A fresh look at using Microsoft 365 as a DMS: DMSforTeams

With Epona DMS, and the new DMSforTeams, you have the flexibility and efficiency to view, work, and collaborate on your content where it makes most sense natively within the Microsoft365 environment.

The sharp minds at Epona realize that for information to work for you, it needs liberty. It needs freedom. Not lock-in from another 3rd party vendor database in the cloud. Employees need to be able to access content through applications they know and love natively. Since most companies are heavily invested in Microsoft 365 using Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams, it makes sense to store all matter or project related content in the company’s own tenant of Microsoft 365 leveraging this investment without having to manage the complexity and cost of multiple products and vendors for a comparable solution set.

VIEW, COLLABORATE AND SHARE DMS DATA NATIVELY IN TEAMS WITH DMSFORTEAMS

We spoke to Ed Bergstrom, Director of Channel Sales at Epona and a veteran of DMS and information management solutions in the legal sector, about what DMSforTeams means for law firms and Corporate Legal departments. Ed: “When Covid struck, and employees were forced to start working from home, people realized they needed to easily access and collaborate on their work. Most companies already have the Microsoft 365 suite. Teams became an easy choice. According to Microsoft since Covid, Teams now has some 250 million active users. Please see Security and Microsoft Teams.

Epona has developed DMSforTeams, allowing firms and companies to work and collaborate on and safely share information from Teams with the ease and functionality of a full-fledged legal DMS. The data stays in their own Microsoft 365 tenant, giving them full control of location and security. Additionally, Teams gives them universal and device independent access.

BENEFITS FOR BOTH IT AND EMPLOYEES

DMSforTeams also benefits IT-administrators according to Ed Bergstrom: “The employee advantages are evident: ease of access, all information in one single Teams app or interface of choice, easy collaboration and even sharing with external parties like outside council with Teams Shared Channels. But for IT-administrators I believe we’re able to tackle a major time consumer: the sprawl of network folders! Managing a vast and ever growing number of network drives and the associated rights management is time consuming.

People would always need help from IT to set up a network folder, manage rights and get access to it. Now, users who are able to open their own Sharepoint library or Teams channel can manage all that themselves. IT knows the data is safe, because it remains in the own 365 tenant and correct governance rules are automatically applied. This is a major time saver, and safety net in regards to compliancy and digital safety.

THE TRUST OF PARTNERS

The DMSforTeams advantages didn’t just catch the eyes of the legal community. Partners of Epona also immediately sparked interest in offering this unique solution to their customers. One of those partners is CP Advantage: “We are very excited about the Epona partnership. Their innovative document management solutions can be tailored to specific business needs and are fully contained inside a client’s Microsoft 365 tenant. Microsoft is a clear market leader in providing the foundation elements to counter the increasing number and complexity of cyber threats and compliance requirements faced by businesses today. Coupled with the services offered by CP Advantage, this combination can be a game changer for firms that have traditionally had to manage multiple products and vendors for comparable solution sets. Reducing the number of products needed to do business and streamlining operational processes are effective ways to improve ROI and simplify how security and compliance requirements are met.” said John Judas, Principal at CP Advantage LLC.