The Importance of Digitizing Your Documents

Data gets exciting when it becomes actionable.

Let’s be honest, on the surface, data can be dull. At this moment, you likely have ever-expanding volumes of data and digital documents, and in their rawest forms, they just sort of exist. Digitizing this data and its connected documents, creates opportunities to activate the data, making it more meaningful to users and your institution.

Everything from categorizing purchases to enable smarter budgeting to optimized searching that helps identify trends that could alert fraud becomes possible. In these ways and many more, unlocking data’s potential can bring significant improvements to your processes and your customers’ experiences.

Because of its inherent potential, digitizing your documents has shifted from a nicety to the norm for many financial institutions. In this article, we’ll share numerous ways it can become the key to gains in efficiency, growth, and customer satisfaction.

Before we go too far, let’s take a moment to define digitization and explain how it differs from digitalization.

Document digitization is the process of converting physical documents into digital formats such as PDFs, JPEGs, or DOC files. This involves creating searchable and editable digital copies by using scanners and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Untethered from their physical forms, your documents take on multiple personalities.  There is the basic, as-is version, and then there are an infinite number of layers, each capable of presenting the same data in new and exciting ways to address specific concerns and opportunities.

You may have heard of digitalization. While close in appearance and related in action to digitization, digitalization involves transforming business processes through the use of digital technologies. PrintMail has been a leading innovator in digital transformations for financial institutions, and our team can help you understand and implement solutions to achieve your goals.

The Benefits of Document Digitization

If a picture is worth a thousand words, data is worth a million. Digitizing your documents provides significant benefits across a wide spectrum, from accessibility and security to lessening environmental impacts. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.

Enhanced Accessibility and Collaboration

• Digitized documents improve accessibility, allowing multiple users to access and collaborate on files simultaneously from any location​.
• Financial institutions can enable remote work and real-time collaboration among employees, enhancing productivity.

Improved Security:

• Digital documents can be encrypted, password-protected, and stored securely to prevent unauthorized access and loss​ in ways physical documents can not.
• Organizations and individuals view data security as a top concern, with a whopping 86% of Americans being more concerned about their privacy and data security than the state of the U.S. economy. Digitization helps address this by protecting against breaches and losses​.

Cost Savings:

• Organizations can save up to 50% on document storage and management costs by going digital​.
• Reducing paper usage, physical storage space, and administrative costs can lead to significant financial savings.

Better Data Recovery:

• Digital backups ensure documents can be restored even after catastrophic events such as fires or floods. Financial institutions can quickly recover critical documents, minimizing downtime and operational disruption.

Environmental Impact:

• By digitizing documents, companies can reduce their paper usage by up to 90%, contributing to more sustainable practices​. For organizations looking to “walk the walk,” digitization creates an incredible “win-win” situation for organizational goals and measurable climate awareness.
• A commitment to eco-friendly practices can enhance a company’s reputation and appeal to environmentally conscious customers.

Key Processes in Document Digitization

The benefits of digitization are clear, but what is involved and how can it be done efficiently? Let’s take a look at some of the steps and how PrintMail helps assist financial institutions in this process.

Scanning and Image Capture:

High-quality scanners capture text and images from paper documents​​. Financial institutions can digitize everything from invoices to legal contracts.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR):

OCR technology converts scanned images into machine-readable text, making documents searchable and editable​​. Through this process, banks can quickly search for specific transactions or customer information within the digitized documents.

Data Extraction and Indexing:

Extracting and indexing specific data from digital documents allows for easy retrieval and organization​.  Once converted organizations can begin to leverage the data for insights and opportunities to better serve clients.

Document Management Systems (DMS):

Digital documents are stored in secure, centralized repositories, either on-site or cloud-based, ensuring quick retrieval and access control​. Companies can maintain comprehensive, secure records for compliance and auditing purposes.

Best Practices for Implementing Document Digitization

Having a plan on how to approach document digitization is important. PrintMail can help your organization develop goals and strategies to speed adoption and ensure success. Contact us to start a conversation.

Define Scope and Objectives:

Clearly outline which documents to digitize, the goals of digitization, and the expected outcomes​.  By doing so you set the stage to measure your results in meaningful ways, including Return On Investment (ROI).

Assess Readiness:

Evaluate existing document management systems and identify gaps that need to be addressed​​. Conduct a thorough inventory of paper documents to determine the best candidates for digitization.

Select the Right Technology:

Choose appropriate scanning and OCR technologies, and a reliable service provider.. Financial institutions should compare different vendors to find the best fit for their needs.

Ensure Data Quality:

Implement manual checks and automated validation to maintain data accuracy throughout the digitization process​.​. Using advanced OCR software can reduce errors during data conversion.

Protect Privacy and Confidentiality:

Use encryption, passwords, and access controls to secure documents.​ Ensure privacy protection and compliance with regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA for financial records.

Challenges and Considerations

Of course, even positive change can come with challenges. Here’s what financial institutions need to consider when exploring document digitization.

Technology Selection:

Choosing the right tools and service providers is critical for successful digitization​​. It is important to assess the features, costs, and compatibility of different digitization solutions.

Data Quality Assurance:

The old adage “Garbage In, Garbage Out” applies to your digitized documents, and quality control measures must be in place in order to ensure your data is as valuable as it can be​.  Regular audits and checks to verify integrity are an important part of the process.

Privacy and Confidentiality:

Adhering to industry regulations and best practices to protect sensitive information is a must. PrintMail has robust security protocols to safeguard customer data.

Change Management:

Developing a comprehensive change management plan helps to address employee concerns and ensure the smooth implementation of digitization solutions.

Working with PrintMail for Seamless Digital Documents

Our clients trust us to deliver safe and secure eStatement solutions for their customers. Whether your customers and members choose paper statements or opt in to eStatement delivery, we have the same commitment to quality, accuracy, and security.

With our cutting-edge eStatement platform, we can help you design an attractive and informative digital monthly statement. When your customers see how easy to read it is, and how much paper clutter it will alleviate, they will be motivated to sign up for paperless delivery.

As an added bonus, eStatement adoption helps your financial institution save money on the cost of printing and mailing. The more customers go digital, the more you’ll save.

You can also include general and targeted marketing messages on your eStatements to ensure new products and special offers are seen by the most relevant customer groups.

In short, everything you do with your paper statements can be done digitally, with the benefit of cost savings for your FI. Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to ePresentment.

Unlock the Future: Transform Your Document Management with PrintMail Solutions!

Embrace the future of document management with PrintMail Solutions. By digitizing your documents, your financial institution can experience enhanced security, improved accessibility, significant cost savings, and streamlined operations. Don’t let outdated paper processes slow you down—digitization not only secures your critical data but also makes it more accessible and manageable.

Our expertise in print and mail communication solutions ensures that your transition to digital is seamless and efficient. Contact us to learn how we can help you transform your document management practices and increase customer sign-ups for eStatements. Reach out for a consultation and discover the benefits of partnering with a trusted leader in document digitization and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog for more great tips on growing your financial institution.