Document Scanning Services Because Time Is Not On Our Side

On a recent vacation, I made the time to dig into a book by Karen Kingston entitled, “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui.” I selected this book, after having witnessed a neighbor’s house almost destroyed by a gas pipe that had been struck. Thankfully, the family members were all safe. The house of course, could be rebuilt. I still felt sadness, though, for the possible loss of photos, letters, documents, children’s drawings on the refrigerator and other priceless and irreplaceable mementos that could have been lost.

It was at that moment I decided it was time for me to dismantle my own personal files, digitize important documents (storing instead in the cloud) and preserve priceless memories like my third-grade report card where my teacher said that “I talked too much in class.” I also started thinking about all the organizations that stored my important records like hospitals, doctor’s offices, schools, colleges, etc. Would those documents be there if I needed to access them? Have they been scanned or somehow destroyed over the years?

By nature, we often fail to plan ahead. We just don’t think it could happen to us and are blindsided when destructive events occur. When it comes to ensuring sensitive documents are scanned and protected, time just is not on our side. We need to make safeguarding our most important assets a priority, and this applies both personally and professionally.

Within Konica Minolta, I support our legal and finance services & solutions. And every single day, I see opportunities for our customers to prevent catastrophic loss and security breaches, in particular, their law practice. In this day and age, law firms must be proactive to protect not only their legal data but that of their clients, as well. If this is the case, then how do we respond to some of the top reasons legal professionals and firms hesitate to protect themselves?

• If it Isn’t Broken: Some think they just don’t need to bother going digital, but conversion will someday be a government requirement (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley and HITECH laws and the growing demands by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for maintaining employee records) as well as a customer expectation. So, there’s no better time to start than right now!
• Sensitivity: Sensitive documents can be securely scanned and shared, as opposed to paper copies being shared, mailed and couriered (See: The Importance Of Secure File Sharing For Companies With Sensitive Data). Konica Minolta’s bizhubs have security options at the device along with collaboration tools like, Dispatcher Phoenix Legal which can assist with scanning and routing documents to their end destination, offering more security than paper sharing.
• Time: Many people hesitate to act because even though they think the work is easily done in-house, they believe it could take ten interns working clear until the end of time to get this task accomplished. It may seem a daunting task to get started digitizing your file cabinets and long-term storage facilities filled with banker boxes, but that collection only grows larger on a daily basis, making the task bigger each day. Learn more about Konica Minolta’s secure on- or off-site Legal Scanning Services that can take this task (and the nagging concerns at the back of your mind) off your plate.
• Budget: Many fear extensive costs and insecurity of outsourcing scanning services. Outsourcing this amount of work to efficient, professional, grade scanning services can save time, money, materials and (lots of) storage. Konica Minolta’s outsourced scanning/conversion services have superior scanning equipment and government-approved security clearances so you can get busy counseling clients.

Legal practices have much to gain by cutting back on hardcopy paper. It will make the job of doing work easier, spare your staff for the jobs they’re trained to do, and give you peace of mind knowing that you’ve improved the control you have over both your own business and that of your clients. Make the effort now to transition to secure, legal electronic documents and working toward your workplace of the future. Maybe you’ll find yourself with a measure of improved feng shui in your office space, as well.