between users.


• Events. Using Webmerge, you can hold standard templates for tickets and generate series for specified events, dates, seating and so on.


• Creative services. For initiating the transfer of files of up to 10 GB, creative service agencies or departments can use Hightail from either smartphones or tablet PCs. ShareFile integrates with Basecamp so you can now share files from within your favorite project management tool.


• Administration. FileHold covers not only document workflow, but also records management for enterprise governance and regulatory compliance. This includes the identification, classification, prioritization, storage, security, archival, tracking and destruction of records, as appropriate.


• Procurement. Selectica offers users automatic tracking of renewals or deadlines for contracts.


• Project Management. IntelligenceBank sends users notifications of new information or new documents added to a document base, and also offers document version control for increased project management flexibility.


• Billing. Template-driven document management in Webmerge lets enterprises accelerate billing and invoicing.


• Legal. Robust contract workflow from Selectica lets companies hunt down by tag, index and even contract clause, with eSignature capability from any authorized user’s mobile computing device


• External partners. IntelligenceBank offers configurable permissions per user for document sharing so that enterprises can offer the right level of document sharing to both employees and non-company users. Webmerge has an API to allow third party applications to work with specific user documents and fields within them.

Make Mobile Document Management Happen Today!

A bias for action is a big factor in business success, and that includes getting started with mobile DM. Besides the apps referenced above, you can check out free trial document management apps for mobiles and tablets, as well as specific mobile DM software for iPhones and iPads, and native mobile document management apps for Android devices. Let us know how you like them!

Document Management Apps to Go – Why Mobile is the new Mantra