As paper documentation gets more scarce in the well established electronic age, many companies and corporations are stuck with the problem of what to do with the colossal mounds of hard copy accumulated through the years. Legal requirements mandate a period of recordkeeping for most business entities, but regardless of the law, most companies find it beneficial to maintain their records from previous years. Still, there are problems for businesses with extensive hard copy assets, especially when it comes to storage, information management, information security and the potential for loss or damage.
Some companies have produced literally tons of paperwork in the years prior to converting to a more electronic oriented format. Storing this documentation in a way that allows necessary access to it often means having it on-site, where real estate is usually at a premium. For metropolitan based businesses, this can result in valuable space being used up by records of business that has already taken place. Aside from that issue, file storage often makes accessing documentation tedious and difficult, especially when storage is away from the main areas where business is conducted. Adopting a “document request” department means increased man-hours and slower service, though it does often ensue that documents are better taken care of and limits access without responsibility. This is a major concern with paper documentation since it’s far more easily lost, stolen, or damaged than electronic mediums.
As a result, many businesses are taking advantage of off-site document imaging. Larger document imaging facilities can digitize thousands of hard copy documents in a very small amount of time, then transfer the captures or scans to a database accessible by the clients personnel. Data can be managed, password protected, backed up and best of all, stored in a server, eliminating the need for on-site file cabinet warehouses. Should business require the ability to manipulate the transferred hard copy, most document imaging providers also offer OCR scanning.
OCR scanning, which stands for optical character recognition, is a unique type of scanning software that transfers scanned images into characters that can be altered, such as those found on a word processing software. While the process does add a longer timeframe to the digitization process, it can be invaluable for businesses who need to maintain client accounts by updating old paperwork.
