Document Management vs. Content Management: What's the Difference?

Paperlez is a document management system that reduces paperwork while simplifying work by automating documents.

In today's digital era, managing and organizing digital content has become crucial for businesses and organizations of all sizes. Document Management (DMS) and Content Management (CM) are two noted solutions that help organization to run their businesses. Document management software is vital for organizations especially those that generate a huge amount of paperwork. Paperlez is a document management system that reduces paperwork while simplifying work by automating documents.

However, a lot of people interchange these two terms. In this blog, we'll discuss the distinctions and similarities between document management and content management systems and understand the meaning of these two terms.

Document Management System (DMS): A document management tool or software is structured data that handles document files like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF. DMS allows organizations to handle their digital documents. The process of managing documents, including how they are created, shared, saved, and retrieved, is referred to as document management. The most popular document software is cloud-based. Paperlez is a cloud-based office automation tool that helps you digitize your office documents and assign them with high-level data security.

Content Management System (CMS): A content management system is a platform that allows you to upload many types of information, such as text, photos, and videos. CMS (content management systems) are software solutions that help companies keep track of their digital content. For example, if you are a blogger in a large organization and need to create, schedule, and publish content, you will need a content management system (CMS) to do so. WordPress is a popular CMS platform that offers numerous website templates. With this content management system, you can easily publish material on a website even without programming knowledge. 

  
Comparison of document management and content management

The document management system (DMS) and the content management system (CMS) have some similarities. Here are some similarities between the two terms:

1. Storing and organizing: DMS and CMS are both used to organize the content. Paperlez helps in the bulk upload of multiple documents at a time with a single click. CMS is used to maintain and organize all forms of digital information, including documents, photos, videos, and audio files, while DMS is primarily used to manage electronic documents.
2. Managing collaborations and workflows: Both systems enable collaboration and workflow management. Users could collaborate on documents or information, track changes, and manage processes.
3. Access controls: Both systems have access control features that allow administrators to assign permissions and restrictions to different users, groups, or departments. Office automation tools such as Paperlez allow permissions to be assigned to multiple users based on their designations.
4. Finding and retrieving information: Both systems allow users to quickly find documents or information based on keywords, tags, or metadata. With the use document software like Paperlez, finding the documents has become easier with the smart advanced search feature.
5. Integration as a service: Both systems can be combined with other services and tools such as CRM, ERP, and other enterprise applications.
6. Versioning: Both systems have version control, which allows users to monitor changes to documents or information over time.

Both DMS and CMS are designed for digital content management and offer similar features such as organization, collaboration, access control, search and retrieval, merging, and versioning. 

Distinguishes document management systems from content management systems

Now let us discuss the differences between document management systems and content management systems. Here are some differences between DMS and CMS:

The main purpose of DMS is to digitize, track, and record documents. Here comes document software like Paperlez, which helps you keep track of your scheduled meetings, invite attendees, and share meeting minutes all in one place and digitize all your office documents safely and securely. Content management, on the other hand, manages both structured and unstructured data, website content, and digital media.

1. Purpose: The main purpose of DMS is to impose rules and manage workflow, while the main purpose of CMS is to retrieve and publish content.
2. Features: The document management tool supports features such as advanced imaging and scanning like optical character recognition (OCR), handprint recognition, optical mark recognition (OMR), and more. The content management tool, on the other hand, does not support these features.
3. Combined: Connectivity with enterprise systems such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management tools is important for DMS; with the Paperlez mobile application, it becomes easier because you can scan, upload, and categorize the documents through your phone, while it is unimportant for CMS.
4. Workflows: DMSs support workflows, such as approvals, while content management systems enable more collaborative workflows that can involve multiple people and stakeholders.
5. Hierarchy: Document management systems organize documents arranged in folders, whereas content management systems categorize through metadata and tags. Paperlez helps you jot down the notes in an organized way with sharing and categorizing.

Bottom Line  

While document management and content management are similar in some aspects, they differ in their focus and scope. When you choose document management software, the right office automation tools can help your organization manage its digital assets more efficiently and effectively. Paperlez is the right choice for you because it simplifies your work by digitizing the documents and saves you time. Paperlez is the best document management software, with enormous features and an easy-to-use interface.

Connect with us today with a demo account and explore the paperless revolution.