Digital archiving and document backup solutions play unique roles and provide specific benefits for your business. Although they work hand in hand to support your document management system, key differences impact the accessibility and functionality of the two document storage methods. Here we look at each, compare the differences and list the business benefits of leveraging both.
Digital archiving services help manage long-term data while freeing up space on your short-term data storage system. Your digital archives ensure you remain compliant with retention regulations while also providing a record of information that might come in handy down the road. You can archive documents you consider inactive and that no longer require regular access. The digital archive software is secure and stores data to remain compliant while also using indexing to make it easy to search and retrieve old digital files as needed. As a result, you have an ongoing reference of information available should you require it in the future.
Digital archiving offers several benefits, including:
An effective archiving system is worth implementing as it will optimize the space in your day-to-day document management software.
Digital backups ensure you have a copy of all your digital files providing dependable data loss prevention. Whether it is hardware failure, natural disaster, breaches, or loss, you can instantly restore a complete library of all your stored documents. Day-to-day errors also avoid disaster with a backup ready in case of accidental deletion, overrides, edits, etc.
Document backups ensure you always have a second copy available should something happen to the original. More importantly, data is backed up daily, so you always have a copy of the most recent version. Backups are critical to your business operations for several reasons, including:
Using a digital backup service such as MEDI provides several automated document backups a day, ensuring you always have the most recent document available.
Backup systems allow you to quickly restore the most recent versions of lost or damaged active data, while archives provide long-term storage for complete records of inactive data. The two distinct functions make it necessary to use both as part of an effective document management strategy.
Digital backup provides a quick and easy document restoration solution so you can almost instantly recover data if documents are lost, deleted, or altered. However, backups are limited to the most recent version. Should you need to find a later version, your backup does not offer this option. This is where digital archives come in. Your digital archives include a history of your records, whether it is a client’s invoices, patient records, legal documents, contracts, or versions of ads used throughout the years.
As a result, you have more advanced technology. Archiving software solutions allow you to maintain a tidy primary document storage system while keeping complete records of data versions throughout the lifecycle of a document, ready to retrieve with a quick search. Although you might want to keep backups in the longer term as your archiving system, data backup systems aren’t designed with the same functionality.
They are quite limited and can’t act as a data retrieval system. They are also designed to override versions with the latest data, so you end each business day with a current version. Digital archives maintain the same functions as your active document management system, using the same keywords and metadata to make retrieval easy.
Digital archiving provides secure, long-term data storage with quick access to files. It is a critical tool serving multiple purposes, including:
Data backup and data loss prevention software solutions ensure quick and efficient data recovery for disaster resilience that minimizes downtime. As a result, your business can:
Because digital archiving and backup each provide essential roles in data management, you need practical solutions for each. Leveraging both systems ensures complete data protection that enhances your document management and improves overall business efficiency.
MEDI’s team of archive and backup solutions experts can help you find effective solutions to protect and retain data. Click here to set up a free consultation.