State and local governments manage large volumes of sensitive information, from personnel files to financial records. However, relying on paper records or outdated document management systems puts that data at risk. These methods are more vulnerable to cyberattacks, data breaches, and operational disruptions. They can also lead to costly compliance issues and reputational damage.
Read on to see how a modern, cloud-based platform offers a more secure and efficient way to manage information, reduce risk, and help public sector organizations stay resilient and compliant.
Demo Day: Strengthening Compliance & Security with Softdocs
Maintaining compliance and securing sensitive records is critical for government agencies. Manual processes increase risks, slow down audits, and make access control difficult. Softdocs provides a secure, digital-first approach to records management, helping agencies automate compliance tasks, enforce security policies, and ensure audit readiness.
Duration: 30 minutes
Development and Maintenance Issues with Unsecured Document Management
Regarding data security and supporting compliance, many document management systems fall short. Here are some common issues government clients experience:
- Technical Debt
Fixing security after deployment is far more expensive and complex than designing it in.
- Unscalable Infrastructure
Without standards and controls, the software might not scale securely with growing user bases or integrations.
- Lack of Accountability
Inadequate security and/or compliance also means no logs, monitoring, or audit trails, making it hard to trace or resolve issues.
- Costly and Slow Upgrades
Some vendors restrict access to new security features unless government clients pay for expensive upgrades—upgrades that can take months to implement and delay critical protections.
The Security Features Government Agencies Need in a Document Management Platform
A cloud-based document management platform, such as Softdocs, protects government agencies and the constituents they serve from security and compliance issues.
Here are the key functionalities to ask prospective vendors about.
Automated Retention Policy Enforcement
Ensure your agency consistently applies records retention schedules and access restrictions. This helps you satisfy public sector mandates and reduces risk exposure as you no longer store documents or data your agency doesn’t need.
Real-Time Access Controls
Manage user permissions dynamically to safeguard sensitive citizen data and comply with transparency and PII protection laws. Access privileges can be granted to:
- Groups
- Job roles
- Document types
- Departments
Customizable access privileges offer granular control of constituents’ information. They enable users to see only the information they need, facilitate collaboration, and keep nefarious parties out.
Some document management systems offer one-size-fits-all access that doesn’t adequately protect citizen data. In contrast, Softdocs enables you to allow or deny viewing, editing, downloading, and other actions to better protect content.
Secure Document Archiving
Maintain legally defensible, searchable archives to satisfy audits, FOIA requests, and litigation holds.
Every document and its metadata are secured at rest and in transit, ensuring true end-to-end encryption. You will no longer be responsible for storing hard copies onsite and/or offsite, so a natural disaster can’t damage or destroy records. Eliminating hard copy storage also significantly reduces the risk of data theft and document misplacement.
Complete Audit Trails
Having visibility into who accesses data, when they access it, and what actions they take makes it significantly easier to maintain data security. Detailed audit trails also simplify reporting and help demonstrate that your agency follows consistent, compliant processes that protect citizen privacy.
Comprehensive Reporting
Manual, paper-based processes make it difficult to detect data breaches, stay compliant, and defend against cyber threats. Built-in and customizable reports provide clearer visibility, helping your agency understand past events and take proactive steps to safeguard citizen data.
A Stronger Approach to Securing Citizen Data
Storing constituent and staff data in an on-premises document management system goes partway toward securing sensitive information. But if your organization is serious about data security and regulatory compliance, you’ll be better off with a SaaS platform that securely stores data in the cloud.
Here’s how Softdocs stands apart:
Ready to strengthen your agency’s data security and compliance? See how Softdocs can help—schedule your personalized demo today.
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