What is digitisation?

While many businesses understand the value of digitising their business architecture, they may not know how to integrate digital technologies for maximum effect. Leaders seeking to support remote staff and protect data can rely on DX for enhanced connectivity and security in mission-critical workflows.

Benefits of digitisation

Organisations recognise digitisation as a necessary step because it impacts data security, accessibility, and recovery capacity. It also notably affects cost.

Strengthened security

Digitisation enhances the protection of sensitive data. Companies can encrypt and regularly back up digital records, which strengthens data security and reduces the risk of data loss or damage. Notably, digital systems also log user access and enforce fine-grained permissions so that only authorised staff handle confidential information.

This level of control and oversight makes it easier for organisations to meet compliance requirements by automating retention policies and minimising human error in record management.

Improved accessibility

Digitisation improves the accessibility of information for distributed teams. Users can access digitised records anytime and anywhere via internet-connected devices, enabling effective remote and mobile work. Moreover, staff can locate needed data in seconds by performing keyword searches, rather than manually searching through physical files.

Through digitisation, teams are also able to share digital files instantly, allowing colleagues across departments or locations to collaborate on documents in real time without delays. This convenient access to information streamlines workflows and ensures everyone can obtain up-to-date data as needed.

Enhanced data recovery

Digitisation enhances data recovery capabilities across industries. Organisations can securely back up digital records in multiple locations, protecting data from local hardware failures or disasters.

In the event of data loss, these backups allow quick restoration of information and minimise downtime, whereas physical records lost to events like fire or flood are gone forever. This resilience is a cornerstone of modern disaster recovery strategies.

Enhanced cost efficiency

Digitisation drives cost efficiency across industries by streamlining workflows and reducing reliance on physical resources such as paper, storage space, and on-site infrastructure. Specifically, organisations cut printing, maintenance, and storage expenses by replacing paper-based processes with digital systems.

Moreover, the automation of routine tasks through software further lowers labour costs by minimising manual effort — while maintaining productivity. These efficiencies improve operational cost structures.

5 steps for implementing a successful digitisation plan

Iron Mountain bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds. We offer a five-step approach to guide businesses toward a digital architecture:

These five steps align with the phases of digitisation and digitalisation, which together drive successful digital transformation efforts. Let’s consider each phase individually to clarify what businesses can achieve at every stage of their new digital strategy.

Phase one: Digitisation

You have identified the need to create a digital representation of the physical data and resources essential to your operations. Digitisation is the first phase of your business transformation process.

Scan every piece of paper and save it as a digital document. For example, convert each file folder containing paper records into an editable PDF. Once you determine which data to transfer, convert all key documents, records, and invoices.

Next, process these records with image editing platforms to ensure high-quality digital documents. Implement a metadata and indexing process so you can retrieve information by entering related keywords.

Before proceeding further, conduct a quality assurance check and then back up and archive your data. This process streamlines workflow and spares authorised personnel from needing to be on site to access paper records stored in filing cabinets. Depending on how many filing cabinets your business has accumulated, this step may take time. The second component of a digitisation strategy involves securely disposing of old paper-based records. Once you store a digital facsimile of all key documents, you no longer need to allocate space to filing cabinets or storage areas for old records.

Outsourcing the digitisation of paper-based data and resources can ensure precise, effective completion of these steps. It also saves your workforce the time and effort of adding these tasks to their daily responsibilities.

Phase two: Digitalisation

Once you have identified and digitised your paper-based data, storing it in an online repository allows you to take advantage of increased security and unlock new business applications.

You have completed the first phase of your digital transformation strategy — now it’s time to benefit from your efforts. Here are some ways to use your new digital tools to improve organisational efficiency:

• Cloud storage provides greater flexibility, scalability, and reliability for your records and gives remote workers easier access to critical information. While paper records can be lost, damaged, or destroyed, digital data remains safe and accessible with a few keystrokes.
• Automated workflows enhance productivity for employees who handle large volumes of data and records. Your accounting, human resources, IT, and sales teams can source, edit, and update data crucial to business performance.
• The digital enablement of your workforce encourages them to embrace new technology and improve the efficiency of existing tasks. Automating routine administrative duties reduces bottlenecks and allows your workforce to focus on initiatives that move your business forward.
• Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can automatically extract essential data from your digitised documents, enabling you to locate the right information and send it to authorised users across your organisation, regardless of their location.

Iron Mountain understands that true digital transformation is not a linear process. While you have automated several workflows and unlocked new ways to conduct business operations, the technological landscape continues to evolve. To maintain good data hygiene and ensure the continuity of your efforts, now is the time to fully embrace the concept of digital transformation.

The Iron Mountain solution

To recap, here is what you accomplish by digitising and digitalising your organisational infrastructure:

• You inventory your entire backlog of old paper-based records.
• You determine which files to digitise, store, and destroy.
• You successfully automate several mission-critical workflows and unlock new insights and metrics.

Iron Mountain provides comprehensive guidance every step of the way. It does not simply offer services for digitisation and document storage, but partners with business leaders and IT professionals to guide, navigate, and maintain digital transformation.

Our Information Management and Content Services Platform solutions improve the efficiency of your organisation’s most important processes while addressing industry-specific challenges. Achieving a truly digital business model is only valuable if you fully reap its benefits. The Iron Mountain team equips business leaders and IT professionals with strategies to remain at the forefront of the evolving digital landscape.

With Iron Mountain InSight, you have continued access to a platform designed to keep your newly digital business model operating at peak efficiency. You gain predictive analytics and actionable insights through ML-based classifications of your company’s digital information. By adding structure, context, and metadata to your key business data, you can analyse enriched content that informs streamlined workflows throughout your business architecture.

To learn more about how Iron Mountain has helped organisations achieve digital transformation, visit our customer success stories page. When you’re ready to explore how we can partner with you to future-proof your business, contact Iron Mountain. Our dedicated team of experts stands ready to help you unlock the power of the digital age.