Information is generated on a daily basis in organizations, which must be managed well because it is this valuable data that determines the value of the business. Paper-based data is being increasingly converted into desired digital formats with the support of document conversion services. Document scanning and document management are often undervalued but it is the ideal method for saving, storing and archiving important documents. It ensures that all the important documents are never lost or damaged and thereby improves the overall efficiency of your organization.
Today, with numerous advancements in technology businesses have adopted cloud services. This is the age of Big Data – customer data, product information, supply chain data, competitor data, employee information and so on. Data is highly significant because it is the one thing that distinguishes one business from another. To ensure compliance with increasing number of regulations, and manage the huge volume of data and documents being generated by organizations, an effective data management strategy is indispensable.
Data has value only if it can be put to good use. In other words, it should be possible to transport data from one place to another as required and appropriately leveraged. When people have quick and real-time access to data, there is a better chance of deriving innovative insights, and achieving a competitive edge.
Given the importance of a proper cloud data management strategy for your business data, here are some relevant considerations:
- Stored data: Most of the time data will be stored behind firewalls and other forms security. It is also important to ensure that the data is encrypted. Encryption of data is the best way to prevent unauthorized access. Hackers mostly target employees’ devices that allow them to dig deeper into the networks. Therefore encryption of data is a must, and make sure to take necessary precautions to restrict access to the decryption key.
- Data in transit: There should be a secure, authenticated and properly encrypted channel between users, device and data. This ensures that the data moves quickly to the end users without compromising on data security. Choosing the right firewall and virtual private network VPN services is important. Most companies focus more on data protection but that is not enough – security of data in transit is also crucial.
- Data access: Employees must be able to access the data at any time but data access should be controlled. Find out the employees who want to access data and create tailored access rights controls that restrict unnecessary access. If anyone requests access to data, they should be authenticated and all data transactions should be recorded. Scanning the requesting device is also important to ensure that it is free from any malware or virus.
- Arriving data: When data arrives at its destination it is important to ensure that it is authentic. This is the key to effectively managing the data and it also minimizes the risk of any data breach. Phishing attacks are often seen in the inbox that fool people into clicking it and it can easily bypass the defence system.
- Backing up data: Most companies understand the importance of backing up data and data recovery and do have good systems in place for this. Make sure to test and validate the ability to restore the backups and recover periodically.
Do not make the mistake of storing all data in one place: Never store all your data back-ups in the same cloud because in case of any disaster or damage no data can be recovered. So create separate multiple backup accounts that allow backup and archival data to be written and read but not deleted. This will protect your business by ensuring DR systems and backups will be available.
Many people do not make optimal use of document conversion and document management solutions. Their business processes still revolve around paper documents. Use of papers documents and highly prone to error, wasteful and inefficient. Paper documents cannot be accessed by multiple users at the same. Moreover, over a period of time these documents gradually deteriorate and lead to loss of important data. Usage of paper documents in organizations is a waste of money and also reduces the efficiency of your staffs and poor customer service. Today many organizations have eliminated use of paper in their offices and started working with digital documents. If you are struggling with large volume paper-based data, approach a reliable document scanning company that can provide quality service at affordable rates. With this first important step, you can be on your way to being a successful business.
