page 2 of 2 :: < back

A DMS Administrator, the person tasked with maintaining the system, could perform a number of tasks to better manage the data. For one, they would query the DMS database for all files created or modified on a given day. The number returned will be surprisingly low. If the DMS Administrator manages the quality of the profiles created or updated each day, the value of the DMS would increase dramatically.

A more difficult job would be to “cull” the repository – i.e., keep it free of clutter. In that nearly every firm and attorney finds it difficult to dispose of anything, the repository grows endlessly. Each time the DMS is upgraded or a new server and storage hardware are deployed, the heap of documents is dragged along dutifully. On a daily basis, we must be concerned with streamlining the heap so documents are easily retrieved and the system operates efficiently. Then it needs to be backed up. In our experience, few documents more than a few months old are ever referenced again. The DMS administrator can identify documents that are referenced regularly through database queries and move those that are not into an archive folder. If older documents cannot be deleted, they can at least be set aside in an historical library so they don’t degrade the retrieval of more popular documents.

The DMS administrator might be a part time job or might require more than one person depending on the size of the firm and the volume of documents being created. The DBA could also:

  • query attorneys and staff about how they work and develop ways that the DMS can be better utilized;
  • work with the records department to find ways to keep physical files and archives synchronized with the DMS database and repository;
  • promote and enforce policies and best practices for document management; and
  • motivate, remind, and assist everyone in making the DMS a more valuable system through training, demonstrations and internal marketing.
In that documents are a firm’s product, aren’t they as valuable and worthy of support as accounting, docketing and conflicts?

George Nicholson is President of SAGE and provides strategic IT consulting for law firms, non-profits, and financial management firms. To learn more about SAGE’s solutions for document management, please contact George at gnicholson@sagesol.com or call 202.659.9390.