Remote and Agile Working: The Benefits of Document Scanning

In the midst of the current COVID-19 situation happening across the globe, now more than ever is remote and agile working considered vital for many businesses and industries. Of course, while all businesses are unable to completely go digital, for those who can - it’s a much needed consideration. Document scanning can hold a great deal of benefits for those businesses who need to continue working, but are hindered by the need to access documents on a regular basis. On top of this, if those important documents are still in hard copy, it will only make attempting to work remotely and agilely even more difficult.

Read our article to find out more about how scanning your documents can be beneficial for businesses in times of uncertainty.

Allowing employees to access documents remotely

Scanning business-critical documents will provide the ability to allow your employees to not only access them remotely, but to allow for simultaneous access to the same document - without the need for copying it. So long as your employees have a viewer and internet access, they will be able to securely and easily access the documents they need in order to keep working from any location. So if your employees are currently working from home - this is a clear benefit.

No risk of losing documents

Your critical files can be securely archived in storage once they have been scanned. The documents can then be accessed digitally with no risk of loss or damage to the original file. In some cases, the cost of misfiled documents can be quite severe. According to Konica Minolta, between 2% - 5% of an organization’s files are lost or misfiled on any given day. On average, a company can spend $120 in labor to locate a single misfiled document. So if one out of every 20 documents is lost, it can mean spending up to 25 hours recreating each lost document.

Ensure your employees can work remotely and access all the business-critical documents they need. Get a quote for bulk document scanning and you can speak to our experts about your requirements.

Increased Compliance

Suffice to say, as more businesses are going digital it’s vital to consider scanning your documents from a compliance perspective. In the wake of data breaches, your business will experience unpleasant consequences. Additionally, you also need to consider the legal admissibility of your documents and whether they hold up to other standards and regulations. Digitizing your documents will allow for a clearer audit trail so you can track who has access to what documents at any given time.

Cleaner processes

Going digital with documents means you can tighten up your document management processes. With proper filing structure, indexing and classification, you won’t run the risk of losing or destroying original documents due to any mis-keying errors.

If you outsource your document scanning, you’ll be able to work with a trained specialist who can help with indexing and classifying documents ready for you to access once scanned.

Freeing up real-estate

If you currently store your documents within the same office or pay for space elsewhere, this cost continues to add up. When you consider the rising costs of prime office space, scanning your documents can provide some relief in helping to free up limited office space businesses are already working in. Once documents have been scanned, they can be stored offsite in a secure storage facility while you have access to the files digitally.

Helping with office moves

On the other hand, as more employees are now working remotely and as long as they have access to all the documents they would need online, it might be worth considering cutting down on the number of desks and office space you're paying for at this current time.

If you need to be scaling down your premises, you need to consider getting rid of your archives by digitizing them - they’ll prove to be less of a hassle should you decide to move to a different office.

Becoming a risk averse business

Even in times of certainty, in today’s business world more companies are aiming to become risk averse. With paper-handling comes risk of loss, risk of damage, misfiling, human error and more. These risks then make way for consequences such as non-compliance and security breaches that could cost your business in the long-run. Scanning your documents is the first step to diminishing these risks and working to new, more efficient and cost-effective processes.

If you’re considering document scanning, discuss more about what you should consider when speaking to suppliers in our handy download ‘Buyer’s Guide: 10 Crucial Questions You Should Ask Your Document Scanning Vendor’. In this guide, we explain the advantages of scanning documents and how to assess the capabilities of suppliers.