Document Storage
by: Admin
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Document management has a storage function, as well as a creation, retrieval, backup, and disposal function. This article will focus on the storage function, the what, how and why.
What Is a Document Store?
A paper folder is a well known document store. The folder comes with some kind of fastener that can hold the documents securely without falling off. In today's electronic world, you will find a paper folder icon to symbolize the document storage function. This symbol indicates that you can store documents in that folder, and come back to the folder to retrieve it.
The electronic folder is more a logical device rather than an indication of any specific area on the computer storage device. The documents in that folder might be stored in a scattered fashion at several locations on the storage media.
How Do You Store Documents?
You are quite familiar with saving documents that you create on the computer. You select the folder to save it and the document is linked logically to that folder. You can also drag and drop documents from one folder, or the computer desktop, to another folder.
For example, if you scan a paper document, the scanned image file might appear on the desktop. It can then be moved to a clearly named folder using the drag and drop feature.
Why Store Documents?
It takes time, effort, and money to arrange storage space and then manage the storage. Why go to all the trouble to store documents at all? Why not dispose them once you have finished with them?
The issue is with the "finished with them". You might not be finished with a document after the initial use. You may need it later for several purposes. These include:
- Decision Support: Management decisions achieve greater quality when they are based on relevant information than on a general idea. It's these documents that provide relevant information for basing decisions. For example, the marketing manager can chart the sales trends by different criteria, such as regions, sales channels, products, and seasons, and obtain high-value insights for planning marketing campaigns.
- Legal Remedies: If you want to enforce a claim in a court of law, or defend a claim made on you, relevant documents enable you to prove your case.
- Legal Compliance: Business regulations like employment laws, health & safety regulations, and accounting compliance require businesses to maintain certain records containing prescribed information. In such cases, if you don't store relevant documents, you can't prove the correctness of these records.
- Recording History: Businesses are typically proud about their history of success and growth. By archiving all documents, it becomes possible to preserve the history in an authentic manner for future generations. Such history is often used for marketing campaigns and brand building.
The Document Storage Function
To achieve the intended purposes, the storage function must be carried out in a systematic manner after considering all the requirements. For example, the naming of folders and classification of the documents into different folders must serve the purpose of easy retrieval of the documents later (though this problem is solved better nowadays using search programs). Document management system design is a separate issue that will be discussed elsewhere.
About the Author
Ademero, Inc. develops document archiving software. Visit their website devoted to document archiving software. Browse the resources section which includes the largest collection of posts from real users reviewing all of the most popular Document Imaging software available.
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