As companies continue to adopt digital technology, backfile scanning and document digitization are great steps toward digital transformation. In this blog post, we outline the many benefits of paper digitization including increased productivity and security along with solutions to advance digital transformation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way that work gets done. One of the biggest, and potentially longest-lasting impacts of the pandemic on the business world is how it has motivated companies to adopt digital technology.
While the accelerated shift to digital solutions will ultimately provide many benefits, the abruptness of the changeover has left many businesses and organizations with sub-optimized setups. Quick action was necessary in the face of a global pandemic, but developing a digital transformation that will leverage the full might of digital technology and automation takes time - and data.
That’s why the next logical step in digital transformation for many businesses and organizations is backfile scanning or backfile paper digitization - the process of converting old paper documents into searchable, shareable, fully digital assets. Advanced backfile scanning solutions can unlock the valuable data trapped in your old documents - both structured and unstructured.
The speed at which businesses are digitizing and evolving makes now the time to move forward or risk falling behind!
Despite the widespread movement towards digital transformation, what keeps an organization from making a move—even now? In many cases, it’s simply a matter of not knowing where to begin.
Here is why you should start paper digitization and overcome that resistance:
Increased Productivity and Visibility
A study conducted by McKinsey found that workers were spending 19% of their time searching for and gathering information. This shows how inefficient document management can take up productive hours of employees and slow down processes affecting business.
Many organizations hire dedicated staff to manage physical records rooms. The often lengthy process includes the staff receiving a document request, walking to a separate and secure area to retrieve it, submitting the document for redaction, waiting for the redacted copy, then physically picking it up and delivering it to the requester. And this process is repeated at every request!
Backfile scanning and paper digitization makes content more organized and searchable, reducing the time it takes to respond to information requests and eliminating costly, time-consuming, and error-prone manual processes.
Streamlining processes through paper digitization can directly affect productivity and, ultimately, the bottom line. Fewer employees are needed to manage the documents, and you have the option to restrict users and define their roles. Another benefit is the audit trail that gives you complete visibility of who viewed or edited a document.
Downstream Integrations
Digital transformation is helping businesses optimize nearly every facet of their organization. Solutions that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) rely upon inputs of quality data to reach optimization and improve processes as they go.
With Exela’s Backfile Scanning solution features such as advanced optical character recognition (OCR) and intelligent data processing (IDP), you can make your old paper files into something that these systems can read and learn from. Even unstructured documents that were once beyond the reach of intelligent systems’ understanding can now offer a wealth of usable data.
In other words, paper digitization can make the rest of your digital transformation more effective.
Enhanced Security
Security is another crucial benefit of digitizing documents. In a world where data is king, keeping your documents at risk is not an option. Paper documents can be subject to theft, misplacement or mislabeling, and physical damage. Digital documents are much more secure in the event of a flood, fire, or similar disaster, and can be kept under strict security measures that limit access and visibility to only those with proper authorization, while facilitating easy document search and lookup. You can also track who has viewed, downloaded, or changed digital documents, creating a reliable audit trail and added security.
Digitizing Documents with Exela’s Backfile Scanning
For over twenty years, Exela has been helping businesses embrace digital transformation through its high-quality, high-volume document scanning service. Exela’s proprietary line of IntelliScan production scanners are capable of processing up to 654 pages per minute at lower resolutions and 87 pages per minute at high-resolution color settings. Using OCR and IDP, Exela’s document scanning service and digitization systems can accurately capture a wide variety of data types.
Exela’s document scanning service such as Backfile Scanning has converted hundreds of millions of documents and microfilm into more accessible secure digital records. With extensive industry experience, a global footprint, and a robust infrastructure, Exela is well positioned to handle your document digitization project, regardless of size or location.
Document digitization's powerful and visible impact makes it an important step towards digital transformation.
Want to know more about document digitization and backfile scanning? Contact us, and we can help you set up personalized solutions as per your requirement.
