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Document Management and File Hosting

Digital document management is the way forward but what’s the best way for you to host your files?

Document management is a continually progressing market, one that offers constantly improving solutions for storing and accessing your files and documents quickly and easily. Companies that adopt digital document management, or DDM, find that it helps their efficiency significantly as well as numerous other benefits, but what is the best way to host your documents for use with the system?

There are a number of advantages to hosting your files over a shared network. For one, it’s not going to cost you anything. Because your documents are stored on one particular computer / server, there are no fees for renting space online. There is also usually a speed difference between self-hosting and hosting files online, but this can depend on the quality of the computers than you have as well as your internet speeds, but for the most part, hosting files over your office shared network will usually offer faster speeds when it comes to searching for and retrieving the documents.The main choices are usually between hosting over a local network, or over the internet via a cloud service. The cool and fashionable thing to do would be to go with the latter, but this is business and it’s not always the best choice to go with what seems like the slicker option. For those who aren’t sure what I mean by local network, a local network for your document management would basically be one area, whether it be a PC or your own server, which can then share your documents between all other computers on that network. This is not as difficult to set up as it might sound, however it can also depend on the type of document management software you have or end up purchasing. You may already be using a shared network between yours and the other staff’s systems, you just might have never thought about it before.

The downsides to a shared network are few but could be significant factors in your decision. If you store your documents on one particular system and this system goes down or even breaks then access to your files will be lost and, if not properly backed up, the files can be lost forever in the event that the system itself breaks. The irony in this is that it is probably a good idea to have online backup, or additional backup via external hard drives, to make sure that this doesn’t happen and that you won’t be out of action for too long if the worst should happen.

Online storage for the files in your document management system has numerous advantages such as the fact that your documents are on a secure server online (but make sure to check security details before signing up to any services through your document management company) which should be regularly maintained. This is also useful if you have a larger quantity of documents as you won’t have filled up one entire computer or more just for storing your documents.

As with storing via a local network, online storage also comes with its disadvantages. Depending on your connection speed, it can take longer to retrieve documents via an online service than it would via a local network. Local is a literal term as the files would indeed be local and are most likely to be accessed much more quickly. There are also fees that tend to come with storing files online, however the document management company that you use may have some kind of deal in place which means that you can store files on their servers for a low cost or even for free for using their services.

If you’d like to find out more about what would be best for your organisation when it comes to storing files for your document management system, give us a call on (+44)161 832 7991, to find out more about our document management and scanning solutions.

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Document Scanning or Storage - What Would Best Suit You?

If you have a lot of documents that you are in need of storing, are already storing or you would just like to be out of the way, then document storage has probably crossed your mind on a number of occasions. If you're already storing your documents with a storage facility, perhaps you've wondered if there are better options out there for your company that are cheaper, more efficient or just better overall. Whatever your situation, read on to find out more about whether you are better off with document storage or if document scanning might be a better option for you.

First of all, hands in the air, I write this as someone who works for a document scanning company, so you might think I'd be a little biased in the favour of scanning. However I aim to put a fair and concise picture of what would be best for you depending on the way you are currently working with your documents (or not working with them as the case may be), the way in which you are currently storing them and also how much you need them on a regular basis.

For the majority of needs, document scanning is truly the best option, especially if you use the documents on a regular basis and need quick access rather than looking through cabinets or requesting files from the document storage facility you use if at this point you are indeed using one. However document storage tends to work better for those who would like to keep their documents fairly close by and yet they aren't needed on too much of a regular basis. This allows you to access them on the chance that you might need one every now and then and this should be fine for you, however you should keep in mind the monthly costs and retrieval fees that are often associated with document storage.

As mentioned already, document scanning can be a great asset for all different kinds of businesses, especially those who use their documents and files on a regular basis. Document scanning companies can take all of your documents at once, or in parts, and have them converted into any file formats that you require such as Word, PDF and the favourite text-searchable PDF. Scanning companies can often can tens of thousands of documents per day depending on the companies capabilities and equipment. This means that you don't have to be without the documents for too long as the service can be done relatively quickly.

The big advantage for document scanning over storage is the overall cost of it, as well as the immense rise in efficiency. As we already mentioned, if you don't access your documents regularly, this is less the case when it comes to efficiency, but the fact is that once document scanning is done and the files are available to you on your own systems, they can be searched for and found almost instantly. When you compare this to rooting through cupboards to locate particular documents, this can make a <b>huge</b> difference.

