Back scanning is a term often used to describe the process involved in scanning a significant paper archive. Customers looking for a “back scan” will normally either have hundreds of boxes in storage off site with a records management company or simply have storage boxes distributed throughout the company over numerous departments.
Either way the amount of paper to be scanned with be of a high volume – a document count in the millions or high hundreds of thousands is quite common.
There are a number of motivators that encourage organisations to use a back scanning service. They may include:
- Ongoing storage costs are spiralling out of control. Often the bill for a few boxes in storage will be pretty insignificant. Gradually though the number of boxes going into storage increases and before you know it the invoice is becoming questionably large. Unless you are very organised its easy to store boxes that you don’t even need but perhaps at the time you weren’t quite sure about whether to keep them or not.
- Retrieval of boxes is too slow or is becoming complicated
- Box storage is an archaic and out of date practice that doesn’t fit in with your companies style or best practices.
- Sharing of documents is becoming almost impossible.
- You are looking to use an EDM system moving forwards but ahead of doing this you need to get your paper documents into an electronic archive. Once the back scan is complete new documents can be either created digitally or scanned into the EDM system to maintain a paperless or paper light office.
- Floor space is at a premium and the space could be used more efficiently.
- There are concerns about theft, fire and flood damage