In a rush to implement new technology, some organizations forget that good old document management is still a critical business application. Although some analysts mainly consider it to be a legacy technology. To be clear, legacy technology refers to tech that is often still in use and has influenced the subsequent tech and standards. For example, document management begat enterprise content management which generated content services which will generate…….
Document management is very necessary
The problem is that the use case for document management still exists, so to label it legacy seems rushed, as though we are in a hurry to retire the technology, which is absolutely not the case. I suspect it’s because analysts and tech press are clamoring for “what’s next?”
While there are many positives about the way we work today (flexibility, for instance), there are some negatives also. From a vendor perspective, Laserfiche wants to provide the functionality clients wish to, and as a service provider, we want to customize Laserfiche to fit your needs. Where it gets tricky is that requirements can be a moving target. While Laserfiche is constantly improving on the product, some clients will only ever want to use it as a digital filing cabinet. So, a legacy application of ECM is perfectly appropriate. Other agencies, however, have found that the digital filing cabinet isn’t enough. Accordingly, many enterprises have incorporated the automated features of Laserfiche as these organizations accept hybrid work. Using automation frees up time for more important tasks while still leveraging the legacy application of 24/7/365 anywhere, secure access to information. At some point, I’ll wager, automation will be labeled legacy, and we’ll all move on to the following functionality.
Everything old is new again.
According to analysts, content services include functionality like AI, low-code cloud, and robotic processing. Laserfiche is quickly maturing and encompasses those functionalities. From an implementation perspective, we are seeing the need to use LF Capture and Workflow tools to transfer data from eForms and into business systems, seamlessly integrating processes across the organization.
One constant we see among different types of clients is the oldest legacy technology–documents, which are still the foundation of governments and businesses. Hence, mature features like creation, accessing, editing, versioning, managing, approving, and signing documents remain critical. You’re enabling real-time editing and collaboration. With the back and forth via email between collaborators minimized, digital documents provide a better user experience — for both staff and clients.
Document management may be a legacy technology, but it’s critical for millions of organizations. Some organizations use Laserfiche to ‘file and find’ others have hundreds of workflows and forms. Either way, they both have a role in today’s flexible, hybrid ecosystem.
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