Digitization strategies critical to disaster planning for the new year

Natural disasters last year caused significant devastation to government agencies and enterprises alike, leading to an increasing emphasis on digitization strategies for better document management.

FCW highlighted Hurricane Sandy as the most recent culprit for the destruction of critical records in addition to hefty recovery expenditures. Now, organizations are shifting priorities to consider electronic document management in order to minimize negative impact from these disasters. The source asserted that in order to reduce information loss, firms will need to seek off-site solutions for a more structured approach to managing data that matches unique operational demands. Rob Hamilton, vice president of Information Governance and Records Management at Recall, explained that many businesses are still behind in proper document maintenance practices.

“Records management is a mystery to many companies, often turning into a costly lesson when records are lost, destroyed or mishandled,” he said.

Enhanced data integrity with digital solutions
Each organization has different needs for document management, and the first step to addressing those requirements is defining a company policy to address these practices. Among Recall’s primary recommendations for best document management practices in 2013 is a program specifically designed for records management.

This is particularly important in regards to legal compliance as privacy and security laws are becoming increasingly strict. In cases where sensitive information is lost or destroyed, damage to the company’s reputation can interrupt business process automation (BPA), resulting in decreased productivity.

According to Police One, the law enforcement industry is just one community embracing document digitization to reduce opportunities for information loss from disasters. The source reported that more and more, officers are composing reports and issuing citation through laptops and other mobile devices, which are capable of also photographing supplemental images and information to create more thorough case files. This means that not only do police officers have better access to criminal records, but those files can be securely maintained forever, depending on local policies for retention of citizen data.

Natural disasters pose a high risk to businesses with paper document management systems, which is why experts suggest that 2013 will be the year to go paperless. Conversion services make it possible to digitize the database in a timely manner, meaning there is little interruption to a company’s workflow and overall efficiency.

Brought to you by Image One Corporation providing complete information governance since 1994.