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Implementing processes for digitizing documents

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Kris Sæther

28.07.2020

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2 min

Digitization has been a hot topic for years now. Everybody has been talking about the need to go digital and there has been a “go digital or go broke” aura lingering in the air for a while. I dont know of a single company that hasn't taken steps to digitize. And for most companies a good place to start has been with documents. That's simple enough, you already may have a scanner on your office printer. And as soon as my pile of documents is scanned and stored on the computer I am all digitized.

This has unfortunately been the case for more than just a few businesses over the last few years. 

When digitizing documents there are many things to consider. In my former job I used to help companies digitize their documents. I would always pose 3 questions to help them reflect on the level of digitization necessary for them to stay competitive.

  • What type of documents do you want to digitize?
  • How/where are they stored?
  • Why do you want to digitize?

The level of digitization necessary for your organization to stay competitive is what you should aim for in order to ensure a healthy ROI. Not everybody needs to automate everything. But you can prepare for automation by digitizing your documents now. It will definitely make the manual work you are doing of filing, searching, reusing and sharing documents alot faster.

 

What makes a document Digital

In a few cases just scanning a document may be sufficient. However simply putting a piece of paper in the scanner doesn't really help in most cases. In its simplest form a PDF may just be a picture of the document you want to digitize, and in many cases contain no data points needed in order for you and your colleagues to find information, categorize and reuse the document once it is stored. This is very important, using an OCR software will allow you to truly digitize. Or at least build a digital foundation for your organization to grow and improve upon as technology and possibilities are ever evolving. 

Having a clear picture of what you may want to gain from digitizing is key in order to set up a process that will benefit your organization in the years to come. And asking yourself these three questions before you go through the often painful process of change will help you alot.

And keep in mind that if there is no pain there is no gain. That is a saying that is as valid in the office as it is in the Gym.

 

Ebook collaboration is the new competitive advantage

 

Author picture

Kris Sæther

Kris Sæther is Chief Commercial Officer of Xait. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Media Studies, and has worked in financial communication in London and Frankfurt prior to joining Xait. He has 20+ years experience from the information management industry. Kris is an avid runner and skier, and a passionate fan of the world’s coolest soccer team, Tottenham. If he is not working or running you will find him cheering for his two daughters on the handball court.

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