SharePoint Online: The Best Document Processing Solution

Choosing the ultimate Microsoft SharePoint Online document processing solution to help your team and organization meet its goals is a tough task. A well-designed, user-friendly document processing solution can transform an organization’s business — optimizing efficiency and amplifying productivity. However, the user experience must be positive for the company to realize these benefits.

When evaluating your options, consider these questions:

1. How much scanning flexibility do you need?

Can the document processing solution you’re considering capture content from many sources including desktop scanners, PCs, file shares, monitored email or Microsoft Outlook? Do your users need the ability to scan via a web browser as well? Ensure you have the ability to scan and import information — be it paper or electronic — in high or low volumes, from multi-function devices.

2. What capabilities will add the most value to your business?

Do your users encounter smudged or stained documents? Can the platform you’re considering convert file types? Do users have to manually index information? These issues can take a toll on patience and productivity.

Consider a processing solution that can perform document cleanup, enhance content for improved readability, convert file types and automatically categorize & index documents to enable speedy searches. A platform to extract information can be used to create workflows or fine-tune a workflow process.

3. How organized is your existing data storage system?

Is your content stored in separate business systems or only in SharePoint? Do employees spend a lot of time hunting for necessary documents or information? This practice frustrates users, creates longer response times and prevents employees from tackling essential tasks.

A solution to simultaneously centralize and route necessary documents to your SharePoint Online (and on-premises environment) is essential. The best document processing solution can capture, secure and route information to SharePoint — even if those documents are coming from multiple offices or departments in different states or countries.

4. Are any of your end users remote?

In today’s digital world, business is conducted in coffee shops, offices, homes and even mid-flight. Depending on the nature of your business, your employees likely need the freedom to work from anywhere, using a variety of devices.

Investigate platforms that allow administrators and users to leverage modern, lightweight and responsive interfaces that can work with any device. For example, SharePoint Online paired with KnowledgeLake allows users to access what they need through any web browser connected to the internet.

5. Do you understand your company’s goals?

While you may have a solid idea of your business’ needs at present, what about tomorrow? Does your organization plan to move to the cloud or need to accommodate a hybrid environment? Do you have a plan to manage the extra documents your business will acquire?

If you’re currently in a SharePoint on-premises environment but are thinking of making the leap to SharePoint Online, you might want to conduct a SharePoint comparison between the two platforms to see what makes sense now and in the future.

Choose a platform that is progressive, scalable and designed with cloud-ready architecture. Solutions like these can give you the option to deploy online or on-premises to accommodate your organization’s move to the cloud.

KnowledgeLake assures your organization follows document management best practices through architecture and taxonomy planning, content migration, and information governance. Our experts can maximize your investment in Microsoft Office 365 by boosting the value of your SharePoint Online environment.