How did computing change the future of Document Management?

With computers came the availability of digital document storage. Important files could be kept on the computer without taking up as much space in a filing cabinet. Despite the potential of storing files on computers, they started with some serious organizational drawbacks.

• Too New & Expensive- Personal computers were still relatively new, so there weren’t as many options as we have today for storage. Having a lot of computer storage could potentially be very expensive.
• Lack of Shared Access– Files were linked to their specific computer. Employees would not have access to a file unless they were using the computer that stored it.
• Unstructured Data- There was no standard for organizing files on a computer, causing digital documents to be scattered and difficult to locate.
• Not Secure (Yet)- Storing files on computers was so new that there was very little security, no version control, and no way to audit changes.