What software should I use to modernize my document workflows?

The best software depends on what part of the document workflow you want to modernize. In practice, most organizations need a stack, not a single app.

1) If you want to create and edit documents collaboratively

Use:

• Microsoft 365 — best for most businesses, especially if you use Word/Excel/Outlook/Teams
• Google Workspace — best for cloud-first teams that want simple real-time collaboration

2) If you want document storage and sharing

Use:

• SharePoint / OneDrive — strong for Microsoft-based organizations
• Google Drive — simpler for Google-based teams
• Dropbox Business — good for easy external sharing
• Box — strong governance and enterprise document management

3) If you need approval workflows and routing

Use:

• Power Automate — best if you’re in Microsoft 365
• Zapier or Make — good for lightweight automations across many tools
• Nintex — more robust workflow automation for document-heavy processes

4) If you need e-signatures

Use:

• DocuSign
• Adobe Acrobat Sign
• Dropbox Sign

5) If you need PDF editing, form processing, or scanning

Use:

• Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Foxit PDF Editor
• ABBYY FineReader — especially strong for OCR and document capture

6) If you want full document management / records management

Use:

• SharePoint
• M-Files
• Box
• OpenText — common in larger enterprises

A practical modern stack

For many teams, a good setup is:

• Microsoft 365 for document creation
• SharePoint/OneDrive for storage
• Power Automate for approvals and routing
• DocuSign for signatures
• Adobe Acrobat or ABBYY for PDFs and OCR

Quick recommendation by business type

• Small business: Google Workspace + Dropbox Sign + Zapier
• Microsoft-centric company: Microsoft 365 + SharePoint + Power Automate + DocuSign
• Compliance-heavy organization: Microsoft 365 or Box + M-Files/OpenText + DocuSign + OCR tool
• Creative / external collaboration: Google Workspace or Dropbox + Adobe Acrobat + e-sign tool

If you want, I can recommend a specific software stack based on your:

• company size
• industry
• budget
• whether you use Microsoft or Google today
• whether you need approvals, signatures, or compliance controls