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Businesses hold on to thousands of pieces of paper and manual documents. And as time goes on, these accumulate until there’s multiple filing cabinets overflowing with neglected, but important, files that rarely see the light of day. Easily destroyed, thrown away or lost, these documents not only take up valuable room and cost companies thousands in time spent looking for them, but they are also at very serious risk of the elements.

Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods are all common. Even in the UK, we are prone to floods, and have even been known to have the odd earthquake. With the weather getting wilder, making sure that important documents are safe and secure cannot be underestimated. So how can you ensure your important, and confidential business documents are kept safe, should disaster strike?

Document management with Cloud

The only sure fire way to keep your documents safe is by turning to digital practices. Some businesses decide to store documents away from offices and disaster-prone areas, such as at external storage facilities. However even if you decide to go down that route, you can’t guarantee that these will be kept safe from catastrophe such as fire or flood. Digitising your paper archive and current documents using a specialist scanner however will remove the need for storage facilities by enabling them to be stored on widely accessible cloud.

It is always worth backing these documents though as a secondary precaution. Although clouds are secure, if their server goes down, it will stop access which can hinder a businesses’ productivity for a time. Using a central server that is either located on or off site however will provide businesses with a secondary platform to access and store data and provide peace of mind. These are great for both large and small businesses as they are cost-effective to maintain, but there is always the risk that they can be damaged from outside elements. In order to combat this, some service providers store data on multiple servers housed at different geographic locations. So even if one of the servers is destroyed, your documents will still be safe as they are stored on other servers too.

The main benefit of backing up your documents digitally is that when you’re back in business, you can quickly recover your documents and resume operations which minimise disruption to both customers and employees.

Looking to disaster proof offices in London? Find out more about document scanning from Pearl Scan.

There are big changes on the horizon regarding the way the EU approaches data regulation. To ensure that your business is on the ball, we’ve put together a complete guide covering everything you need to know about the new EU Data Protection Regulation laws set to go live.

EU data protection regulation – 101

Earlier this year the European Commission revealed a draft of its new set of laws that will replace the previous Data Protection Directive. They’ve renamed the decree the ‘European Data Protection Regulation.’

The release of the new regulation is designed to streamline the current data protection laws that exists across the EU member states. By switching to a ‘regulation’ as opposed to a ‘directive’ all EU member states will need to comply, thus eliminating the need for national implementing legislation.

So what does the new European Data Protection Regulation mean for European businesses?

Read on for our overview of what to expect.

The right to be forgotten

One of the most noticeable changes will be the introduction of the right to be forgotten. This will allow people to request the deletion of personal data, with organisations obliged to comply.

Integrated data protection measures

While in the past privacy has been somewhat optional, the new regulations rule that businesses must incorporate data protection measures into products and services from the very beginning.

The right to portability

Another new right sees consumers entitled to portability. This refers to the easy transmission of personal information from one data controller to another.

Taking a stand against profiling

While subject to certain exceptions, the majority of consumers will be empowered with the right to remove themselves from corporate profiling.

Greater understanding

Under the new regulations EU citizens will have the right to request insight into how their data is being used.

How your business can prepare

With the new changes set to take effect any month now, it’s important for British businesses to have an in-depth understanding of how to comply with the updates. One of the most effective ways to boost compliance credentials is to invest in document scanning services that digitalise all data, as it rolls in. This will ensure that all documents are safely stored in an electronic database. Should an audit be initiated your business will be able to produce all key documents in a matter of minutes.

The oldest operating theatre in England, Bristol Old Vic, has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £220,500 to create a landmark heritage project to celebrate its 250th birthday. The grant will support the nine month development project, and another grant is being submitted for a further £.2.26m in funding.

Already recognised as a centre of artistic distinction for its history and high quality programme of events, the nation’s oldest theatre will now also be an important heritage attraction. The project includes a refurbishment of part of the theatre, a conservation project for the original 18th century theatre façade, the protection of the theatre’s paper records and the creation of new public spaces and programmes, including an online archive.

Not only will the historic landmark be protected thanks to this funding, but also the records of the theatre will be preserved and available to a whole new audience. Archives of theatrical heritage will be brought to life during the project by scanning the heritage records which are currently held between the Bristol Record Office and the University of Bristol Theatre collection.

Creating a digital archive of documents which could date back hundreds of years isn’t without its difficulties – it’s vital to keep the originals in mint condition throughout the scanning process. Pearl Scan are experts in scanning delicate documents and books of high importance, ensuring the technology does not damage the records.

The Old Vic was originally named The Theatre Royal, and was built between 1764-1766. The lottery funding for the heritage project has been awarded at the perfect time so the artistic institution can celebrate its 250th birthday. The building can be restored and enjoyed for many years to come, and modern audiences will have access to some of the theatre’s programmes and archives online.

Emma Stenning, chief executive at Bristol Old Vic said, “We’re thrilled that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support as it will enable us to push forward with our exciting plans to transform the theatre into an internationally-significant hub of cultural and historical interest. This major redevelopment project will allow tourists, theatre audiences, day visitors and schoolchildren to engage with Bristol Old Vic’s fascinating heritage like never before.”

If you have a large collection of historical records or archives which you’d like to protect, we can help you digitise your collection with our heritage scanning service. Get in touch for more details.