In many ways, choosing software is like taking a bet.
If you bet correctly, you reap the rewards of a solution that will support your complex needs for decades.
Choose wrong? Your software may not scale or adapt with you. And then you’re stuck switching to new software, which may or may not fit your needs later on, again.
And when it comes to creating and storing documents, this dilemma becomes even more important.
In this article, we’ll discuss open source document management software solutions, their benefits, what to look for in your software, and our top 5 picks to choose from.
What is open source document management?
In technical terms, document management software (DMS) automates the document storage process from document creation through distribution. And it does so in a manner that makes every document easily accessible throughout your organization.
In plain terms, a document management system helps you create and manage your electronic documents so anyone can access them anyplace and anytime, which ultimately makes your organization more efficient.
And what about open source document management? Open source software means the code for the software is publicly available for people to inspect, modify, or enhance.
So open source document management systems do everything like a DMS, but they come with the added benefit of the flexibility that comes with being open source.
Benefits of open source document management
You want document management software to ensure your team is as productive as possible.
You want the freedom that comes with a document storage solution that allows you to upload and access files anywhere, anytime.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud certainly gives you that flexibility, but before we dive too deep into what you can do with it, let’s explore the benefits of open source document management software.
These include:
- Greater innovation. Open-source software tends to have a supportive community built around it, which drives innovation and collaboration.
- Reduced cost. With everything in the cloud versus filing cabinets, you get lower expenses, and it frees up precious office space.
- Greater visibility. A good DMS offers greater transparency of who’s working on what, what resources are available, and who to talk to when you need answers.
- Improved reliability. Open source document management software gives better data backup and reliability since solutions are typically cloud-based and are stored in multiple locations around the world.
- Greater security. Open-source software has greater levels of scrutiny as more people can review the code for potential vulnerabilities.
As you can see, the right open-source document management system can really improve your team’s workflow. Now the question becomes, will any DMS system do the job?
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What to look for in an open-source document management software provider
Picking the right document management system is a lot like dating. You don’t want to settle, but being overly picky won’t get you anywhere either. You need to find the right mix of “must-have” features and those that are just “nice-to-have.”
Here are a few to consider on your journey:
Automation
Everyone’s looking for AI-powered tools and a way to do more with less.
In fact, 54% of workers believe they’d save 5+ hours from tools that automate their tasks. Extrapolate those hours saved over tens, or even 100s of employees and that adds up quickly.
When seeking the perfect document management system, you’ll want to find one that enhances your workflow and ideally takes work off your plate. One that’s rich with automation.In staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, for example, you can create a seemingly infinite number of automations that will reduce the need for meetings, unnecessary email, or take tedious admin work off your plate.
Some common automation recipes might be automatically sending an email to your design team or assigning a task to them to upload graphics when you’ve finished writing content.
Another might be automating a complex budget process to make sure that after an approval, the budget is automatically forwarded to the next recipient for approval.
Collaboration
Document management is rarely a solo endeavor.
Chances are, you’re creating documents in partnership with your team and need multiple users working on them simultaneously. Or you may even need outside contributions from vendors, partners, stakeholders, or even customers.
Here’s where collaboration and communication features are vital. The right DMS won’t just store files, it’ll help you create and edit them.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, for example, allows you to annotate images so you can give or get feedback on your work in real-time. It even has its own text document creator called monday Docs that lives within the staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud ecosystem.
That means no doing work outside in Google Docs or Word and transferring it in. It’s already there, which saves precious time and resources.
Last but not least, you get real-time collaboration via tagging people in comments on tasks or documents.
Integrations
When people seek out open-source software, they’re really looking for flexibility, customization, and freedom. That’s an area where staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud truly stands apart from other DMS providers because it has dozens and dozens of software integrations.
It syncs with CRM and marketing tools. It also syncs with document storage solutions and project management tools. A major integration is Zapier which connects your document management system to 3,000+ apps that provide even more possibilities.
Scalability
The importance of scalability can’t be understated, especially if your organization’s goals revolve around continued growth. The best document management software solutions won’t restrict you to one tier forever. They’ll grow with you.
If your feature and storage needs start low, they should have an option for that, and as you level up, you should have options that ramp up your storage needs.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud supports that with tiered pricing options.
That means if your needs are low, your price is lower, and as your organization continues to grow and flourish, staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud will be there to ensure it does so gracefully and without interruption or growing pains. It’ll add features with each pricing tier, as well as more storage, and much more.
Security
Security is the lifeblood of your document management software.
There’s a good chance you’re storing sensitive information related to your employees, customers, and operations. You don’t want just anyone to have access to that.
Ideally, your document management solution will support 2-factor authentication (2FA), single sign-on (SSO), and data encryption.
Again, here’s where staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud stands out from the competition. Since it’s fully cloud-based and hosted on AWS, you can feel confident your data is secure and backed up to the best possible standards.
5 open source document management software providers
Now that you know what to look for in a document management system, let’s dive into 5 options to consider:
1. staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud is the best of both worlds. You get a perfect fusion between electronic document management software and a full-fledged Work OS that connects your entire organization together.
It’s flexible, fully customizable, and cloud-based. monday Apps is a revolution in collaborative workflow design and functionality. It’s user-friendly, secure, and has 24/7 support.
It has everything you need for exceptional document management, but, as a Work OS, it offers far more than that.
2. OpenKM
It’s a well-known brand, works well with Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome. OpenKM automates the documentation process.
It also has a built-in workflow engine and uses cryptology for added security.
3. OpenDocMan
It’s web-based, supports multiple file types, and has controllable access for privacy.
You can share documents and quickly browse for what you need by department, category, or user with its quick search feature. It also offers revision history and the ability to expire files.
4. Kimios
A lightweight document storage solution that has features like check-in and check-out options, so you know who’s working on what doc and when.
It has a customizable search engine and offers direct integration with the Windows OS, but only if you have a commercial license. It’s worth pointing out that it’s a client-server-based document management platform instead of cloud-based.
5. Krystal DMS
A document management platform that gives you accessibility controls to ensure only certain people have access to your documents.
As standard, it offers a proper workflow management feature, indexing, and they offer multilingual support. There’s also a premium auditing feature that helps you keep track of all your records and documents.
That’s the top 5! Take a good hard look at the features we outlined above, and don’t overlook the user interface either. The best software is what performs well and is intuitive to use.
Building your dream solution
Don’t underestimate the power and enthusiasm of a passionate community of developers and users.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud is rich with customization options and integrations and has a massive community creating powerful applications in the Apps Marketplace
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud and the Apps Marketplace offer an innovative document management solution.
But don’t take our word for it. Try out our Digital Asset Management template today and see the staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud difference for yourself.
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