Plus you wouldn't have to suffer the recurring fees and costs of retrieval that come with document storage facilities. We're pretty sure that one day document scanning and digital document management will be the end of companies that store files for you, but in the meantime, both sides of the argument continue to go on.

Document scanning and digital document management is a specialty of my company, Pearl Scan Solutions here in the UK. We cater to all different companies individually offering unique solutions depending on the size of your company as well as your budget. To find out more about document scanning and storage visit out website.

Three Ways Document Scanning Can Help Your Business

To this day, document scanning is widely considered to be something that is done within your home, scanning family photos or bills and receipts into your computer for safe keeping. However that doesn't mean that it can't be used in a similar way in business too. In fact, thousands of businesses across the world are now using document scanning as a way to modernise their offices at the same time as making them work even better than they did before.

In this article we are going to list the top 3 ways that document scanning can help your business. Obviously this can all depend on how much you are currently relying on paper based documents, but if you do, this is a great guide to get you moving into a better system that works within your company. So let's get started:

1. Document scanning improves efficiency

This is one of the biggest and most proven facts about document scanning and this is the main reason that the majority of companies decide to go digital with their documents. When your documents are scanned and put into a digital document management system, they are much easier to find when compared to paper documents. Think about how long it might take to search through filing cabinets and storage to find the files that you need. Even if you have a good idea where they are, it can still take quite a bit of time especially if the files have not been put back correctly or are out of order.

Searching for a document digitally means doing a quick computer based search which will take a matter of moments. The effects this can have on efficiency and productivity is excellent as more work can be done than ever before and staff morale is also boosted because of a more interesting working day. When you get your documents scanned by a professional document scanning company, the files are indexed in any way that you wish. This can be by a reference number, a client name or address or anything else that is relevant. That means that you can simply type in the appropriate information and the document should pop up right in front of you. This makes life considerably easier in the office.

2. Document scanning and digital management systems save money

There might be an initial cost to getting all of your documents scanned, but the costs that will be saved in the long run especially, and in some cases the very short term, is exceptional. As we mentioned in the previous section, efficiency is improved and more work gets done. This can mean that you wouldn't need to employ more staff and train them because of improvements in productivity. The amount you spend on paper, printer ink and other office supplies involved will be cut dramatically as you can now go digital more than ever.

On top of this, if you are a company that stores their documents in a storage facility with ongoing monthly costs and retrieval fees, this can be cut out completely. Once the documents are scanned, indexed and onto your systems, they are in your own hands and can be accessed at any time, removing the need for storing the physical files and the costly time-consuming retrieval. Law firms have already found that this system is excellent for helping with their document storage costs.

3. Document scanning saves space

When the need for physical, paper based documents is no longer an issue, they, and the cabinets and drawers they are located in, can be disposed of leaving you with more office space to use however you wish. In the modern economical environment, space is more important than ever and every inch can count in a lot of cases. The extra space can be used for extra facilities or just to give more breathing room for your staff to work in, which I'm sure they'll thank you for!

Document scanning and digital management is a modern day miracle for businesses in all walks of life, big or small and is also extremely cost effective. If you'd like to find out more about how document scanning helps businesses, visit our website or email us for a free online quote.

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Document Scanning - The Silent Helper

As it turns out, document scanning is one of the little known secrets that keeps some of the biggest business in the world in order when it comes to their admin departments…

It’s been around for years and years now, we just don’t see to appreciate it quite as much as we should for so many reasons.

The first ever image scanned was in 1957 believe it or not, and was a photograph of the three month old son of the creator of the scanning device, but we have moved on so much since then. It’s true, with the majority of document scanning devices, particular in the home, whether standalone or these days also built into printers, are still used for this very purpose. Out obsession with going digital has grown and grown over the years since the

very first commercial computers became available to the every man back in the 80′s and document scanning has played a huge part in that scheme. Without document scanning we would not be able to retain our images and files digitally for as long as possible, priceless items and heirlooms that will be looked at again and again for years to come.

But document scanning is not just made for the sentimental, and is certainly not exclusively used for sentimental purposes, as there is and always has been a huge need in business for document scanning, or imaging as it is sometimes known.

Document Scanning In Business

It’s only recently that businesses across the world have seen the major benefits of document scanning and digitisation. Document scanning is the silent helper that has made a big difference to thousands of companies across the world, not just boosting their efficiency in the admin departments, but also saving vital space in the office and potentially millions in expenditures each and every year.

