PowerDMS Pros and Cons
Overview
PowerDMS is a document management platform that creates a living connection between your policies, accreditation, and training. It lets you store, manage, distribute, update, track, report on, and collaborate on your most important documents. Forged in the public safety sector, PowerDMS now serves 4,200+ public and private sector organizations worldwide with secure, cloud-based solutions.
Features
PowerDMS was built with policy admins and accreditation managers in mind, so it feels like a custom solution, and there is plenty of flexibility to leverage the platform for your organizational needs.
- Centralized storage
- Automated workflows
- Acknowledgement tracking
- Real-time notifications
- Custom groups
- Access control
- Version control
- Powerful search
- Smart editing (side-by-side comparison)
- Policy-to-accreditation mapping
- Integrations (Microsoft Office, Adobe)
- Mobile functionality
Pros
What are the key benefits of PowerDMS when compared to SharePoint Online? First of all, PowerDMS is a powerful, out-of the-box solution requiring very little set up and IT support on your end. Secondly, PowerDMS simplifies compliance by connecting your policies, training, and accreditation. For example, receive alerts when standards need updating, and after the standard is updated, get notified of every policy impacted by the change. Here are some additional benefits:
- Mapping of policies and training to accreditation standards
- Industry-leading customer support, proven by their 97% customer satisfaction rating
- Dedicated customer success advisor who supports your needs
- Frequent, automatic software updates that don’t require technical assistance
- Designed for HR directors, policy administrators, accreditation managers, etc.
- Implement PowerDMS for your organization and allow each department to use it while maintaining an independent system
- Upload a variety of content (images, videos, audio, documents)
- Get access to virtually any standards manual
- Save $10,000 on paper and printing costs, on average
- Save 2x–4x the amount of time and money typically spent on accreditation processes
- Optimize the PowerDMS platform for your organization’s specific needs
- Faster employee adoption thanks to an easy-to-use interface
- Increased employee accountability
Cons
PowerDMS is not a content provider, so they will not create content for your organization. However, they do provide subscription access to certain standards manuals, as well as a tool for adding almost any standards manual to PowerDMS.
With policy, training, and accreditation features, PowerDMS is a fairly comprehensive solution. So while it can save you time and money long term, it will take an investment of time upfront to learn the platform.
PowerDMS does have a training solution, but it doesn’t function as a full LMS (learning management system). Consider reaching out to PowerDMS to find out if their training tool can meet your needs.
Cost
PowerDMS is sold at a base cost and from there priced on a per-user, per-year basis. Your annual cost will be determined by the number of users and, therefore, licenses you purchase, as well as the add-ons procured for your organization’s specific needs.
These two variables (number of users and feature add-ons) affect the cost of PowerDMS, so pricing can vary widely between industries and organizations. To provide a quote, PowerDMS would need to learn more about your needs over a friendly, no-obligation call.
Final Review
PowerDMS offers a single product – their policy, training, and accreditation management platform. While PowerDMS isn’t as customizable as SharePoint Online, it is still a powerful and flexible out-of-the-box solution requiring minimum IT support. If you’re definitely looking for a content provider, PowerDMS may not be the right solution. If you need a tool for simplifying your policy and accreditation process, then PowerDMS was made for you.
Important considerations and questions worth asking
What it boils down to is do you want to buy or build? Of course SharePoint Online doesn’t require as much planning or building as SharePoint Server, but it still requires significant time and expertise to deploy the key components of a SharePoint site: information architecture, configuration, branding, and content.
If you don’t have an in-house developer or IT department already, is it worth incurring the cost of a new hire’s salary to implement a SharePoint solution? Once implemented, SharePoint Online may not require as much maintenance as SharePoint Server, but the installation and migration is the biggest challenge. Do you want to figure it out? How about with the help of an external IT expert, and how much would that cost?
If you’re not already using Microsoft’s full suite of tools, you need to consider if you want to go all in on Microsoft. The plan that includes SharePoint Online, Office 365 E3, comes to $20 per user per month. Neither of the SharePoint Online plans offer a free trial, but the 30-day free trial of Office 365 E3 provides access to SharePoint as well.
“From a compliance and risk standpoint, PowerDMS has been a game changer. It’s extremely easy to use and provides us with everything we need to efficiently manage our policies and procedures. It saves us a tremendous amount of time and has greatly increased accountability.”
- Corporate Director, large Orlando-based hospital
Do the research and talk with your IT specialist before pulling the trigger. SharePoint’s ubiquity alone is no reason to purchase it. While it’s the right solution for some organizations, it’s not the right solution for all.
If you decide to buy instead of build, PowerDMS is the leader of several policy management solutions on the market. Unlike SharePoint and other solutions, PowerDMS brings your compliance to life. Its platform acts as an ecosystem connecting your policies, training, and accreditation, which saves you time, money, and headaches. Schedule a demo to learn more about PowerDMS today.
And take a look at our essential guide for more information about document management benefits, best practices, and options for your organization.
