If your physical documents are crowding your office, then you are probably searching for a way to get rid of them. Since many of these documents are vital for your business, destroying them is out of the question. As such, the idea of using off site document storage has likely come to mind. This, however is not a good idea. Here are four big reasons why:
1. You can't access your documents when you need them
Although many of your documents are in the way right now, you are retaining them for a reason: you will eventually need to use them. If all of your documents are stored off-site, however, using them will be a hassle and cause you to waste a lot of time. This can actually make your workplace even less efficient then when your paper documents were scattered around the office.
2. You can't keep your documents secure
When you store your documents off-site, who is protecting them? How are they protecting them? Your sensitive documents are the safest when you have control over how they are secured. When you store your documents at an off-site facility, you completely lose this control. If data is compromised for any reason, it will be difficult to take appropriate action. If you handle documents that contain a great deal of sensitive data, this is an especially big problem.
Also, keep in mind that when your documents are stored off-site, you are not managing their organization either. An off-site storage facility, which manages countless other physical assets in addition to your paper documents, has a higher risk of losing your documents than you do. If your team misplaces documents on-site, you know for a fact that they are, at the very least, in your office.
3. It will be more expensive to store your documents
Off-site document storage means off-site costs. You will have to add this expense to your recurring budget. Also, remember that you still have to cover the costs of the paper itself as your documents are produced, which as Yale recently discovered when they made a minor cutback in their paper use, can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars without your knowledge.
4. There are better alternatives
Despite the facts discussed in the three sections above, we are not suggesting that you retain your current paper document storage system. It is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible. Instead of storing your documents off-site – and dealing with the issues that come with it – you should convert your paper documents into digital ones. Here are the benefits that this type of record management solution has over off-site document storage:
- Low cost
- Easy document management
- Never lose a document again
- Easy to implement
- Secure on site storage
In addition to the benefits listed above for document storage, converting your documents to digital files will also allow you to cut back on your paper use, saving you even more time and money. This process is easy and inexpensive. Since it will be integrated into your current computer system, there is little more you have to do once your digital document management system is set up.
While off-site document storage will solve one problem, it will create several others
Your documents are some of your organization's most important resources. Instead of storing your documents at an off-site facility, store them right where you can protect them, reduce their cost, conveniently access them and keep them out of the way with the power of digital technology.
