Whether you're looking for a disaster recovery solution, enhanced document security, or any other reason, you might be considering investing in a document management system for your company. Document management is a great way to help your business go paperless and preserve records. Here's a look at a few of the things that you need to understand about document management implementation.

Know What You'll Scan 

The first step toward comprehensive document management is identifying what you actually need to store. This means going through all of your company's paper records and sorting out what needs to be retained. Sort everything as best as possible by category and any other organizational necessities so that you can easily scan, organize, and archive the information for later access. 

Look For Indexing Support

Having your company's records scanned and digitally protected is the first step, but it's useless if you can't find and access the information that you need when you need it. That means taking the time to choose a document management platform that will meet your company's needs for later reference. The best way to do this is to choose a document management system that indexes records. Whether it's by means of a checkbox system or data tags, an indexing system makes it easier for you to search for and locate records as you need them.

Ensure Added Data Security

Sometimes, you have records that need extra protection because of access level restrictions. If you're trying to digitize everything and you have records like this, look for a data management platform that will support access levels and tiered security. This way, you can clearly identify those highly secured records and limit their access to only those with authorization.

Establish An Archival Workflow

Once you know what needs to be digitized and which platform you're going to use, you need to establish a workflow process to get the job done. Whether you're scanning by time period or by the type of records, you should determine who is responsible for the document scanning and entry, who will handle organization and sorting, and what happens to those documents once they've been scanned and saved. The more information you can establish upfront, the easier the entire process will be for everyone involved.

Talk with a document management service near you today for more information about the platforms that are available, the choices you should consider, and what your company needs from your records storage.