In a separate article, Document Storage Management, we saw that several requirements make it imperative that business documents be retained for considerable periods of time. The requirements include the needs to prove your claims, to comply with law and to reconstruct data in case of computer crashes.
On this page, we look at the impact of computers on document storage practices.
Computers store data in a digital format. This enables storing huge volumes of data in small devices. For example, 512 million (and more) characters can be stored on a flash disk the size of your thumb.
The typical way to transfer data to computers is to enter relevant details from paper documents into computer records. Large text documents like contracts could be scanned and the resultant graphic-formatted text could be made readable and editable by using Optical Character Recognition technologies.
As a result, it was now possible to store huge volumes of documents (that needed considerable equipment and large rooms earlier) in just one central server computer. You could then sit at your workstation computer and refer to the documents stored in the server computer for day-to-day work.
The filing cabinets and other paraphernalia could now be removed from expensive office premises to lower cost (but probably more safe) locations. The potential for cost reduction was considerable.
New solutions typically bring with them their own set of problems. Computer data storage is no exception. The data stored on computers were open to the risk of wholesale or partial losses. The risks originate from different sources such as:
Data Recovery from damaged disks has become a full-fledged industry these days. These experts have specialized training and facilities and might be able to reconstruct the raw image on the damaged disks into meaningful data. However, even they might not be able to recover data if the disk has suffered further damage.
You can also guard against viruses, hacker attacks and spyware by using anti-virus programs, firewalls and spyware detection programs.
Despite the serious problems mentioned in the last section, the use of computers for storing and processing data have only continued to increase.
We saw above how computers can save on storage costs. There are many more advantages when it comes to processing the data. Computers operate at electronic speeds and with well-designed programs, you could get elaborate management control reports even in real-time. This was something just not possible with manual data processing.
Computers also made collaborative working, even across vast geographical distances, far easier and effective. Data stored in the central server computer could be accessed even from across the globe, provided you had the necessary permissions.
By using computers, you could achieve considerable savings in the cost of data storage. Computer data is subject to damage and loss from new sources and you have to implement carefully developed security procedures. The additional risks to computer data have not halted the pace of computer use in businesses. The advantages far outweigh the risks.