Thanks to companies like us here at Pearl Scan, just about any type of file or document can be made digital and converted so it is fully readable by a computer and therefore making the files easier for you to search for and find via computers. But it’s not just a matter of scanning documents into a digital format and leaving it at that. We use scanning devices which literally scan tens of thousands of documents each and every day, considerably more than a convention, commercially available document scanner that you would buy from your local electronics dealer or, these days, your supermarket.

Because of this ability to scan so many documents at any one time, the files can be scanned, digitised and ready for digital use in a matter of days, so you needn’t be without those documents for long.

We are also at a point with technology where we are able to not just scan documents but develop software that enables us to make the digital document completely text searchable. This is a process known asOCR or Optical Character Recognition which is not just a fairly complicated process but is technically brilliant with usually high accuracy ratings, depending on the age, quality and condition of the original documents, but OCR is usually able to read most documents from the last few hundred years, with the exception of hand writing.

But the improvements this can offer when it comes to efficiency is immense. Compare searching through a cabinet of documents for a file, which is potentially badly organised or just out of order, with a simple text search on your computer via either the name of the file title that it has been indexed with, which can usually be a reference number, client name or anything else that you like to sort your files by, or via searching through the OCR’d document for keywords, addresses etc. with virtually instant results.

Combine that with the space saved in and around the office and it looks like a pretty decent alternative.

Document Scanning and Document Storage

Document scanning is also a great alternative to physically storing your documents with a document storage company.

Document storage companies, as those of you who are using them currently will known, charge a monthly fee and usually pretty excessive retrieval fees for, what is essentially, giving you back a document that belongs to you anyway. That can also come with a 1 or 2 days waiting period or even worse.

With document scanning and digital document management, that is a thing of the past because you can now store all of your own documents on your own systems, over your local network, or online in the cloud and they are available anytime to you with no recurring costs and no retrieval fees and no waiting. Law firms find this particularly attractive as they are required to hold on to legal documents for at least 7 years here in the UK and as such they have no choice but to put the files into storage. Digital documents are considered a valid format these days for these purposes, so this services saves them thousands per year.

Document Scanning – A Digital Friend For Life

As already mentioned, document scanning and document scanners have been around for as long as the majority of us can remember and have been making a difference in our lives for what seems like forever, whether it be out personal snap shots from the days before digital cameras (if you can remember such a time!), right up to modern business techniques and digital document management. It’s a worthy investment and one that all businesses should consider.

To find out more about document scanning visit our official document scanning page here.

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Document Archiving

Document archiving has become a much more common practice within businesses looking at saving money whilst at the same time improving efficiency.

Document Archiving Types

Archiving documents can be done in any number of ways such as the traditional storage within cabinets, drawers and store rooms, but this can be messy, hard to get around and easy to get out of order.

There are other companies, the likes of law firms and financial institutions for example, that prefer to use document storage facilities. Although this is a good way to get the documents out of your hair and make them fairly accessible, there are quite a few downsides to this form of document archiving. For one, the month on month cost is exceptionally high, not to mention the retrieval costs that many facilities will charge which also will come with a waiting time for the documents that you need to see as soon as possible, which can be days.

You’re probably thinking that it’s easy for us to say that digitally archiving your document archiving is the best method, because we work within that particular field, but the fact is that there’s a very good reason we work in this particular field; because it’s the best option all around.

Digital Document Archiving

We explored document scanning vs document storage previously here, but digital document archiving is not just the best way or archiving your documents now, it’s also very much future-proof. Having your documents accessible at any time on your computer system is vital to any modern business, as are the costs that you’ll save through not having to store documents or pay the ridiculous retrieval fees for your own files. In researching the costs of document retrieval, we found prices ranging from between £12-20 per file, with this one as a good example at an average of £16 per file…

Document archiving the digital way is also very cost-effective as documents can be scanned from as little as a penny per sheet. On top of this, efficiency is better thanks to being able to access the files more quickly, better flexibility, and space saving if you decide to dispose of the original paper-based files.

Find out more about improving your document archiving

To find out more visit our page on document archiving here.

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Document Scanning or Document Storage - What Would Benefit My Business More?

Businesses across the world are looking into aspect and crevice of how their business works in order to find out the best ways that they can operate at as little cost as possible. Document scanning has recently become a significant player in the world of storing documents and making them easy to access and many are starting to question their storing of documents and the way that they are stored.

