Businesses looking to take advantage of the power of going paperless face an interesting conundrum: once you are using digital files, where do you store them? A digital filing system can be a great way to increase your office's productivity by lowering the costs of storing, sharing and backing up information. There are a lot of different digital filing systems, but what makes one better than another? Here is a list of key features that you shouldn’t pass up when choosing a way to manage your digital information.
Versatility
Some digital filing systems are restrictive and confined when compared to more versatile options. Before uploading your information, make sure there are multiple ways to access or export your information, and that you are not locked into one system. A real digital office makes it easy for you to get your information OUT in addition to being able to interact with other digital services. Otherwise, it can be difficult to collaborate across offices, and even harder to share information with people outside your organization.
As an example of versatility, OfficeDrop lets you link your account with other systems like Evernote and Google Docs. You can also easily share documents through OfficeDrop and can also download PDFs as needed.
Security
Of course you will want to review the security features of any digital filing system where you will be storing important information. Key features that you should check for include:
- Backup
- Firewall
- Encryption
- Password protection
If these features are not easily accessible or clearly stated by your digital filing provider, you should probably consider a different service.
Search
Document search allows you to look across your entire document store with one simple search bar. If your digital filing system doesn’t have a search feature, you’re forfeiting potentially the most attractive and productive aspect of digital document management. Before choosing a filing system, be sure it has a search function! Since OfficeDrop converts all documents to text-searchable PDFs, you’re able to search and retrieve any document with search terms contained in the title or body of the document.
Accessibility
Speaking both to points of access, and learning curve, accessibility is key when choosing a digital filing system. If you’re going to ask employees and clients to access documents from a digital storage area, then the interface should be simple enough for them to learn the system in a few hours.
Accessibility also means you can securely access your documents from anywhere. If you can only access your information from a single place or computer then you may as well have paper stuck in a filing cabinet. It is common these days to have information securely stored in the cloud so that any document can be securely accessed from any internet connection. Again, be sure to review the security features and be sure any data is encrypted when being accessed online.
Hopefully these are helpful guidelines that will make it easier for you to evaluate digital filing systems. Just remember - the point of digital filing is to take advantage of technology. Choose the digital filing system that allows you to get the very most out of your documents.
About OfficeDrop
OfficeDrop is a cloud filing system, scanning software provider and document scanning service that helps small businesses manage paper and digital documents. OfficeDrop provides tools that sync businesses’ desktops and scanners with an online search engine and cloud filing cabinet. The affordable service saves businesses time and money by enhancing paper based collaboration and workflows, and by bringing paper to digital platforms. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, OfficeDrop was founded in 2007 and has won awards such as AlwaysOn Global 250 and MITX Technology Awards. For more information, visit www.officedrop.com.
