Document Digitisation: What it means, Why it’s important, and When you should do it

Way back when, offices were filled with file racks and shelves to store important documents. Safes were often the next option for documents too sensitive to have in an open file cabinet. Every office had its cabinet, and some even had rooms dedicated to storing files once cabinets were full. But how sustainable is this practice? Not very.

What happens when all the file rooms are full? Options include archiving, creating another room, or destroying information. There’s only so much you can keep physically, which brought about the need for document digitization.

What is Document Digitization?

Simply put, digitization is converting paper-based files into digital versions accessible on computers or other digital devices. Paper documents are scanned or photographed and stored in a Document Management System (DMS). The goal is to transform unstructured data, which a computer cannot process, into structured data. This can mean capturing static documents or converting handwritten text into digital format. Media files like audio can also be converted from analog to digital.

Digitization can be tedious, especially with many pages to capture. That’s why most organizations hire document digitization companies like MaxFiles to facilitate this process. Using modern scanners, cameras, and our proprietary DMS, we make the transition from cabinet to cloud easy.

Still not convinced about ditching cabinets for digitization? Here are some reasons to reconsider.

Why Document Digitization is Important

Physical document storage has its limits. Even if you have few documents now, the need for backups and the inevitable space expiration mean you should consider going digital sooner rather than later.

Low Cost of Maintenance

Consider the costs of file racks, cabinets, safes, and human security to protect physical documents. Add to that the time spent rummaging through unstructured data to find important documents. Digitization offers significant savings here.

After document capture, the next stage is indexing—categorizing data and giving them identifiers like names or numbers. This makes searching for documents simple, saving you hundreds of paid work hours and multiple human resources monthly. Transitioning to machine-readable data is straightforward. In no time, documents can be in image, editable document, and PDF formats, using scanners with AI capabilities to extract needed data from originals.

Data on Cloud – Safe & Easily Accessible

One problem with paper documents is their need to be stored in one place, in the right order, consuming space. There’s also the risk of loss or destruction. With MaxFiles, scanned documents are stored on cloud software, allowing access to valuable data from anywhere online, while the original data is available on your digital device.

Cloud storage offers safety and accessibility, providing backups and ensuring your data is always available. You can search from any location using any device to recover important documents.

When Should You Digitize Those Documents?

The need for digitization is ever-present, and no time is too early.

The most important signal is rising expenses for maintaining physical documents. If you need additional cabinets or rooms for files, or still rely heavily on printing papers for internal communication, you’re missing opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance collaboration, save costs, and improve document accessibility.

You don’t have to look far to get this done. Our team at MaxFiles has helped 80+ companies digitize documents on various scales. Talk to our team here to learn more about our document digitization solutions.

MaxFiles brings a comprehensive suite of tools for document management, electronic document management systems, document management applications, and best practices. Our solutions offer the best document management system features, enabling workflow automation, business process automation, and more.

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Why Use Document Digitization?

By adopting a robust document management system, businesses can streamline workflows, improve process efficiency, and enhance collaboration. Electronic document management systems like MaxFiles offer significant advantages over traditional methods, including better data security, cost savings, and accessibility.

Join the digital transformation today with MaxFiles and experience the benefits of document management, business process automation, and workflow optimization firsthand. Contact us for a demo and see how MaxFiles can revolutionize your document management processes.

Ready to transform your document management? Book a demo with MaxFiles today!