Online Business tools for Documentation and Data Management

Business ecosystem today is largely knowledge driven. Operating in the knowledge economy, businesses today are evolving in terms of communication. The real change has been driven using online communication tools.

Documentation and Data Management
With high quality content being generated both internally and externally in every business, documentation and data management is a critical business function. Various businesses are leveraging tools and technology to manage information.

Suggested Online Applications: Google Docs
Google Docs is a free web based service, which enables its users to create word files, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, drawings etc. to understand it simply, while almost every would have worked with Microsoft Office Suite tools as MS Word, PowerPoint etc. Google in a way provides similar set of services with the difference being, they are free and open and are shareable online.

How and where to find Google Docs online 
Google Docs is a free online service which can be accessed once you login with your Google Mail account. Hence the first requirement is to have a Google mail account.

Screen capture above shows how to access Google Docs. Click the hyperlink on the top left which says "Documents" and you will be re-directed to the following screen which represents Google Docs:

How to use Google Docs?

Click on the following links to understand what you can achieve with Google Docs:

• Create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online

You can create documents from scratch or start with a template. You can also upload your existing files/ documents. The general formats which are accepted are: .doc, .ppt, .xls, .odt, .rtf, .csv

•  Share and collaborate in real time

You can set access permissions to define who has access to your documents and till what extent. Document creators are also allowed to Share the documents created instantly at the touch of button. And well, if you have the right permissions, you can edit the documents in real time. Also multiple people can view and edit information in real time. The best feature being that you can use chat in real time and edit documents, hence collaborating while editing. This ensures that you can edit documents while being collaborators globally.

• Safely store and organize your work

While you can edit and access documents from anywhere, you can safely store your work with the auto-save function. Also you can export these documents on your desktop with a simple click of a link. And so is the management of documents simple: you can organize your documents by simply dragging and dropping them into designated folders.

• Control who can see your documents

You can easily publish your work/ documents as a web page, without even having to learn any language like HTML, while you can set access permissions for these web pages. These pages can also be published internal to a company on an intranet, while restricting access to the external world.

How does Google Docs help SMEs?

Google Docs is a powerful document management and communication tool. SMEs Do Not need to invest externally into any software/ product to enable document management and sharing internally within the organization. You can powerfully communicate and collaborate with relevant collaborators/ stakeholders of documents/ content within your business and easily create scalable content management and creation processes.

IndiaMART Knowledge Services Team is committed to help SMEs grow while creating new opportunities. To know more, drop in a comment to this post and we will be happy to get in touch and be partners in your growth!!