ecoDMS is a modern data management system for scanning, archiving, managing, and retrieving any type of files and documents. The software can be installed cross-platform on Windows, Ubuntu, Debian, macOS, and Raspbian. Additionally, there are custom Docker images for server installations on Synology and QNAP NAS devices. For mobile access, Android and iOS apps are also available. The platform independence, flexibility, simplicity, and fair licensing model make ecoDMS a popular archiving solution.
ecoDMS is free for individuals in its Free4Three Edition. A full version license, which unlocks all features and also enables commercial use, is available for a small fee in the ecoDMS online shop. The software impresses with high-quality features and modern technology. During development, the technicians combined professional in-house developments with mature open-source components. For example, the OCR engine "Tesseract" is integrated into ecoDMS. The database is also open-source. ecoDMS chose PostgreSQL for a platform-independent database that offers virtually limitless data volume. Unlike most other databases, PostgreSQL’s database volume is unlimited. Since both PostgreSQL and Tesseract are open-source software components, there are no additional costs for the customer to use them.
As a client-server system, the ecoDMS server forms the basis of the entire application. However, the term "server" here refers not to hardware but to a software component of ecoDMS. The ecoDMS server is installed once on a central computer, server, or NAS. The ecoDMS clients and plugins can then be installed on any number of other computers. The connection manager establishes the connection from each workstation to the ecoDMS server and the database. Of course, the ecoDMS server and other components can also be installed together as a standalone solution on one device.
ecoDMS can be specifically configured to meet individual needs. Through the user and group management in ecoDMS, a unique access with corresponding permissions can be created for each user. The settings dialog also allows the configuration of necessary folder structures, document types, and much more.
ecoDMS offers various options for archiving. These include archiving via drag and drop directly into the ecoDMS client, scanning and archiving via ecoICE, printing via the virtual PDF/A printer, saving through various Office plugins, email add-ons, mobile apps, and the possibility of archiving through the web interface.
The full-text recognition is automatically performed in the background for readable files. With the appropriate classification attributes, users can also assign document types, customer folders, dates, responsibilities, and many other details to each document. The classification attributes and full-text indexing allow for lightning-fast retrieval of documents. Searching for documents in ecoDMS is as simple as using Google.
Documents stored in ecoDMS can be automatically assigned based on specific characteristics and, if needed, archived without manual user intervention. This is made possible by the intelligent template designer of ecoDMS. It automatically recognizes incoming documents, assigns the data to the correct location, fills in the necessary classification attributes by itself, and optionally saves the data in ecoDMS. Document recognition is based on predefined keywords, barcodes, and/or layouts stored in so-called classification templates. This allows the classification and archiving processes to be optimized and automated in a user-friendly way.
The software components for the demo version, Free4Three Edition, and the full version are identical. After the initial installation, ecoDMS is automatically activated as a demo version for the first 30 days. The demo includes all ecoDMS features, add-ons, and plugins, except for the mobile service. If no license is applied during the demo phase, the system will automatically restrict functionality after 30 days. This results in the Free4Three Edition, which can only be used for private purposes, but is available without time limitations. If someone wants to continue using ecoDMS commercially or with the full feature set after the demo phase, a full version license is required. This can be purchased for a fair price of 49 euros per license in the ecoDMS online shop. Detailed information about the product is available online at www.ecodms.de.