What are the four main elements of secure document archiving?.. A complete guide
Document archiving, or document storage, is a very important step in the document management process. Once a file becomes inactive, it is sent to archive for safekeeping. Years ago, this involved printing files and physically storing them in file cabinets and storage rooms.
Today, companies maintain their documents electronically, enhancing the document archiving process while improving how stored files are retained, managed, and retrieved. However, there are several factors that one must address to ensure long-term storage success.
When should you archive data?
There are many good reasons to archive data, but you need to keep in mind when this data will be most useful before you decide to store it. Archiving data that is not needed frequently results in wasted space and extra work to access it when needed.
Additionally, it's generally a good idea to archive data that is older than you currently need because you'll likely need it at some point in the future. Conversely, data that is still relevant today can be left in place and re-analyzed when needed.
Why is archiving necessary?
1. Meet regulatory requirements
Data protection is something that most companies are keenly aware of. In light of recent significant updates to data protection law (GDPR, anyone?), companies are now under increasing pressure to properly and securely manage consumer data – or face hefty fines. This requires that they have effective data management processes and secure document storage solutions.
2. Reduce costs and save space
Whether you run a large international company or a startup, it's important to save costs where you can. Document archiving can help with this by freeing up space and reducing operating costs. The fewer documents you have on site to manage, the less time and money you have to spend managing them.
3. Improve workflow and performance
Proper document archiving can improve workflow and performance in your business. According to estimates, up to 80 percent of production data need not be easily accessible. By archiving this junk data, you can simplify access to the rest of your data and improve your performance.
The four main elements of secure document archiving
Scalability and performance
The archive must provide the capacity to handle ingestion volumes within the time windows necessary to provide the company with access to documents when needed in business operations. In addition, the archive must provide reasonable response times for document search and retrieval, and the solution must have the ability to perform ingest and archive functions without negatively impacting users' overall system performance.
Accessibility and availability
The archive must provide a mechanism for authorized users to search and retrieve documents. In addition, the archive must provide the ability for some external users to retrieve documents, such as electronic submission to clients or agents.
Security and protection
The archive must have the ability to restrict access to documents, such as private, confidential, privileged, confidential, or essential to business continuity. This may include requirements for encryption of stored content.
Retention and integrity
An archive must be able to retain documents for specified periods of time, taking into account legal, regulatory, financial, operational and historical requirements. In addition, the archive must provide an appropriate guarantee of authenticity. Finally, the archive should provide the ability to retain information on an immutable storage platform when needed.
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