How to archive digital documents? Methods and media
As a business owner or HR manager, are you looking for an easy way to understand how to store digital documents in an orderly and intuitive way so that they are not lost and can be found easily when needed? Then this article is for you!
Let's take a look together at practical tips for digitizing your business in a simple and effective way so that nothing is lost and everything is always at hand!
Document storage
Document archiving is one of the steps involved in document management, that is, in the set of processes put in place in order to organize, share and store documents.
In concrete terms, document archiving consists of the physical or digital storage and preservation of documents.
Digital document archiving vs. paper archiving
Document storage and archiving is a fundamental process in order to leave a record of one's management processes, as well as of the agreements that have been made by the company with third parties.
Document archiving involves the creation of a document management system, that is, the preservation and storage of the company's files. There are two document archiving methodologies, depending on the type of documents being considered:
- Paper document storage, which is concerned with the storage of documents available precisely on physical paper media. A folder or binder can be used to store this type of document.
- Digital document storage, on the other hand, concerns the storage of documents saved in the pc.
For storing and backing up this type of documentation, there are different approaches that differ depending on the type of data to be stored and the amount of it, as we will see in a moment.
Digital document storage > advantages
Lean and efficient document management can be a not insignificant plus for companies, as it can speed up business processes and reduce overhead costs .
In fact, bad document management, whether performed by taking paper documents or digital documents into consideration, can cause not insignificant problems and unnecessary slowdowns.
With a good digital document storage process, it is possible to ensure constant and total retrievability of business documents. The main advantages are related to the ease of accessing and updating archived documents.
In fact, through digital document archiving, it is possible to have:
- Quick access to documents;
- Facilitated document updates ;
- A reduction in archiving costs;
- A decrease in document printing costs;
- An increase in document security (access can take place only by authorized parties).
How to archive digital documents
Existing business documents in digital format must be systematically organized and preserved in order to be able to ensure proper business management.
Good practice for properly archiving documents in digital format is to create a digital archive. Let's look below at some tips for drawing one up properly.
How to create a digital archive > practical tips
1.Choose the files
Very first step in creating an archive of your documents is, very trivially, to choose the files to store.
It is good to choose the files carefully, in order to operate a "reasoned" storage. That is, it is convenient to choose documents according to specific parameters, which will allow you to create thematic and, therefore, relevant archives.
2.Organize the chosen files
To operate proper archiving of digital documents, it is essential, therefore, to proceed with a good organization of the document base that is to be archived.
In fact, arranging the documents before embarking on the archiving process will speed up the entire IT process .
Prior document organization varies according to the type of document categorization that is to be performed.
In fact, documents can be categorized according to:
- The time reference of the document, that is, according to the year and month of the document;
- The type of the document (identity documents, employment contract, payroll, etc.);
- The numbering given to the documents, which can be done in numbers or letters.
3.Rename files
Renaming documents appropriately is important to foster good filing practice. In fact, the name will be the bridge that gives you access to the document, so it must be:
- Concise;
- Relevant, meaning it must pertinently identify the content of the document;
- Belong to a specific nomenclature system.
To store documents online properly, therefore, it is necessary to save them with a functional name.
👀 Some documents require special caution when saving them. In fact, for some documents there are specific legal provisions governing the procedure. In these cases, one must, therefore, proceed with special care so that all necessary legal requirements are met.
☝ Along with the name, it is advisable to also include the date on which the document was created.
Assign files to a category
It is important that documents be saved in semantically relevant categories. They should be homogeneous and clearly distinguished from each other.
Rely on appropriate archiving solutions
In order to ensure that documents are well archived, it is necessary to rely on appropriate storage media.
In fact, it is important to avoid relying on do-it-yourself! Remember that no matter how zealously you plan your personal storage, the margin for error for personally developed solutions still remains high.
Keep in mind, however, that your company's files are sensitive, and the risk that they will be lost if you use an uncertain medium is high. Therefore, you should pay special attention to your choice of storage media-it will be worth it.
Storage media for digital documents
There are different media and methodologies for storing digital documents. These vary according to the type of documents being considered. For example, it is possible to:
- Store documents in a zipper file.
→ This method of storing documents is used for important files that, however, are rarely used.
- Save documents to external media such as USB flash drives.
- Copy documents to CDs or DVDs.
- Save documents to external storage space.
→ This method of saving documents is particularly useful in case of damage to the pc. In this case, in fact, the data saved on the hard disk can be recovered without any difficulty.
Special attention, in fact, must be paid to the fact that documents saved on digital media are still subject to damage. In fact, there is always a risk of unintentional loss of information. That is why it is advisable to constantly back up data.
- Store documents through special software.
→ One of the most widely used methods of preserving a document is to convert it to PDF format, for example, with the service offered by Adobe (known as Adobe Acrobat).
💢 The technology that enables document storage, however, is constantly evolving. So, it is good to keep abreast of what new opportunities are constantly being provided to operate document storage and preservation.
Digital document storage methods
There are several methods of storing digital documents. These can basically be divided into two macro-categories:
- On-site digital document storage, that is, at one's location in physical electronic archives, which are managed using document management software;
- Cloud-based digital document storage, i.e., files are stored on external platforms or outsourced platforms.
The main storage and backup systems currently available are:
HDDs and SDDs
HDDs ( hard-disk drives), or hard disk drives, are computer storage drives. They have been the most widely used digital storage systems for many years because they can record large amounts of data. Usually already built into the computer, they are also available as external hardware.
Solid-disk drives ( SDDs ), or solid-state drives, on the other hand, have become more widely used more recently and are a special type of mass storage that is very fast in reading data and makes little noise while working. They are usually less prone to breakage, but their superior advantages over the traditional hard disk drive also come at a higher cost.
USB flash drives and memory cards
USB flash drives are very much in vogue as they enable fast and efficient file transfer. However, their storage capacity is, usually, relatively small. They are, then, easily subject to breakage. Usually, in fact, USB flash drives are used for transporting documents from one location to another, rather than for storing them.
Memory cards have a very similar operating principle to USB flash drives in terms of document storage. The main difference is that memory cards need a slot in which to be inserted in order to function properly.
Cloud-storage services
These are online platforms that allow document storage. They allow the storage of a large amount of data, which will be available from any device, no matter where you are.
So, cloud services allow effective storage, but they are quite expensive. The cost varies depending on the amount of documents saved or the degree of confidentiality given to them.
It must be said that cloud storage services are generally greeted by businesses with skepticism precisely with regard to the confidentiality of documents. Many companies frown upon entrusting the document management of confidential files to third parties and, therefore, prefer to opt for in-house document storage solutions.
Network-attached storage (NAS)
Network-attached storage(NAS) is a remote file serving service that stores and shares files in one or more dedicated servers with several clients connected to the same network.
NAS is particularly popular with businesses because it allows them to keep their documents stored indoors but share access to them to several devices at the same time.
Storage Area Network (SAN)
Storage-area-network(SAN) is gaining popularity in businesses as an innovative method of document storage. It is a network of block storage devices to which multiple users can connect.
Because it is newer, SAN allows for higher operating speed than NAS. Otherwise, the two file storage systems work in the same way. In fact, both allow large amounts of business documents to be stored, allowing them to be accessed from multiple locations at the same time.
Article translated from Italian