Although most businesses have tried to reduce the amount of paper they use, as much as 80 per cent of document processes still rely on paper in some form. This dependence on paper is an issue for business of all sizes and industries, but can often have the largest impact on small and medium sized businesses. Searching for and accessing paper documents is enormously time consuming and frustrating, hampering growth and productivity.

Even in offices where there is some form of digital back office in place, the strategy is often fragmented. The process often requires a manual input, while content is stored in disparate systems in multiple organisational silos. SMBs know that cloud-based storage can be an answer, but many worry about the security of their data, especially when it is stored with free consumer services which were never designed for business use.

In 2014, Sharp launched a service specifically designed to help businesses with these issues (now discontinued April 2020). Cloud Portal Office is a document management and collaboration solution that lets you store all of your documents in one central and structured place, in the cloud, and then access those documents from any device. With the latest version, Sharp have developed the product from being a simple collaboration tool to what they like to call a Light Document Management System with a whole host of new features, and wider support for Sharp's product portfolio.

Sharp Cloud Portal Office is now a complete end-to-end information solution designed with SMB users in mind. It includes the software, device connectors and the hosting infrastructure businesses need to start a digital transformation, all from a single provider, with no integration issues. With this latest version it has become easier to search and index documents, to collaborate with colleagues, to have version control and makes sharing and managing across any combination of PC, mobile device or Sharp MFP a great deal smoother. It allows businesses to reduce time spent managing information by adding structured data flow, while at the same time streamlining many manual and repetitive tasks.

Add to this improved security of data and it is easy to see why moving to a digital workflow offers true benefits to your business. For more information about Sharp Cloud Portal Office, take a look at the introductory video below and visit our document solutions page. Meet generation cloud today and improve your business workflow.

Document Management