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There are many benefits from changing old inefficient paper processes into modern digital processes that can give reduced Total Cost of Operation (TCO). The easiest to understand is office space reclamation from scanning historic records stored in file cabinets and filing rooms, as well as reduced offsite storage cost. Aim-eDocs can help you understand which files are the important files that should be converted into scanned images. We also help you determine which files should be kept in paper format and managed through a retention cycle until destruction. For ongoing daily paper transaction imaging, Aim-eDocs will consult and train your staff on best practices for capturing future images from paper as it enters the organization.

Employee efficiency is usually the biggest benefit of digital versus paper processes, reducing time to search for important business documents, and translating those hours into core business functions, thus increasing profitability.

Paper is inherently an insecure medium. In business today, we secure our computer systems (desktops, servers and networks) to protect from unauthorized access. By contrast, we seldom secure the areas where we store paper documents (file cabinets, in-trays, internal mail, people’s desks, storage closets). There is no audit log of who accessed the physical paper files, which files were accessed, when, and by whom. If someone has access to the file cabinet, they have access to all files without restriction. And even though a paper document can be locked in a file cabinet, critical business documents can be lost in a fire, flood or other disaster. For these reasons, it is very important for businesses to convert existing important paper business documents into digital images and store them in a secure repository. 

Aim-eDocs provides services and solutions to convert paper documents to scanned images, and combine those with the other important office business documents (eg: Microsoft Office files) in a secure document repository. 

Many offices have between 100,000 and 500,000 pages of important business files stored in cabinets and file rooms. The equivalent images can be stored in less than 10 DVD’s. The office space and cabinetry to house this amount of paper means that building space, electricity, air conditioning, heating and ducting must be provided for paper rather than people. Corporate carbon footprints are being scrutinized. Conversion of paper files into digital images has been recognized as a method towards environmental sustainment, and the association to governmental carbon credits.

Aim-eDocs is committed to best environmental practices. Our target markets include businesses close to easy access routes for rapid transit so that our staff can commute to work sites using rapid transit. To extend our commitment to the environment, where document destruction is a requirement after scanning, Aim-eDocs can arrange for an onsite paper destruction service, with resultant clean carbon content (ie: shredded paper, not plastics) sent to a composting facility.

Efficiency in a business is increased through digital processes. It is very difficult to search across an archive of paper files, whereas a digital archive can be searched in seconds for documents by index data, key words, or phrases – to find relevant documents and drive efficient and accurate business decisions. Digital files can be shared in a secure fashion between many users, whereas paper files can only be accessed by one person at a time. Paper files are also subject to permanent or temporary loss (misfiling) resulting in lost business hours.

Aim-eDocs converts paper files into digital images for storing into an existing Document Management System (DMS), a DMS provided by Aim-eDocs, or a simple network filing structure. As we work onsite, we transfer the digital files continually during the project, so documents can be searched immediately. If a paper file has not yet been scanned, the paper file is still available onsite. By contrast, external service bureaus take weeks or months to transfer digital images, and you lose access to the paper files during the project.

Aim-eDocs will train business users on integrating scanned images with ongoing core business processes once the Aim-eDocs project is finished, to ensure an easy method to continue with conversion of daily paper transactions into digital format.

Certain industries such as Healthcare are recognizing the risk associated with paper documents and are mandating a digital method to store and manage them. Audit trail is important to ensure document validity. Secure access through a document or content management system is often required.

Aim-eDocs can facilitate not only the conversion from paper to digital images, but also facilitate the uploading of digital images and associated index data (metadata) into existing document management systems already in place. Aim-eDocs has the expertise to create the correct linking of data with images into a back-end document management system. Should a business not already have an existing document management system, Aim-eDocs can provide a solution based on the modern FileHold Document Management system. FileHold has user and group level security features to control access to documents, folders, and groups of associated documents, and can manage any content including scanned images, Microsoft Office files, Acrobat PDF files, etc.