Кәсіпорындағы электронды құжат айналымы: бастаулардан қазіргі заманға дейін

Today we will discuss how modern document management in enterprises has evolved over the past 20 years. Why this specific timeframe? The fact is that 20 years ago, large state structures, quasi-state and private enterprises in the Republic of Kazakhstan began to implement electronic document management systems - products that significantly simplified document flows within organizations. 

With the development of information technology and changes in market demand, these systems have continuously evolved and improved. Today, electronic document management systems (EDMS) operate not only within the framework of traditional document management but also allow for accounting, personnel management, project management, and building customer relationships during sales, among many other functions. This significantly increases labor efficiency and the level of employee discipline in any organization. But how did all this happen in Kazakhstan? Let’s find out.

“First Steps” of EDMS in Kazakhstan.

By the mid-90s, the volume of document flow in large enterprises and major government departments in Kazakhstan had not yet reached a critical level. However, due to the wide geography of branches in such organizations, the document approval process could take several weeks, and in some cases even months, which negatively affected the timelines for executing these documents. This was one of the most pressing issues of document management at that time.

Moreover, the moment when the number of documents in large industrial enterprises and government agencies reached a critical mass eventually arrived. It was then that the first EDMS began to appear in Kazakhstan as a result of reforms in the concept of document management. They were somewhat like an electronic journal for registering documents. Such systems allowed for the storage of electronic copies of documents, counting their numbers in various reports, and finding them by different attributes. At the same time, the documents themselves were kept in paper form, and work with them was conducted according to the provisions of classical document management.

These systems were typically developed at the request of the enterprises themselves, taking into account the individual specifics of document management in each of them. This became the “Achilles' heel” of such solutions, as changing the structure of automated processes in these EDMS was impossible, which meant there was no prospect for the development of such EDMS. Given that the operation of this system is directly related to the existing management model of the organization, there inevitably came a time when the development of any enterprise ceased because the software product used slowed down what it was supposed to accelerate. The effectiveness of the management system used in the company began to decline rapidly, and additional funds had to be attracted to develop a new, relevant EDMS that would harmoniously fit with the organization’s structure and accelerate business growth. In simpler terms, if the system was developed for the Kazselmash factory network, it was simply impossible to apply it in the State Fiscal Service.

Of course, the stagnation in the development of EDMS did not last long, and domestic companies began to emerge that offered more flexible solutions. The situation in the field of document management in enterprises began to improve.

A Turning Point in the History of EDMS in Kazakhstan.

In the mid-2000s, developers of flexible electronic document management systems began to actively enter the Kazakh market, which could easily be tailored to the individual needs of any client. Their products were based on the idea that EDMS could be more than just an electronic journal for document registration and a repository for them, but also a tool for automating management functions within the organization, sales processes, personnel accounting, etc.

The development technology became two-stage: first, the core (main functionality) of the system was developed, then the process of implementing the system in the enterprise took place, during which individual business processes and nuances of document management were discussed, developed, and fine-tuned. This approach made the price of final solutions more accessible, and the solutions themselves - widely scalable.

Another factor in the evolution of document management in Kazakhstan was a new approach to company management from the perspective of business technology and structure. This brought the concepts of quality management and a process-based management approach. The IT industry responded to this by introducing the term WorkFlow - workflows, which represent individual instances of business document-oriented processes. EDMS developers, both domestic and foreign, brought this concept to life with the help of process-oriented engines (WorkFlow-engines). This made the systems even more flexible and easily adaptable to the needs of dynamically developing enterprises.

When foreign players (IBM Lotus, Documentum, etc.) that developed platforms for EDMS entered Kazakhstan, the concept of ECM - enterprise content management emerged (corporate information management system). In practice, solutions that fall under the ECM category are unique in that they have a clear distinction between the document itself and its informational component (content). An ECM solution works with the content of documents using metadata - highlighted information that is important for the company. For example, for an outgoing message, the metadata may include: recipient, date of signature, person who signed the document, document number, and information about sending and delivery.

This became a turning point in the establishment of electronic document management.

Document Management in Kazakhstani Enterprises Today

Throughout the existence of our company, we have closely monitored both the trends in the domestic EDMS market and the technological innovations in software products from both foreign and domestic manufacturers that currently shape the offering in our country. Based on our observations, we developed EDMS Documentolog - a modern, convenient, and most importantly - simple solution that fully takes into account the specifics of document management in Kazakhstan and encompasses all existing functions of foreign and Russian analogs of EDMS, namely:

In addition, EDMS Documentolog:
By implementing document management in the enterprise using EDMS Documentolog, you will undoubtedly elevate your employees' productivity to a new level and reduce the time spent on receiving and processing incoming and outgoing correspondence!