Are there any tools for secure document exchange with clients?
Phil GoldsmithProduct ManagerArlington, Va, United States
I constantly find myself in a document exchange nightmare, where I have to exchange sensitive documents with my clients via e-mail. Not only am I worried about security, but I am also annoyed with managing various document versions.
Does anyone know of any tools/products I can use to ease the pain? Any pointers are much appreciated.
Thanks! Saving Changes...
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Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Phil,
Need to know a little bit more on which aspect in security is your main concern. Is it about not allowing anyone to modify the content of the document you sent out, protecting the access right of the document only to the intended audience, or verifying the authenticity of the sender etc.? Version tracking and document sharing is another big topic altogether.
There are a lot of electronic document management systems/tools in the market each with different complexity and cost. Need to understand more on your specific needs before we can give any useful advices. Saving Changes...
Rita TennysonPresident| Tennyson CommunicationsLos Angeles, Ca, United States
Have you heard of a product called Project Insight (www.projectinsight.net)? You might want to take a look at Project Insight’s document sharing and collaboration. Documents and files may be uploaded and shared, instead of emailing them around. There is also document version control. With respect to security and permissions, you can create folders to separate clients and give very specific access to each client.
Graham RudkinDirector of PM/PMO| Hi-Gram Management Services LtdHull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Phil,
It really depends on what information you need to share and possibly how diverse geographically the people you need to share with. There are various document management tools around, depending on the security arrangements for your system it may be as simple as using something like Microsoft SharePoint which if properly configured will allow you to share, get electronic approval of documents, this can include version control, history and retention procedures etc. If you need to share with a wider team and include commercially sensitive documents etc you may want to look at something like CEMAR from a company called CM Toolkit, this allows all of the required sharing but also keeps registers and records etc to confirm circualtion approval etc. I can send a link to thier site and details of their sales director if it helps? Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
As others have said, there are lots of different tools (I favour SharePoint). However, the main concern for me is where the documents are hosted. Any cloud-based solution means your sensitive documents could be stored on a server anywhere in the world, and deleting them fully could be difficult as they are likely to be replicated across a cluster of servers. That security risk may be OK for you, but in the world of healthcare, where we are dealing with patient demographic information, it is not OK at all. Document management tools may be more secure than email, but less secure than not sharing documents at all, if you know what I mean. Tools like Dropbox are very secure but even they had a security scare earlier this year.
Could you set up a secure VPN connection for them on to one of your servers so you all work off the same network drive behind your firewall? Not as slick as a flashy tool, but it might work. At the end of the day, the security of your files is only as good as the people receiving them. Anyone can print out a copy and leave it on the train. Saving Changes...
Rather than just standalone tools, a partner like Ricoh offers comprehensive security and workflow solutions that go beyond file transfer tools: End-to-End Document Security: Built-in protection across capture, storage, printing, and delivery. Managed Services: Ricoh can manage secure content platforms and workflows for you, reducing internal IT burden. Compliance Support: Solutions designed to help meet regulatory requirements (e.g., data protection standards). Integrated Ecosystem: Combines scanning, printing, workflow automation, and secure delivery — so documents are protected at every step, not just in transit. ✅ In short: Tools help, but a full secure information management solution from Ricoh offers a more robust, scalable, and professionally managed approach to protecting client documents.