So what would be best for your business? Well as the marketing manager for a scanning company you'd think that I would immediately say document scanning, but it's simply not always the case. In the majority of cases, document scanning is the superior choice for a lot of different reasons, but there are occassions when you'd be best storing your own documents. These are usually if you have very few documents or a lower number of documents that you access on a regular basis, as it could be potentially overkill to have a smaller number of documents scanned to find that you don't actually use them often enough to truly benefit from the scanning service. For just about everyone else, document scanning is the best option purely because it provides so many benefits and so little downsides. Document scanning and digital document management allows you to have quick access to your files, virtually instantly, whilst still allowing them to be fully functional and, in most cases, even more so. You can duplicate the files, email them to colleagues or clients, print them, share them over your local network whilst still retaining the readability and useability of the original document itself. Because of a number of different techniques such as OCR and indexing, it's easier than ever for documents to be searchable by keywords or titles. OCR, or optical character recognition, is a service that document scanning companies provide to make a physical document, once scanned, into a completely text searchable file by the software scanning the wording found on the paper and detecting letters and characters and therefore making the file readable to computers. Indexing is, putting it simply, naming the file itself, but in a slightly more complicated way than usual. A document can be indexed by pretty much any field type on a particular document. This can be by client name, address, reference number and anything else that would make finding your files easier for you. Digital document management via document scanning also allows you to dispose of the paper-based files which means that you can save some considerable space, whether it's in drawers, filing cabinets or cupboards, plus if you're a company that stores files with a document storage company, with the retreival costs and monthly fees that come with it, document scanning and going digital is going to be of even more benefit to you, saving money on a month-by-month basis. There are also, of course, environmental effects that come with, effectively, becoming paperless. Using less paper would benefit wildlife throughout the world and you wouldn't be using as much ink which is one of the hardest elements to recycle in the world. Pretty much any company can benefit from document scanning, not just in a monetary way, but also in an efficiecy sense too as files and folders will become easier to find and process which means more will be done in the regular working day. The benefits of document scanning compared to standard document storage are considerable. The evidence is there for all to see, you just have to take the dive and see the benefits for yourself. If you'd like to know more about document scanning and digital document management for your business, check out Pearl Scan's document scanning site and also our blog post on whether you would truly benefit from digital document management. It's full of useful information on the subject or alternatively, give us a call on 0845 22 55 923 to find out more.

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Improve The Security Of Your Files Using Document Scanning

As well as other great features that I have talked about in some of my other articles, document scanning also provides companies with another benefit; improved document security.

Protection from fire, flooding and burglary is becoming increasingly important to businesses these days and a good place to start would be with their documents. Moving from paper-based files to a digital environment can help from a number of perspectives.

After the document scanning process is complete by a professional document scanning company, the files are returned to the client in digital format along with the paper documents as well if they so wish. Because these files are now digital they are received usually on a DVD or some other kind of digital storage device which can be backed up or copied. This means that the files can be saved to any number of locations that you wish as many times as you wish.

Should your computers be stolen from your offices, or should the be the victim of an accident such as fire or flooding, then it's absolutely essential that the documents be retrievable and with digital document management, this is the best way to go about it. When the hardware is replaced, the files and documents can be placed back onto the new systems easily and with as little hassle as possible. When comparing this to if your documents were to be damaged by fire or flooding, there is a major difference as, unless you have duplicated of all your important files elsewhere, you won't be able to get them back. It sounds like a simple idea, but it can end up saving thousands of documents and even saves businesses themselves should the worst happen.

Recent cases such as the Sony Distribution Center in London being set alight within the last year add more fuel to the fire (so to speak) that extra security should be used with important files, especially when they're the only ones that your company has. Arson and burglaries cost companies millions each and every year and often businesses can never recover from the loss than comes with their data being stolen or destroyed. We also live in an increasingly unpredictable world when it comes to the weather which seems to get worse as the years go by.

Adding this to the fact that document scanning makes life easier in the office whilst improving efficiency as well as saving space, time and further costs, a document scanning service to convert all of your files digitally looks like a solid solution to a common problem in the majority of offices. It's also surprisingly good value since document scanning companies tend to have scanning equipment which can scan thousands of papers per day, significantly more compared to the standard commercial scanners that are available on the high street. This means that your documents can be scanned and back to you much quicker than you might imagine and therefore costs are lowered due to it not taking too long, depending on how many documents you have to scan and what kind of indexing you'll need doing to them.

Document scanning companies such as Pearl Scan Solutions, here in the UK, help hundreds of companies each and every year to come up with a solution that is best for them to suit their security, efficiency and cost saving needs. If you'd like to know more about document scanning, the process of document scanning or would like to know how it can be great for your business, contact Pearl Scan on 0845 22 55 923.

Do you need a digital document management system?

There are a lot of companies, both big and small, converting their documents and using digital document management with tremendous results. But does your business need what digital document management can offer?

