Fast and easy retrieval of you information is critical to your business success. And your documents, both on hard drive and paper, are the lifeblood of your organization. So it makes sense to preserve them for any eventuality. But should you try to do it yourself of find a professional firm to do it for you? Read on to find out.
Document Storage: Why You Should Outsource
Fast and easy retrieval of you information is critical to your business success. And your documents, both on hard drive and paper, are the lifeblood of your organization. So it makes sense to preserve them for any eventuality.
But whether your documents are on paper or in electronic form, your data can still be at the mercy of natural or man-made disaster or hard-drive failure. Such loss could cripple your business so it’s essential to have an effective back-up system in place. So how to do it?
Transferring you paper documents and hard-disk data to optical media is the first step. This allows easy retrieval of any information you need. With an efficient indexing system, just pop the disc into the drive and voila. No need to search through dusty storerooms and cart out heavy boxes.
Once you’ve decided to go ahead and backup your critical data, you have to decide whether to do it yourself or outsource to a professional company.
It really depends on the volume of documents you have to work with. But considering the importance of your company information, it makes sense to bring in a professional firm for the following reasons.
Firstly, they’re up-to-date on the latest and most effective methods of data storage. For example, perhaps you’ve already backed up some of your hard disk data to standard Cd’s. After all, they last forever, right? Unfortunately not. Some statistics on the shelf life of recorded Cd’s might shock you. Unless you take great care, standard CD/DVDs can degrade to the point of being unreadable in as little to 2-5 years. Professional data storage firm will be knowledgeable of the latest media such as the latest Kodak Gold discs which offer effective lifespan of 80-300 years.
Another important reason to outsource to a document imaging solution provider is that their staff are trained and knowledgeable experts in data conversion. Scanning workflow, for example, is a complicated undertaking, especially if large volumes of documents and deadlines are involved. This really needs an expert’s touch. Solution providers also offer data entry services to key-in important meta data from documents to create a searchable database of your paper.
Then professional firms have the state-of-the-art equipment to handle any kind or size of job. The resulting efficiencies lower production costs which leads to lower costs for you. Buying, installing such hardware yourself and then training you own staff in its use would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming.
In addition, a solution provider will manage your entire document conversion project. This means there’s no need to tie-up any of your own resources in the conversion process. Such projects can be complex, requiring needs assessment, planning and estimating before the actual scanning begins. And the imaging company’s staff can work on-site on your own premises so there’s no need to your confidential documents to leave the building.
Considering the inestimable value of your documents, you need to entrust your project to a reputable firm. Look for one with a proven track-record of working for blue chip clients which should include vertical market expertise. If you deal with large format documents, make sure the firm employs technicians familiar with architectural or engineering drawings and who can effectively handle such jobs.
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