Proposal processes are complex. Whether they are done on an ad-hoc basis by a single person at a smaller company, or they are rigidly-managed by a proposal team at a large firm, the details of putting together a proposal project for RFPs, RFIs, or other submittals are a complicated mix of content, planning, and good old fashioned project management. To begin, there is the development of documents, schedules, and benchmarks by which the proposals will be measured. Then there is the actual launching of the proposal – making it public, which often involves an inordinate amount of notifications, distributions and question periods. Finally, the whole process turns back internal for a review and selection cycle, which itself can involve multiple people discussing, grading, scoring, and voting.

Document management systems help manage the proposal process by offering tools for collaboration, document version control, notifications and workflow, voting, and more. We plan to discuss the role of document management, and just how it can help, in a webinar coming up next Thursday. If proposal management is an area of interest to you, feel free to stop by our document management webinars page and register.

Whether it’s employee requests for benefits information; managers looking for past employee reviews; or the accounting department trying to find W-4 tax forms… it all comes through to HR. Human Resources professionals wear many hats, and one among them is that of controller of all records workforce-related.

Bet when looking at the entire picture of document management in HR, there is much more than just the management of employee records. There is also the automation of workforce processes; things like expense reports and time off-requests are good examples. Then there is the management of workforce resources like training manuals, employee handbooks, or company policies. And don’t forget the issue of security… all that regulated content must be controlled.

We’re going to look at document control the Human Resources department in a webinar later this week. If you are interested, feel free to join us.

In these uncertain economic times, most companies are faced with the challenge of how to maximize returns on tighter margins. It’s a do-more-with-less strategy that requires business operations be optimized now to meet current economic realities.

One area to consider for improving the bottom line is to look at how information is managed in the organization. This includes all the content, things like documents, invoices, etc.; all the actions, things like reviews, and approvals; and all the processes, these are the repeatable steps that drive the flow of information. Improving how information is managed, the content, actions, and processes, will improve efficiency, reduce risk, and lead to cost savings.

There is another upside to consider with this as well… and it’s a silver lining. With any change comes opportunity, and the right kind of change now can position an organization for even greater success long term.

There are least seven ways that improvements in how information is managed can have an impact on the bottom line in terms of efficiency, risk and cost savings. These were outlined in a document control webinar we held recently, and are also highlighted in an ePaper.

Number 1: Find information, Instantly
Number 2: Automate business processes
Number 3: Improve collaboration
Number 4: Capture a record of every change.
Number 5: Reduce the risk of email.
Number 6: Maintain compliance with regulations
Number 7: Eliminate paper storage costs and go Paperless.

Check out our document control webinar and request a copy of our Silver Lining ePaper to get more details on each.

Reducing paper usage is one way all of us can be more green. And this is true with builders and property owners too… who are especially interested in greener approaches in the construction of new buildings, factories, and infrastructure. With that in mind, ColumbiaSoft announced today that it has listed its Document Locator software which is used by architecture, engineering and construction firms for engineering document management in the Construction Specification Institute’s new GreenFormat.

To read on, check out our latest news covering the announcement: Document Locator Listed on Construction Specification Institute’s GreenFormat.

A standardized system for version control is a great way to improve collaboration, and increase accountability. There’s a new short video demo on the topic. To view it, click the “Watch Demo” button on our document version control page; or check out the video on the Document Locator YouTube channel.

It can’t be said any more succinctly than it was summed up by a Document Locator user at State Mutual Life & Health: “Hard drives are cheaper than warehouses.”

The storage of paper is a burdensome cost that, when you consider it, really brings no return or adds any value to a company. Office space consumed by filing cabinets or archive boxes could otherwise be used as productive work areas, and off-site storage fees could be better invested in areas of the business that return a real value.

As the economy forces everyone to tighten their belts and look for new ways to do more with less, document storage – the means of how you store and manage the multitude of paper and electronic files – should be a leading candidate among cost-saving considerations.

Consider this… an electronic document storage system not only frees up office space and eliminates warehouse fees, but it also improves productivity. Files that once took several minutes to locate in a filing cabinet, or days (and dollars) to retrieve from a storage location, are now instantly retrievable with the click of a digital search.

If you think improving document storage is for you, join us in a live Webinar next Wednesday called: Electronic Document Storage – Hard drives are cheaper than warehouses. We’ll explore all the cost and productivity benefits, and give you a tour of a very good electronic document storage alternative.

It’s official… we are Gold Certified for another year. Today, ColumbiaSoft announced that it has renewed its partnership with Microsoft. One aspect of this announcement that is significant is that this will be our 6th straight year of being a Gold Certified Partner – the highest level of partnership possible, and no small accomplishment. But, another important point to be made here is that this partnership really exemplifies our commitment to making document management as seamless and user-easy as possible. Since most people use Microsoft applications everyday… we focus our attention towards Microsoft and integrating our document management software right where people already work.

You can read more about today’s announcement in our news release: ColumbiaSoft Renews Partnership with Microsoft.

Are you grappling with how to automate document version control?

We’re all familiar with this scenario: There’s an important document with a critical deadline that has to be worked on by a group of people. Round and round the document goes, often by email, with edits written over edits. And… as the document progresses through stages, each person appends the file name to indicate their own ad-hoc, individualized versioning scheme. File names like “CustomerRFP-Sally-version 5-June7-DRAFT.doc” start to appear. In the end, it’s impossible to retreive prior versions (stored on individuals’ computers), and it’s a nightmare to assemble all the changes.

This is just one example where automated version control can save the day. There are many others, and we’ll touch on them all in a 20-minute webinar on January 22 called Managing Document Versions – Organizing chaos with a record of every change.

We’ll talk about how standardized version control software improves productivity and collaboration by eliminating ad-hoc and individualized versioning schemes; how document versioning increases accountability by logging information as it changes over time; and how version control reduces information loss and the need to duplicate or recreate information content.

Learn more and register for the webinar on Managing Document Versions.

As any year draws to a close, it’s a time honored habit among many to look back and reflect on the accomplishments of the past dozen months. Today, ColumbiaSoft did just that when in released its year-in-review roundup of news. Topping the headline is word that ColumbiaSoft will end 2008 with more customers than it had in the previous year… no small feat in face of the broader worldwide economic challenges that appeared in the second half of the year. But, some of the growth can be attributed to the fact that more and more businesses are looking to improve their operating margins by increasing efficiency and lowering risk, areas where our document management solutions serve well. Catch-up on a complete year-in-review in today’s news release: ColumbiaSoft Posts Double-Digit Growth In Customers In 2008 As Economy Spurs More Businesses To Increase Efficiency, Reduce Risk.�

For everyone who missed us at the Autodesk University conference last week, I will be hosting a 20-minute demonstration next week online of our latest CAD integration with Document Locator.

You can register for the WebEx here:

https://columbiasoft.webex.com/columbiasoft/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=573524547

I will be covering Document Locator’s unique ability in the area of project file management.  This is the combined management of CAD files along with all the project documents, emails, and virtually any other type of electronic files organized within a single document management system. The benefits include a unified way to approach the organization of related project information that increases re-use, reduces the amount of information lost or duplicated, and improves efficiency.

I hope you can join me next Thursday, December 18 at 10:30 AM PST > REGISTER <