Your company has already suffered from budget cuts, and you have transitioned a portion of your employees to "virtual" home offices. The LAST thing you need is to feel insecure about where your business files and information are as they leave the company network...
So how do you protect your valuable documents with remote workers? Here's a checklist with the most important aspects to consider when looking for an affordable and secure solution for information access and file storage:
- Look for a solution with access via the Web. By using a software-as-a-service document storage application, you can save money by paying a low monthly subscription and allow your virtual workers easy access from anywhere they can connect to the internet. The secure web access and storage allows you to maintain vital documents with the company, rather than on a worker's laptop, and also allows you to easily turn-off access for employees when necessary.
- Use a method that ensures strong authentication. Using a system that requires access with a secure log in, and information that is encrypted as it travels across the internet should be required. This easily restricts who can get to mission critical documents and their information. But remember, it is also important to log out of the system when you are done working so information is not accidentally left on the screen for unauthorized eyes. Look for an application that will automatically log you out of the system once a certain period of time has passed.
- Your system should have administrative controls. When deciding how to properly set up virtual worker teams, make sure you implement a system that can restrict visibility and only allow employees access to the information they are permitted to see. The system you choose should allow you to store information in a single repository, yet set-up restricted access for each user only allowing them to see information they have access to versus system-wide information.
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Monitor document edits and changes by individuals. This not only keeps you informed of what is going on in your business, but also is useful for audit compliance. Never worry about last minute audits or discovery; always know the history and changes related to your documents.
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Allow for online collaboration. One of the biggest challenges you will have in transitioning your employees to a remote office is collaboration. Without the opportunity to walk down the hall, or gather in a conference room to discuss a contract, proposal or other company information it will be challenging to collect information from a group to create final versions. Luckily, the right online document management system can help you overcome this challenge by providing an easy way to upload information, collaborate and track versions of each change within the document. Never again clog up your inbox with attachments, miss an edit or worry which version is truly the FINAL version.
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Automate a Virtual Workflow. Some document management solutions allow you to easily create and automate a workflow from within in the application. The documents are pushed to the appropriate employee's task list as soon as they are uploaded in the system and are ready for review. Additional benefits include the ability to stop sending documents using e-mail. Instead, the application will send notifications that documents require review. The documents are maintained and secure in one location giving the company complete control of their mission critical information.
Are you currently using an on-premise or license-based document management solution for storing your documents and information? If so, read more about DocuVantage's promotion to see if you qualify for 6-months of free online document management!
*DocuVantage products and services are available on GSA Schedule 70 and Apps.Gov