In business today, paper documents are still necessary to one extent or another. As we all move towards a paperless existence (in a business sense, at least), paper documents can still be security targets in various ways.
Human Error
Unless you’re perfect (and if you are…….congratulations), you will forget things, lose things, and make honest mistakes. I’ll be willing to bet that within the last month, you’ve gone searching for a document that you neglected to properly file. When you had to stop and spend time searching, did it cause a bottleneck in your business process? Just like digital files, paper documents are highly susceptible to human error. Sometimes, problems in a business process may exist simply because there is no documented process and documents are processed differently every time.
A managed document service can provide document tracking and version control, allowing you to track a document as it moves through your business process, allows you to see who has taken what actions, and which actions are next in the process. Documents can also be indexed so that tracking them down is easier.
Another human trait is our ability to misinterpret directions. Forms may often be filled out incorrectly or without all the necessary information, possibly bringing that particular business process to a standstill. Some managed document services may include automated data capture, which eliminates the need to rekey information, thereby reducing human error.
Natural Causes
By their very nature, paper documents are susceptible to damage from water, fires, or other natural causes. Ink from a pen can bleed if it gets wet, rendering a signature illegible or even void. Fire damage to paper documents is self-explanatory. Post fire, those documents and the information on them is lost forever.
By utilizing digital signature capture, you can apply personalized signatures to your digital documents, ensuring they are protected from damage. Scanning paper documents into digitized forms also provides you with safe, protected versions of those documents. On a practical level, a managed document service will allow you to forgo those bulky and poorly-secured filing cabinets with a secure, digital repository where you can store, retrieve, and manage all your documents in one place.
Data Breaches
Paper documents, which usually live in a filing cabinet, it can easily be accessed and stolen. At most businesses, there are at least of few documents among all the others that contain highly sensitive information. If that information were compromised, you’d likely have no way of finding out who had done it.
With a managed document service, that information cannot be accessed, lost, or changed without the proper authority. The service allows you to control who has access to information at multiple intra-business levels. Version and tracking control options can paint a clear picture of every action taken on the document.
For information on how Capital Business Systems can help you implement a managed document service to suit your business and your budget, please contact us.