What is a Document Management System (DMS)?

A Document Management System or DMS assists with the tracking, management, and storage of documents. The documents are typically organized with software that a user can use to access, change, and centrally store these files. These systems are designed to handle several tedious tasks including: 

• Archiving

• Distribution

• Document Creation

One good example is online banking access through a banking website for users to manage and view their monthly statements. DMS is often a term overlapped with CMS (Content Management System): however, a DMS actually functions as a component for Enterprise CMS's. Document Management Systems provide a number of capabilities including: 

• Indexing

• Metadata

• Integration

• Validation

• Storage 

• Retrieval

• Security

Benefits

A DMS provides versioning control benefits because it manages a record of each version that is created and tracks the history of user changes. A few other benefits include:

• Digital Asset Management

• Document Imaging

• Records Management

• Improved Workflow

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