The best thing to say would be that if you're a company with very few or no documents, the answer is probably no. That's kind of a given, but organisations that have as few as one hundred documents in need of conversion can find that their productivity improves impressively. Digital document management is usually used by companies that have documents in the thousands or even millions, but that's no to say that you can't benefit from it. It's simply a matter of looking at how much time is spent going through paper-based documents and how much time can be saved by the ability to find them digitally.

Therefore, the majority of companies that have a quantity of documents that they use on a regular basis could certainly benefit from digital document management. By getting your paper documents converted digitally, you can add them to the same database as your current digital documents and they will all be accessible from the same place by a simple computer search.

At the end of the day, digital document management is all about improving the way that you work while providing the least hassle when going about doing that. Because everything becomes computer based it is made to be easier to find and quicker to access and use by as many people as needed at any given time. Efficiency that companies who use digital document management has proven to be quite impressive, particular firms in law and finance who can have hundreds of thousands of documents to use at any given time.

Digital document management also offers users the ability to save lots of space by allowing you to dispose of the paper documents after the digitisation process has taken place. The space saved can be useful and be used more resourcefully instead of being taken by cabinets and filing systems. This is also especially useful if your company keeps documents in storage at a storage facility adding monthly costs to your bills. Getting your files digitised and added into a digital document management system can remove this immediately and with great financial effect on top of the amount of time saved and efficiency improved.

It wouldn't be easy to say yes or no to the question, but to truly see if you need a digital document management system putting in place you need to assess how your company deals with the documents that it has, or get a company to come and do it for you. Document scanning and management company's will usually offer this service to offer you the best solutions for you. However the simple answer is that, yes, most companies that have a great deal of paper-based documents can benefit from having them made digital and added into a digital document management system from many different reasons.

To find out more, please visit our official page on digital document management.

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Document Scanning in Business Reaps Big Benefits

We are currently embracing a fascinating trend, one which can be useful along with interesting; digitising the documents.

There is a rising trend in software programs that allows you to store your personal files for example statements, bills and other general household documents onto your computer inside PDF form, literally processing it away so your paper version can be disposed regarding. It has become an improving fascination in home existence, but what about elsewhere? We don't necessarily think about it, but work is exactly where we utilize more paper than anywhere else usually, so it seems sensible that the actual trend must also move into the workplace. After just about all, we do these items to help to make our living easier and most of us spend most of our lives within our work so that it just makes sense to deliver this sensibility together with you. It can easily obviously be described as a much bigger task in order to digitise your whole office's documents with respect to the quantity you have, but it isn't necessarilly as hard while you might envision. Document scanning companies offer the service of scanning, converting as well as indexing documents in mass and there's usually one or more in your region wherever you are, you merely may not have realised this. Once report scanning companies were viewed as companies offering something deemed high end whereas today, for lots of larger as well as smaller organisations, the service they offer is important in bettering efficiency, giving back much needed space as well as saving companies significant money. They generally take your documents as well as digitise these using top quality document checking equipment which could scan 1000s of documents daily and also the files will likely then be listed. Indexing any document will be effectively identifying it after a relevant item inside the document alone, for example in the event you wanted in order to find the document with a reference quantity or consumer number or name. This can make the seeking process a great deal easier and saves an individual searching via physical documents and discover the file that you'll require when it's needed, which, thanks in order to document scanning services for example these, can generally return instand final results, saving the company's valuable time. Digitising your own organisation's documents through record scanning additionally produces any safer as well as future proof means of keeping the important documents secure. Should the actual worst happen along with your documents were involved with a fireplace, there's no returning, but should they are digitised as well as saved on to a network or even through a cloud program, they may be easily retrievable at any time from virtually any device with an internet and network connection. Multiple cases of the files may be open at the same time with no need to reveal the useage regarding particular data files also. Document scanning is one of those rare basics for organizations today that has very few, if any, flaws. It will save time, money as well as space and gives back so much more. Paper will always be around in a few capacity but it's also important to realise in which we're moving away from it, just like we have been in our own home lives. It's much more important in the office than it really is at residence because of all ways that it will also help business, as properly as eco. Final ideas: When selecting a document scanning company, do your homework. Check for that ISO 9001: 2000 accreditations plus the ICO qualification for lengthy data protection. It helps you to visit the company when you can, especially if you're looking at creating a larger level of documents being scanned. This is a big decision then one that ought to be treated together but it will be worth it in the end and the huge benefits will end up being on show for all to notice.

Source: Pearl Scan Blog

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