What Legal Departments Should Look for When Evaluating Document Management Systems

Document management has become a significant focus for enterprises looking to enhance efficiency, productivity, and security. This is especially the case for advanced users, such as legal and compliance departments, who handle high-value or regulated content. These users need to be able to collaborate with other stakeholders, connect documents with business workflows, and protect important information. However, according to a blog post by iManage, traditional approaches often fall short. 

Modern document management system (DMS) platforms are central repositories combined with powerful search capabilities that facilitate collaboration, repurpose content, and complete tasks with intuitive tools. They ensure that users can find documents quickly and reuse past work.

When evaluating DMS platforms and vendors, these are some of the major factors to consider:

• The platform should seamlessly integrate with existing technologies, offer an intuitive user experience, and require minimal training to optimize performance.
• Multi-layered security approaches should include automatic encryption, active threat detection, and support for regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).  
• Platforms leveraging the cloud should ensure performance, reliability, agility, and security and adhere to standards and certifications like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2. 
• The vendor should be able to provide comprehensive implementation support, ideally including project management, risk assessment, data migration, design recommendations, change management, and user adoption assistance.

The vendor should have a history of focusing on customer success and long-term relationships and a track record in large, complex enterprises within regulated industries. 

Selecting the right document management platform and the right vendor will enhance collaboration, ensure data security, and contribute to overall organizational efficiency.