Document management might not be the most exciting part of running a company, but it’s essential for doing good business. Not only does the filing of one document cost $20 on average, but companies also spend around $120 in labor to find a misplaced file. Considering that one out of every 20 documents is lost, you can imagine the total cost of bad document management. More importantly, losing legal documents could get your business in big trouble. Data handlers have 30 days to report the breach or loss of these types of files. If they fail to do so, they can get up to five years in jail, whereas businesses may face multiple class-action lawsuits.
The main problem is that losing documents is actually very easy. They can be misplaced, burnt in a fire, be saved in a corrupted drive or server, get stolen… and the list continues. So, how can you keep your documents (and your business) safe from all these threats?
Go Paperless
Besides being more expensive, storing documents in their physical form is a safety hazard. If a fire breaks out or there’s a flood, you lose all your important files in one go. The cost associated with document loss is so high that most businesses shut down after these types of disasters. Documents that are stored locally may also be stolen, especially if you don’t have lockable cabinets.
However, everything will be safe if you digitize your documents and store them in the cloud. In this case, we recommend using Raven. Its scanners come with built-in software that uploads documents to Raven servers automatically. Additionally, it’s easy to find documents with Raven’s AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities, making it the perfect solution for record-keeping.
Encrypt Your Documents
Of course, just because your documents are in the cloud, that doesn’t mean criminals won’t have access to them. Hackers will do their best to breach companies’ systems to get their hands on confidential information and ask for a hefty ransom. That’s why it’s necessary to encrypt your documents before storing them in the cloud. This way, even if a cybercriminal steals your company’s data, they won’t be able to crack the code and actually see the document.
Raven Cloud keeps files safe from prying eyes by being HIPAA compliant and offering military-grade encryption (128-bit and 256-bit AES). The best part is that you can get Raven Cloud completely for free. However, keep in mind that the company is only able to ensure SSL/TLS encryption while the data is going from your scanner to the company’s servers. So, we highly suggest setting up a VPN on your router for extra security.
Have Various Backups
The same way your business is susceptible to natural disasters, cloud servers can also go down due to a power shortage or even an earthquake. Although the possibility of something like this happening is slight, it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s why Raven Cloud stores data across at least two zones of the same region to ensure maximum availability of your files, even in the event of large-scale disruptions. The company also integrates with major cloud backup services, such as Box, Dropbox, and OneDrive. So, you can back up documents on multiple cloud services simultaneously when you digitize a document.
Control Access To Confidential Files
The only people who should have access to confidential files are the ones who actually need them for their daily operations. By providing permission settings, Raven makes it easy for you to manage multiple users without fear of them accessing documents they shouldn’t. You can control whether team members can view or edit documents and lock access to files and folders with role-based security.
Train Your Employees
It doesn’t matter how much you invest in technology – if your employees don’t know the importance of secure data management and how to work with the software and hardware you’ve purchased, they won’t follow document management best practices. Fortunately, Raven scanners are pretty straightforward to use and operate similarly to other office scanners or printers. Still, make sure to gather your team and explain the steps you’re taking to store classified data safely and how to navigate the Raven Cloud. It’s less likely for a team member to make a mistake when everyone is on the same page.