Without dust, dim light and endless rows of shelves, there are no real archives? This is probably the case in film and television – but in reality, digital archives have been established for many years. The atmosphere at your desk may not be as mysterious and time-honoured, but a digital archive has real benefits. However, software that stores documents long-term and makes them accessible must also meet certain requirements. Let’s take a look.
What exactly is a digital archive?
A digital archive is a term for the long-term digital storage of documents, images and other digital data. The archive can be located locally, for example on computers and hard drives physically located in an office, or it can also be located in “the cloud”. A distinction can also be made as to whether the data is saved “openly” in a folder structure on a hard drive or whether, for example, software is used that houses and manages the digital archive.
What does a digital archive have to be able to do?
The first requirement for an archive is that data or documents are stored or saved for the long term (i.e., often 10 years) and that they can be found again, fully readable and unchanged. Security in the physical integrity of the documents is also an aspect, as is protection against access by unauthorised persons. To put it simply, a digital archive must contain documents that are:
- protected against access by unauthorised persons
- saved so that they can be found again
- ensure that they are undamaged!
- ensure they remain readable
- meet legal requirements
Which documents can I archive digitally?
Answering the question, the other way around is actually easier. There are often just a few documents that need to be kept in paper form. This means that you can digitize a high percentage and – if they are archived and recorded correctly – you no longer have to keep the originals. The fact that documents must be kept in the original does not mean that they cannot be digitised. You can include these documents in your digital archive, you just have to keep the paper form correctly. Proper means protected from natural damage such as fire and water, as well as protection against fading of the writing and organised in such a way that an expert third party could examine the documents in a reasonable amount of time.
The following documents will still need a shelf:
- certificates
- notary contracts
- Customs documents
- opening balances
- financial statements
- Incoming invoices from which input tax is claimed
- Export documents where the original has received an official stamp
Document management out of the box – Kick-start your digitalization 💻
Why is software for a digital archive recommended?
A digital archive is available across locations and around the clock. This makes decentralised work child’s play, because going forward no documents or applications will have to be laboriously retrieved from the archive. This shortens the waiting times until you find answers to your questions. Furthermore, the entire archive can be searched with just a few clicks when using appropriate software. Instead of laboriously describing documents with authors, dates or titles, a keyword or, for example, the type of document and the sender is enough to have documents quickly at hand. Once the archive is completely digitised, physical space will also be freed up. Either you save the rental costs for an external archive, or you free up your own space that can be used for other functions.
What should you pay attention to when choosing archive software?
To make things easy for your own employees, you need to connect the archive system to your everyday programs. The more seamlessly the system fits in, the better! If another program has to be opened manually, this is inconvenient. Deep integration into the most commonly used tools makes filing and archiving a matter of course. Removing the requirement of putting old documents in the archive. If the software also recognises what type of document or file it is and intelligently records the required retention period, it becomes even easier. With a reminder function, you can then view “expired documents” and decide whether they should continue to be kept or whether they can be destroyed and free up storage space for new ones.
More than just archiving software – our d.velop document solution also supports the long-term storage of operational documents and makes them quickly and easily retrievable.