Not Just File Sharing, Managing Documents

A project team led by Patrick needs to develop a file for the board. They hope to get approval for a new initiative called “Project Galaxy”.

Patrick’s team includes numerous professionals that must contribute to the document. Marketing adds information about market sizing from the satellite office in the UK. The legal team, based in New York, is including information about contracts. And the project team must share files, timelines and resource requirements.

File Sharing with Distributed Teams

Because of the large numbers of participants it is critical that the contributions are well managed. It can become impossible to control if team members are simply emailing differing versions of the presentation to each other rather than effective file sharing. Plus, it is not always convenient for team members to download a file, modify it, and re-upload it.

A good practice here is to use tools that plug-into Microsoft Office. Some document management tools provide you with the latest version of a document directly from your vault via Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook.

In advanced file sharing tools, users can even review prior document iterations and see user comments on those versions without leaving Microsoft Office.

Critically, the tooling must control content as multiple people work on a document. It must detect version “collisions” and notify users when others have modified a document. This allows users to resolve and merge their contributions with ease. File sharing without version control is a recipe for conflict.

The globally distributed Project Galaxy team has now successfully created the draft proposal document. It’s time to start sharing it with other colleagues.

Some document management tools allow you to share files as attachments or links back to your vault. Business users should be careful to look for solutions that allow users to share with groups of co-workers, like all members of the Project Galaxy team and related executives.

File Sharing and Collaboration

Now that the file is in draft form, it can be shared and reviewed. Patrick wants to ensure that all relevant parties have given the document their OK. Some business-centric document management tools allow you to create workflows that govern the approval of a document. But basic file sharing tools generally lack this capability. Patrick defines a workflow, includes his boss Stephen in the cycle, and adds the presentation to the process.

Meanwhile, Stephen is at the airport preparing to leave for New York. He receives a notification on his mobile device that the file is shared and is pending his approval.

On-premise technologies struggle with this use case as Stephen would need to login to a VPN on his laptop in order to access the document. Instead, some document management tools allow Stephen to connect to the document vault, search for, and preview documents to avoid opening the wrong items. Meanwhile basic file sharing tools make it difficult to manage this approval process.

Once opened, Stephen reviews the file and decides he wants to take another look while on the plane. You should look at document management tools that permit use even when disconnected, for instance by saving your document to a secure vault locally on your device.

Even while sitting in the lounge Stephen has some ideas about how to improve the presentation. He must be able to, for example, modify metadata that describes the file. He may want to re-categorize the document to make it more searchable.

Stephen must also be able to easily share the file, even when on the road. So, once satisfied with his review, Stephen shares the file with the executive team with a few simple clicks on his mobile device.

File Sharing and Approvals

Stephen’s email arrives in the inbox of the company’s CFO. She connects to the shared file via her browser and notices that the project folder is missing the Project Galaxy budget. That’s a key element of the project proposal.

So, she simply drags and drops the file from her desktop into the Project Galaxy folder. Drag and drop functionality makes document uploading simple, and is a must have for your document management tool.

The project team had set up notifications for the Project Galaxy folder. That means that when new content is added or modified, members receive an update. Now that our CFO has added the spreadsheet, all Project Galaxy team members are instantly aware.

Finishing Up on the Shared File

Patrick receives the notification about the new spreadsheet. He’s about to head to the airport and wants to make sure that he has the latest files before he leaves.

Some document management tools offer “hot folders” that make that task easy. The concept allows Patrick to select which folders in the vault that he wants to stay on top of. These folders are automatically synchronized with the desktop. This synchronization is often offered by file sharing tools, but the ability to manage synchronized files is lacking.

That means that Patrick can head to the airport knowing that his laptop already has the CFO’s spreadsheet synchronized and the file shared for offline access. That allows Patrick to review and edit the document with his own computer on the plane.

And when he’s reconnected, his changes can be synchronized back to the cloud vault. This kind of synchronization is important for your document management tool.

File Sharing and Commenting

The project team has been notified automatically about the changes to the file and the addition of the spreadsheet. In some tools they can comment and share opinions about their documents through social functionality.

Patrick goes to the document page, reviews the comments, and includes several suggested changes in the final version of the shared file.

He now moves the file to the final stage in its workflow, and is ready to go to the board. He shares the file securely with the administrator for the board, who saves the file so it’s ready to be presented.

Today’s highly mobile business world means that team members must have access to their documents at all times – on the road or at the office. And just as important, they need to be able to work together to create, improve, and share files from wherever they are.