Quick Review of What You Need to Know About Metadata

Did you know that experts estimate over the past two years more data has been created in the last two years than in the entirety of human history? Inside that data lies the insight that officials need to make informed decisions, however, digging through this data mountain is an uphill battle.

This is also one of the major reasons why metadata is so important. The term metadata defines a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. In other words, it’s that brief description you write or those keywords that you use to quickly determine what is in a document before you open it. In Laserfiche, metadata can primarily be found in the template fields. Metadata is incredibly useful if used properly — but that, too, becomes a challenge as an enterprise grows in scope and scale.

The main reason why metadata is so important comes down to the primary role it’s supposed to play. You’re classifying important insights so that you can understand what the content actually is, rather than just what it is named or where it’s located. When we work with an agency, we spend a lot of time helping them decide how to classify metadata. The major benefit that metadata brings is that it impacts the way you and your employees are able to complete important tasks on a daily basis.

If metadata is collected and standardized across the enterprise by way of an information management system, it enables other important features — like workflows to automate business processes, automating information capture, and dynamic custom permissions for information security.

Hence, not only do you have to spend less time (and less money) on information security and worrying about critical information falling into the wrong hands, but manual, repetitive business processes can be automated. This saves a tremendous amount of time for your average employee, as every minute they’re NOT spending browsing to find an important file is a minute they’re spending actually acting on the important information inside. This in turn brings with it the most important benefit of all: unlocking the maximum productivity potential of your team, all while allowing them to work (and run) smarter, not harder, along the way.