The benefits of your business going digital, if only on the admin side, no longer need stating - but the way in which you do it is much less obvious. The earliest question you’ll face is just how to handle the filing of digital documents, and whether you opt for a simple sharing app, like Google Sheets or OneDrive, or a more comprehensive document management system (DMS) like Workiro. 

If you read a straightforward description of what a document sharing system can do, you might think that it sounds like it offers everything a business needs. And, yes, if you’re taking your very first steps from switching from paper documents to digital, even bog-standard Google Docs or Office365 will be a big improvement over bits of paper. But as Icarus discovered, things can get complicated fast once you’re in the cloud, and a document management system adds some key features that can deliver big efficiency wins (and, to stretch a metaphor, a softer landing from any problems, which is something Icarus definitely went without). 

In this article, we’ll give you a whistle-stop tour of the key differences between document sharing apps and full DMS platforms, compare their features, and help you decide which one is best for your business.

What is a Document Sharing App?

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A document sharing app is built for simple sharing of documents, be they text files, spreadsheets or presentations. These apps typically provide cloud storage and basic tools for file access and collaboration, and they’re near-ubiquitous for teams (professional or otherwise) that need a quick, easy way to store and share documents without the need for complex workflows.

The main document sharing apps include Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive (the latter being hard to avoid if you’re using Office365 or a recent version of Windows). These apps allow you to upload, store, and share files with colleagues or clients, making it easy to collaborate on anything that can be simply contained and communicated in a few documents or less. 

The downside is that’s pretty much all they can do, and while that’s a big plus over bits of paper, you rapidly run into their limitations. You basically go from multiple documents in a folder to a single document on a noticeboard: everybody can view and change it, but you can’t easily work out who changed it or when. And there’s always the risk that somebody didn’t actually use the noticeboard version and is still working on their own copy. Unless you’re very careful with communicating and monitoring your document sharing, it can solve a couple of simple problems and create multiple new ones.

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What is a Document Management System?

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A Document Management System (DMS) is a more elaborate platform built on broadly the same foundation: business documents that are stored and shared online. A DMS is built to do a lot more and be much more useful to a business, though. Beyond just sharing files, a full DMS includes advanced features such as version control, workflow management, document security, compliance tracking, and integration with other business systems.

This solves a lot of the problems with simple document sharing, to the point where the noticeboard example doesn’t work - instead, everybody has access to the same files, and you can see exactly who’s changing them or even viewing them at all times. A DMS makes it much easier to keep track of things, both in day-to-day business and when conducting audits. You also ensure that information is only seen by approved people, be they internal or external. 

Examples of full DMS platforms include M-Files, SharePoint, and Workiro. These systems are ideal for businesses that need more advanced functionality, especially those with compliance or regulatory requirements like accountants or IFAs.

Key Differences Between Document Sharing Apps and Full DMS

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While both document sharing apps and full DMS platforms allow businesses to store and share documents, they are designed with different levels of functionality and complexity. Below, we’ve compared the key features of both platforms to help you understand which one is better suited to your business needs.

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Of course, different industries and different businesses each bring their own specialisations and requirements, particularly around workflow and compliance. We’re always happy to talk to people about their business and if we can help - if you’re not sure if you’d benefit from a DMS, then book a 15-minute chat with one of our specialists. They can take a look at your specific requirements and advise on the approaches you can take.