What difference will the Hummingbird DMS make?
I’ve recently been learning about a document management system called “Hummingbird“, and have been thinking about the reasons why companies wish to go through the painful and very costly process of retraining their staff. What is going wrong with the present system of file management?
In addition to the most obvious benefits of strict version control and better findability through a powerful search facility, provided that meta data is added intelligently, the key difference is the restrictions attached to the creation of folder hierarchies. Individual users cannot create there own logical families of files so easily, unless they have “super user” status. Instead they are encouraged through the interface and many form dialogue boxes with required fields, to fill out meta data and place the files as best they can within a predetermined structure. The system could be described as a strictly controlled form of folksonomic tagging.
I wonder how long it will take the employees to appreciate the benefits of this seemingly laborious method of saving new documents and emails?