Are document digitization services worth the investment?

Document digitization refers to the scanning of paper-based records and their transformation into more easily storable, searchable, and sharable digital formats (like PDF or Excel). This requires specialized equipment including scanners, cameras, and software to capture your records and create the matching digital files.

If scanning all of your paper files in-house seems like a lot of manual work, you’re not mistaken. That’s why outsourcing to a well-equipped expert partner has become a go-to solution. 

Working with professional document digitization services has many potential benefits that have motivated companies to leap forward in their digital transformation and move beyond the filing cabinet. Here are six of the most impactful ways digitization can help your business:

Document digitization services reduce the lift for your team.

First and foremost, outsourced document scanning services are able to take digitization off of your team’s plate. This means there’s no need for extra staff devoted to the process of scanning and organizing everything. Eliminating any big lifts on your end keeps your team’s focus where it matters most — your products or services and your customers.

Once it’s complete, document digitization can also enable new solutions that further reduce the operational burdens on your team. This is important in today’s market, where labor shortages have increased competition for talent. Your digital transformation makes it easier to integrate into robotic process automation and other technology-enabled efficiencies.

Reduced storage space means reduced overhead costs.

Paper-based record keeping gets expensive in terms of materials and space required for all those file cabinets and document archives. Digitized files will eliminate the need for costly paper storage, reducing your real estate expenses as well as the costs of paper, ink, and printing. Consider that 30% of workplace print jobs are never even retrieved from the printer and 70% of all office waste is paper.

Digital files, by comparison, require very little upkeep. Not only are you saving on rent, but on all the hours employees spend sorting through and organizing physical documents. For companies seeking to move or to expand into other locations, document digitization services make it possible to more easily afford rent on multiple office spaces with the same budget that you’d previously devoted to just a single office.

Increased access to documents and information in a fragmented work environment.

Digitized files instantly upgrade the accessibility of your company’s information. When documents are stored, managed, and shared electronically, it’s easy to access the info you need from anywhere and collaborate with team members in real-time from multiple physical locations. This is an important capability in today’s business world, where hybrid and remote work are deeply ingrained in the way that many businesses operate.

You’re also expanding your hiring options when you empower employees to successfully work remotely. Any businesses looking to scale can leverage this convenience into a competitive advantage.

Reduced business risks.

Digital archiving services actually improve your business’s ability to protect sensitive information and valuable records. With digital records, you’ll enjoy:

• Enhanced security: Digital files are easily password-protected, shared selectively, and regularly backed up, reducing the risk of loss or theft.
• Improved compliance: Easily searchable and shareable digital files help companies to track, double-check, and demonstrate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Disaster recovery: When your files are backed up and stored remotely, there is a much lower risk of data loss due to geographically-specific disasters and other emergencies.

Faster, more efficient employees.

Document scanning solutions are the first step in upgrading to digital record management, streamlining employee workflows by leaps and bounds. Digital files make it possible to smoothly integrate your data across various software platforms and business areas, such as accounting, sales, legal, and HR. This makes for more efficient and accurate record-keeping with less chance that errors will arise as information changes hands.

Among the many operational benefits, you’re quite simply adding hours back into the day of your employees. Research estimates that roughly 1.8 to 3.6 hours of a typical employee’s workday are spent searching for the info they need to do their jobs. Paper is far more time-consuming to sift through than a searchable digital file.

Happier customers!

Finally, an investment in document digitization services ultimately leads to greater customer satisfaction. Easily accessible, searchable, and shareable digital files will greatly accelerate your staff’s response times to customer requests or inquiries.

Today's perceived bar for “high-quality service” is also always increasing. Customers are becoming accustomed to technology that ensures excellence, accuracy, and speed. The vast majority (86%) of organizations now say that AI is “mainstream technology.” If you’re hoping to take full advantage of your digital transformation by supercharging your data with automation, AI, and machine learning, it all starts with getting that data off of paper and into a digital format.

These are just six reasons it’s worth investing in document digitization. If you’d like to learn more, get in touch with Scan-Optics! We’d love to talk about how we can help your business accomplish its unique digital transformation goals.