Before organizations can reap the many benefits that come with implementing a robust document management solution , businesses need to find a way to transform the growing mountain of paper documents into digital form.
This is where the need for secure and accessible document scanning comes into play.
Organizations that open the door to digitally transforming their document management environment by scanning and converting documents will increase efficiency, save space, and enable better content management, but most importantly, provide increased security and accessibility to newly digitized documents.
Providing Security and Accessibility to your Document Environment
Document scanning provides organizations with a secure and accessible managed solution that handles digitizing paper documents and converts them into accessible, indexable, and searchable digital documents so businesses can be more productive and collaborative. A secure and accessible document scanning workflow is imperative as businesses need a quick and reliable way to locate documents as more workforces are becoming remote and face increased exposure to ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks.
Document scanning solutions provide businesses a host of benefits but the integral reason document scanning is important for businesses is the security and accessibility capabilities it offers.
Document Security
Recently, to combat the increased security risks associated with COVID-19, businesses are progressively seeking out document scanning solutions to receive the additional security measures that they would otherwise not receive with a traditional paper document environment. Manually scanning documents inevitably poses security risks but outsourcing to a professional scanning solution provider ensures a secure, reliable, and painless integration.
Document scanning comes equipped with several advanced security procedures that provide end-users fortified document security. The right document scanning solution will implement procedures that bolster security and prevent the exposure of critical business information to minimize security threats while maintaining speed and efficiency. These procedures include:
- Encryption
- Redaction
- Auditing
- Remote key entry
- Limited designations
- Automated Records Management System
The fortified security associated with document scanning workflows minimizes overall risk and better secures sensitive company documents. Here are the additional security protections and benefits that come with implementing a managed document scanning solution.
More Secure than Paper
Organizations that are looking to minimize risk should look to digitize their document environment as paper files are not as secure as digital documents. Storing digital documents on highly secure servers or in the cloud rather than in a file cabinet or other physical location will protect organizations’ sensitive information from tampering and theft. Physical locations are vulnerable to those with malicious intent as physical locks and safes can always be bypassed. With digitized documents, unscrupulous actors will have much more difficulty accessing a document that has been encrypted or password-protected.
Digital files also provide unique security advantages over paper documents in terms of compliance. Compliance guidelines like HIPAA and FACTA require businesses to safeguard sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Organizations that implement document scanning make it easier to fulfill legal and regulatory obligations to meet security demands and stay in compliance.
User Access Control and Tracking Access
Advanced access control is a crucial feature when bolstering document security. End-users can assign specific levels of access based on their security clearance and daily responsibilities to ensure that only authorized personnel can access business-critical documents. The tracking feature provides organizations the ability to easily track digital documents as each instance can be monitored and recorded. Full-tracking capabilities reduce the frequency of data loss and ensure that only authorized personnel can access business-critical documents.
Immediate Disaster Recovery
2020 was a historic year of weather extremes and climate change is only exacerbating the frequency of billion-dollar natural disasters. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA), 2020 set the new annual record of billion-dollar climate disasters with 22 events which shatters the previous record of 16 events that occurred in 2017.
Organizations that implement a document scanning solution mitigate the risk of natural disasters and unforeseen situations that could damage important company documents and halt business operations. With scanning workflows, digital images can be backed up and placed on either a server or on the cloud for long term preservation of data. Since paper documents are always vulnerable to the will of the elements, it is imperative organizations have a disaster recovery plan they can immediately put into action. Organizations that take the time to scan their paper documents will be better prepared to implement a disaster recovery plan when unforeseeable events occur such as floods, fires, and global pandemics.
Reduce Time of Exposure
Due to the difficulties of locating and accessing paper files, most people tend to spend more time looking for documents than actually reading them. This increases the amount of time potentially sensitive documents are exposed to unauthorized individuals. Organizations that proactively index and organize digital documents can more effectively search and access documents and in turn, put them securely away immediately after use.
Document Accessibility
Accessibility is the key to maintaining business operations especially during times of increased remote workforces. When businesses store information on paper, it becomes exponentially harder to access as the traditional analog library continues to grow. Hard-to-locate files can impede important business functions and decrease productivity.
To combat this issue of accessibility, organizations should look to implement a managed document scanning solution to digitize and capture important data to provide easy access to information for all personnel across departments, both in-office and remote. Document scanning provides several distinct benefits regarding document accessibility.
Accessibility for Dispersed and Remote Teams
For organizations that have a remote or hybrid workforce, document scanning is truly a necessity. With the right managed document scanning solution, businesses with dispersed and remote teams can access the files they need from any location. Without a digital document library, remote employees will be forced to rely on in-house employees to hunt down the physical document and either fax the document or scan it in manually and send it. Implementing document scanning will streamline and simplify document capture processes and help businesses avoid accessibility challenges for remote workforces.
Better Visibility and Searchability
Organizations can store documents in centralized repositories and control documents with complete visibility to protect them from unauthorized users and cybersecurity threats. Documents can be accessed using various indexing methods such as by time, location, vendor, recipient, end-use, etc. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature further increases visibility as it can take an image or scanned document page and create editable and searchable text from it.
Instantaneous Access
Document scanning workflows provide organizations instant access to their recently digitized files. Trusted scanning experts will manage document scanning and indexing and transfer them to an encrypted or password-protected centralized and searchable online database. This newly created digital library provides instantaneous access to business-critical information from anywhere. Authorized employees receive immediate and concurrent access to scanned documents within or across different company areas, including HR and accounting departments.
Simplified Collaboration
Scanning documents into a secure centralized location enables multiple users, regardless of location, to easily collaborate and edit electronic files simultaneously. The increased accessibility makes it easier to share ideas and receive feedback from the entire team which in turn makes processes more efficient by reducing time spent sending multiple versions back and forth.
Implementing Document Scanning Solutions into your Business
Document scanning solutions provide organizations the capability to provide fortified security and accessibility to digitized documents. The additional security provided is crucial for maintaining business continuity during times of increased risk like during a global pandemic, while accessibility is a necessity for remote workforce productivity.
Businesses should partner with a managed scanning solution provider to begin the process of transitioning away from an inefficient and unsecure traditional paper environment and moving toward digital document transformation for a streamlined, secure, and accessible digital document library.
