DMS and EDMS mean the same thing, an (Electronic) Document Management System, while a CMS is a Content Management System and ECM stands for Enterprise Content Management. CMS is now often used to describe Website Content Management Systems, rather than the broader and more robust content management you see in ECM.

A Document Management System is a major component of a Enterprise Content Management System, which may contain other functionality that is related to the four essential functions of a DMS.

For more information, please see our page on DMS, EDMS, and ECM.

A headless document management system (a headless DMS, also known as a headless ECM for enterprise content management) is a system that manages documents and records in a way that allows multiple methods to access those documents and records, i.e., where the document management system is decoupled from the display of those managed documents. This headless model is designed to allow maximum flexibility when integrating with the system or customizing functionality.

This is a strong contrast to traditional document management systems (or enterprise content management systems), where the documents and records are often only accessible through a single interface. Adding integrations or customizations to this traditional model can be difficult, if not impossible.

While a headless document management system allows access using an API or other methods, there is no technical restriction on providing a robust client interface as part of the product; a good headless DMS should allow flexibility of access while still fulfilling the standard expectations for document management, such as an intuitive user interface to manage all aspects of the document workflow, including searching and viewing documents.

FormKiQ provides all of the required functionality of an electronic document management system (abbreviated as DMS or EDMS), as well as add-on modules to provide Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for specific industries and use cases, while also providing flexibility in integration and customization. FormKiQ is an Open Source Document Management System, which means that our source code is available to customers based on specific licenses, i.e., FormKiQ Core is freely distributed and distributable, while FormKiQ Enterprise's source code is provided to licensed Enterprise customers according to the terms of their specific license.

In addition, FormKiQ's cloud-native model within AWS means that the software installs directly into your AWS cloud, providing full control over your documents and the FormKiQ document management system itself.

FormKiQ provides the four essential functions of electronic document management systems (EDMS):

• Document Collection and Storage
• Document Organization and Classification
• Document Processing and Transformation
• Document Discovery, Presentation, and Integration

In addition, FormKiQ provides the flexibility and customization most organizations need through the Document API and Document Console. FormKiQ is envisioned as the type of Document Management AWS would recommend, built according to their best practices.

(NOTE: FormKiQ Pro does not include source code, in order to provide a lower-cost solution for businesses that have no current need to customize at the code level.)

Yes, FormKiQ is a SaaS product, but it may be different from other SaaS products you've used in the past. In fact, we consider it to be SaaS 3.0, a new generation of Software-as-a-Service that launches directly into your cloud account, and in the case of FormKiQ Pro and Enterprise, we provide as much or as little cloud account management as you desire. As with other SaaS products, we continually work to improve FormKiQ with updates and bug fixes, while providing your organization more control over documents and other data.

FormKiQ Core is released under the MIT License, allowing you to use it in both open source or proprietary projects and to distribute it freely, as long as you include the necessary attribution.

For our non-core features (such as OCR and Workflows), a commercial license (Pro or Enterprise) is required for internal use by your organization. In order to distribute FormKiQ as part of your commercial product or SaaS, you will also need the Partner License, available as an add-on to FormKiQ Enterprise.

FormKiQ Core is available for use as part of your professional services deliverables. For our non-core features such as OCR and Workflows, there is the option of either an add-on FormKiQ Partner License through FormKiQ Enterprise, or your end-client can purchase their own FormKiQ Pro or Enterprise license.

FormKiQ is designed to use only the storage and processing resources required with Amazon Web Services; for instance, document storage using Amazon S3 does not require a pre-set commitment to a minimum amount of storage space, while the document API does not require a server to be configured and left running. This means that for a moderate number of documents seen in many non-profits and small businesses, FormKiQ may be able to run completely within the AWS Free Tier, with no usage costs being charged at all.

For more substantial usage, such as document storage of a gigabyte or more, or API or Web Console access by a large number of users, you can expect a reasonably-priced usage charge on a monthly invoice. We can provide a usage cost estimate to your organization based on your expected number of documents and use case; please contact us for more information.

FormKiQ Core's one-click install provides access to the API and Web Console within fifteen to twenty minutes.

For FormKiQ Pro, the onboarding process can take as little as an hour.

For FormKiQ Enterprise installations with more customization, such as custom module development or other professional services, the onboarding period can extend to several months; however, because updates are handled by Amazon CloudFormation, it's possible to onboard the standard Enterprise functionality first, and implement additional customized features based on an agreed-upon timeline. This plan can be discussed in a Consultation Call. Set Up a FormKiQ Consultation Call