Housing Products
Telephone: 08701 631800
Email: EDM
Housing is integrated with Swordfish Electronic Document Management Solutions, has expanded its product range to include an Electronic Document Management solution, known as EDM.
EDM is an intelligent, web-based solution, incorporating workflow. The advanced functionality of EDM delivers an enormously powerful solution to manage and improve the efficiency of business processes while complementing the current range of products.
Features of EDM
EDM can be customised to match individual business needs. The open API's ensure that processes and rules are easily changed and can be extended to move and grow with changing business needs.
Being easily customisable and extensible contributes to making EDM extremely easy to use. The simple interface, functions, and integration with business systems, make document capture and retrieval quick and easy, ensuring rapid user take-up.
The web based solution enables use via intranets, extranets and the web, further enhancing the ease-of-use and user acceptance, as it can be accessed and used anytime and anywhere.
Scanning is also extremely easy and simple. EDM is capable of scanning any document of any size into the system, through the use of a range of additional functionality such as barcode recognition. Once documents are scanned they can also be automatically routed to the correct users inbox to wait for indexing and storage, or as part of a predefined workflow.
The full integration with the Housing and Revenues and Benefits systems simplifies the data capture and retrieval process. The integration also extends to the MS Office Suite to enable documents created in Word, Excel or Outlook, to be seamlessly stored in the EDM system.
Data can be converted and/or imported into EDM, which also facilitates automatic file import, making information more quickly available. Integration with systems also enables images to be viewed as well as text, allowing a document to be viewed in its entirety. The high level of integration ensures that all information can be easily accessed and displayed, all in one system.
Full document control, including version control, audit trail and document security, offered. Version control enables documents to be 'checked out', edited, and 'checked back in' as a new version, giving complete control and visibility over all versions of a document. This ensures the most current and correct information is always used.
EDM can then create access controls so that different security levels can be created for different groups, improving the security and authenticity of information. Audit trails then provide a full history on who did what to a document, when and why, as well as enabling document retention and disposal policies to be replicated into EDM for further control.
Emails, work item indicators and workflows can also be created to aid document sharing. Automated emails can be configured, sending alerts to users, while also facilitating ad hoc emails, which can include links to documents and attachments. Scanned documents are sent in the globally accepted PDF format, with EDM having the capability to quickly and easily convert documents to PDF format, directly within the software.
Work item indicators can also be sent to notify users within predefined groups, of work waiting approval. Workflow can then replicate and automate key business processes into EDM, to enable documents to be passed through all necessary stages and groups of users. Reports on information in any element of the system are also enabled, again improving the ease of information visbility and management.
Benefits of EDM
Along with the advanced features of the suite of software and associated services, the introduction of EDM will strengthen the Housing offering by providing the following benefits:
EDM ensures that documents are quickly stored and easily retrieved, saving significant staff time on the search and retrieval process. It also enables the automation of even the most complex of business processes; ensuring staff time is more effectively allocated to business activities. This results in greater efficiencies and improved staff productivity, with staff able to manage increased workloads.
The improved access to documents and information, along with automated processes and improved staff productivity, enable a company to dramatically improve the quality and speed of its service to customers. As well as cutting costs, this can also generate additional revenue.
Electronically capturing and storing all documentation eliminates the need for paper-based filing cabinets. This can significantly reduce the amount of floor space needed, delivering high cost savings in rent, or enabling the same floor space to be better allocated to revenue generating activities.
Electronically storing all documents protects against the threat of disasters such as fire, flood or bombing. Data can be easily backed-up and held on CD-ROM off-site for further security, making EDM an integral part of your disaster recovery model and to help ensure business continuity.
Implementing the EDM solution significantly improves access to information. Data can be more quickly and easily stored, indexed and retrieved, and the full text searching functionality allows users to quickly identify all relevant information and documents, giving users greater information visibility.
Decision Support