Many organisations work fully digitally. Tig applications, systems and information islands are the order of the day. Yet we notice many differences within organizations. While one organisation has completely banned paper, other organisations still have a lot of paper on their desks. That is why it is time for a blog to clarify the concept of ‘digitisation’ and to dispel misconceptions about it.
“Our organization is too small for digitization”
A frequently heard argument is: ‘we are too small for digitisation’. It is well known that digitisation has many advantages for large companies, but this does not mean that it has no advantages for SMEs. For example, digitisation has the advantage that your documents are available anytime, anywhere. In a small organisation, you often have to wear several hats, which means that the right information has considerable efficiency benefits at the right time. Even outside office hours and walls. In addition, space is saved that can be used for other purposes, since even in a small organization space can be expensive. Furthermore, safety is better guaranteed. We regularly see documents from small businesses stored in unorthodox places, such as garage boxes or unsafe cellars and attics. It thus complies much better with the ISO and GDPR obligations when it comes to personal data and by digitizing the SME’s has everything clearly and in a structured manner at a glance!
“Digitally I have lost control when it comes to security”
In addition, there are companies that fear that they will encounter security problems when they go digital. The opposite is true. The correct use of digitisation guarantees the security of the documents within the company. Physical archiving creates far more obstacles and risks than digital archiving. No risk of burglary, or water and/or fire damage. Furthermore, there is always a backup and the documents are available to authorised users in several places. Digitisation helps you to comply with the GDPR. Think, for example, of the allocation of retention periods and then being able to apply a destruction policy to this. The possibilities for guaranteeing the security of electronic documents are endless.
“A paperless organisation? Then I have to invest (too) much in digitisation”
The last misconception about digitisation that is discussed is the investment that needs to be made. Digitisation can give the impression that it will cost a lot of time and money. However, this does not have to be the case. Digitisation occurs in many shapes and sizes. Get good advice: apart from the fact that the investment in digitisation always pays for itself in efficiency benefits and thus actually saves costs, external archiving is also often a cheaper, accessible alternative. With external archive storage, you can store your archive at low cost and, if necessary, access all your important documents via Scanning on Demand. Did you know that there are various forms of archive storage? For important documents with long or infinite retention periods, you can choose a package with fully conditioned measures such as temperature and humidity regulation, so that documents can be stored for hundreds of years without damaging the paper. In addition, there are also solutions for more static material, on which, for example, a legal retention period rests. So working without paper does not necessarily mean that you always face high digitisation costs!
In short, no matter how large or small your organisation is, no matter what your objections to digitisation, be open to it and talk to experienced advisors to find a tailor-made solution for you. Want to know more? Then contact us here!
