In a single day, your business creates a lot of information. That info can take all kinds of forms, from client notes to invoices to project proposals--but what happens to it after that? Does it belong in a document management system or a content management system?
Let's find out!
Compare and Contrast: Content and Document Management
The first thing to know about these two management systems is what exactly they're managing.
- A document is a file your company creates to communicate or save information, like a spreadsheet, a notes document, or even a photograph.
- Content is a much broader category. While documents count as content, other media types do as well--like video and audio files, digital assets, and more.
Because these two things aren't quite the same, it makes sense that you'd need different management systems to keep track of them. Here's a closer look:
Document management
Document management is all about taking control of the document lifecycle. This system helps you create, edit, save, share, and secure your documents more effectively. With digital organization tools, a robust search feature, and plenty of security options, document management can improve your workflows and help you get more out of your company's information. Although it's often thought of as a digital solution, document management can also help you handle your physical files--whether that means storing them more effectively or digitizing them over time.
Content management
Content management systems are similar to document management systems in that they both focus on organization and utilization. However, content management is more about publishing or distributing information than optimizing the entire lifecycle. For example, a content management system can help you organize digital assets and put them on your website, customer portal, or other platform. In some ways, document management is about the internal experience, while content management is about building the external experience.
Conclusion
While some companies may need both content and document management, it's safe to say that just about every business can benefit from the latter. After all, document creation is a part of life these days--which means you need the tools to optimize and streamline the entire document lifecycle.
Want to learn more about document management? Contact us today for a closer look at this powerful solution!