In today’s digital age, paper-based records management is cumbersome and inefficient for businesses. Storing, organizing and accessing paper documents takes up valuable time, space and resources and can be vulnerable to theft, data loss and damage – or worse, fines for regulatory non-compliance.
Digitizing documents offers a modern and effective solution to these challenges. By converting physical documents into digital formats, businesses can enhance their record-keeping processes, improve accessibility and security, and save time and money on laborious administrative tasks.
In this blog post, we’ll explore document digitization and the many benefits it provides businesses to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.
What Is Document Digitization?
Document digitization refers to the process of converting physical documents, such as paper files, into a digital file format. This process is typically done using a scanner to create digital image files of the original documents. Once the file has been digitized, it can be stored, accessed and managed electronically in a centralized location using a document management system.
Why Convert Paper Files Into Digital Documents?
Document digitization has become increasingly important in recent years as more businesses adopt remote work and look to reduce their reliance on paper-based processes for a more environmentally friendly approach. When organizations digitize documents, they improve efficiency and collaboration between employees, minimize paper waste, save money on ink and enhance access to information while reducing physical storage space.
How Are Paper Documents Different Than Digital Files?
Hard copy documents are physical records printed on paper, while digital documents are electronic files that exist in a digital format, such as a PDF file type or an image. Paper documents can only be accessed by physically locating the record, but digital files can be accessed, shared and reproduced easily using document management software. Additionally, digitized documents have optical character recognition, which improves the searchability of keywords and other important terms within the document. When it comes to convenience, flexibility and accessibility, digital documents are far superior to their paper counterparts.
What Are the Benefits of Digital Files?
- Accessibility
A key benefit of digital document scanning is increased accessibility of information. Digitized documents can be accessed by authorized employees from anywhere and at any time, whether they are in the office or work remotely in another off-site location. In addition, digital records eliminate the need for physical access to paper records and files, which is time-consuming and leads to lost productivity. - Data Security
Digitizing documents improves data security by removing paper records from vulnerable physical storage space onto secure servers where sensitive information can be restricted to authorized personnel. As a result, critical digital data is kept safe, and the risk of unauthorized access, theft, accidental loss from human error or damage is significantly reduced. Additionally, digital documents can be encrypted using document processing to restrict access to sensitive documents. - Efficiency
Paper records are difficult to find when stored in filing cabinets within the office space. On the other hand, it is much easier to find documents when they are saved on a server in a digital version. Technologies, such as optical character recognition, also provide easy accessibility to the information contained within digital records. - Retrieval
Document digitization also makes retrieving information found in important business documents easier. Instead of searching through stacks of paper files and disorganized physical documents, users can save time by quickly retrieving business documents with a simple search query using a document management system. - Collaboration
Digitizing paper documents improves collaboration because it is easier to manage and share documents between multiple departments and employees, regardless of their work location. When colleagues are better equipped to collaborate, this leads to increased productivity, improved communication and better decision-making abilities. - Customer Service
Service-related businesses benefit from document scanning because it improves the customer experience. When information is digitized, it is easier for employees to retrieve and review client-related data and manage requests efficiently and professionally. - Space Savings
When paper documents are stored in filing cabinets within an office space, they take up valuable real estate. Digitizing important documents eliminates the need for physical space in the workplace to keep business records and frees up expensive square footage for revenue-generating activities. In addition, once digital images are made of physical paper files, the paper documents can be kept in secure off-site storage for the remainder of their retention periods. - Money Savings
Document scanning helps businesses save money by eliminating expensive office storage space, time spent managing documents and searching for data, and any costs related to the printing and shipping of physical files. - Disaster Recovery
Natural disasters like floods and fires can destroy physical files, resulting in significant data loss. With digitization, business information is protected throughout its entire life cycle. Digital data is backed up and stored in multiple locations to aid with recovery and business continuity during a natural disaster. - Compliance
Many industries are subject to regulatory requirements that mandate the retention of specific documents for a specific period. Digitizing paper documents ensures that these requirements are met by maintaining proper record-keeping processes, ensuring the secure storage of data and facilitating better control and tracking of business information.
Digitize Documents With Blue-Pencil’s Scanning Services
Is your organization overwhelmed with files that need to be scanned? Blue-Pencil can help accelerate your transition to a more digital workplace. We offer secure and collaborative document imaging services, including back-file scanning, day-forward scanning and scan-on-demand. No matter the job size, our company will help you select a flexible scanning program to save your company time and money.
When you partner with Blue-Pencil, you can benefit from our Online Image Hosting Centre, which allows your organization to manage digital files from your computer. Our secure cloud network ensures that your information is never compromised and that your electronic documents are convenient to search and retrieve from virtually anywhere using our system.
Request A Free Quote
Contact our team at Blue-Pencil to learn more about our document digitization services and how we can help your business transition to a more efficient and cost-effective digital document record-keeping system.
Take Our free Risk Assessment
Are you curious about the most significant security gaps that put your organization at risk for an information breach and fines for non-compliance? Then, take Blue-Pencil’s quick online Document Security Risk Assessment to better protect your business and data.