Why don't I need any DIRAQ DMS software installed on my PC in order to access the system (and my documents)?

DIRAQ DMS is 100% browser based which means that as long as you have a browser you will be able to access the system using a link, for example http://www.diraqdms.co.uk/edmdemo

What is the advantage of a browser based system over a windows based one?

From an IT perspective it means that the suppliers software does not have to be installed on every PC in the Company/Organisation and kept up to date. From the user perspective it means that you can access the system from virtually anywhere within the Company's/Organisation's network infrastructure.

Can I access my document over the Internet?

Yes but it depends on how your Company has set up it's secure access. If you already have VPN access then this is straight forward and you should be able to access them as though you were in the office. If your company has exposed the DMS to the Internet then you will be able to access you documents from home or anywhere in the World where you can connect to the WEB.

Can I share document?

Yes the system allows concurrent access.

Can I change a document?

Providing you have the necessary authority you can 'Checkout' a document, make changes and 'Check' it back in. Other users can still view the original document while you are making changes and once you have 'Checked' it back in they will be able to view the amended document.

Can two users change the same document at the same time?

No. When you 'Check Out' a document you prevent others from making changes until you 'Check' it back in.

What happens to the original version?

It remains within the system and you can view it if required. A log is kept of who made the changes and when.

How secure are my documents?

By default all documents are stored in the DMS Database. As long as you adopt a back up policy that includes storing your backup media offsite in a secure location then your documents will be fully recoverable should you encounter a disaster.

What about documents being tampered with?

Documents, whether scanned or electronic, are stored as binary objects within the DMS Database and when inserted a hash key is calculated using the actual document and other criteria, encrypted and stored along with the document. Each time a document is retrieved from the Database the same hash key calculation is performed and checked against the stored key. Should anyone in the extremely unlikely event make a change to this binary object then any difference detected when the document is retrieved is immediately reported to the user.

Can I control who can see what documents?

Yes, you can categorise documents by their type (Invoice, Bank Statement etc.,) and by their Owner (Bought Ledger Dept, HR etc.,) and only give access rights to those that have the authority to access them.

What type of documents can I store in the system?

Virtually any kind of document. Scanned documents are normally stored as PDF files although you could opt to store these (or some of these) in TIFF format if preferred. All MS Office documents are stored in their original format and are searchable by content (Full Text Search) as well as the Scanned documents. You can store Photographs, Movies (AVI, MPEG, WMV) or drawing files (DWG). You can store ZIP files and even Executables although for the latter you need to specifically allow this.

Can I extract documents from the system?

Yes and because the documents are stored in their original formats you will able to use them. For example you may keep some Excel Spreadsheet templates in the system. Each time you need a particular one you retrieve it and either open it directly or save it to your computer's hard drive.

I have tens of thousands of documents to upload, how do I do this?

The system has a 'Watched Directory' service whereby when documents are moved or copied into a particular directory the service automatically picks them up and inserts them into the DMS database.

How do I index all of these documents?

Firstly you can set up multiple watched directories and each can be for a specific document type or owner. Secondly we have a feature called ?Autoindexing' which, based upon a predefined set of rules will use the textual content of the document to determine other indexing criteria. Documents can also be manually indexed if necessary.

Can I store my Company's E-mails?

You can either store them manually from within your E-mail software (Outlook etc.,) or we do supply a E-mail Archiving facility that monitors your E-mail system (Exchange only at present) and automatically inserts the E-mails into the DMS systems. It incorporates filtering so that anything marked as Spam can be rejected and can also use the Autoindexing facility.

What is the maximum numbers of documents that can be stored?

This depends on the amount of free disk space you have. The DMS database is capable of storing literally millions of documents only limited by the size of the hard disks. There is a physical limit but it is in the region of several terabytes.

Can documents be uploaded from anywhere?

Yes. Anyone that has authorised (secure) access to your system can upload documents from their PC or Laptop. If a particular user has a need to upload hundreds of documents then it is worthwhile them considering installing the Directory Watcher software.

Can documents be scanned into the system from anywhere?

Yes. Using our scanning application your documents can be scanned into the DMS database over the Internet from anywhere in the world. If you wish to use your own scanning software or use the services of a scanning bureau then the combination of third party scanning software and our Directory Watcher software can also achieve this.

Can I view a document, for example an Invoice, from my accounting system?

Yes. We provide a link that can be used by your accounting system whereby when a user is looking at the invoice details entered they can click on a button and the Invoice is displayed in a separate window.

Do I have to purchase the software in order to get all these benefits?

No. For customers not wishing to install and manage their own systems they can use our hosted service. There is no capital outlay either with this option the customer simply pays for the storage used.