3 Ways Modern Technology Streamlines Government Records Management

Modern records management software for governments leverages cloud storage, automation, and more to better serve workers and the public

Government records management helps facilitate the smooth functioning of society. Businesses rely upon publicly available records to produce value. Journalists need fast access to help maintain a transparent society. Even historians must be considered; public records form the backbone of recent history. Governments have to balance these interests. That calls for a system that is at once intuitive, capacious, efficient, and cost-effective.

This illustrates the importance of records management in government. But it also reveals the value of a software solution. Electronic government records can use indexing, automations, and more cutting-edge technology. Those boost productivity. Electronic records can also bolster security and save space and money. Here’s how today’s software can benefit governments.

How records management software for government accelerates work

Streamlined document intake

Businesses and governments around the world are reducing their paper use. But the change can't happen overnight. Governments in particular must accommodate paper use by constituents. Processes have had physical files baked into them for a long time, and the government is often slow to change. Plus, older constituents may be less comfortable with new technology. Governments must cater to both the tech expert and the novice by equipping themselves with the right tools to ease the transition.

Among these tools are powerful scanners that work particularly well with records management software for government agencies. With these solutions, recordkeepers can automate scan delivery. That sorts each record to its proper place in storage for fast and consistent organizing — no more human error leading to lost records.

Accelerated record retrieval

Another benefit of government records management software is optical character recognition. OCR turns image scans into searchable digital documents. This allows documents to be scanned for critical information such as signatories and dates of filing. The software then applies that information as metatags. Workers can then use powerful search functions to instantly find the record they need. That can make it much easier not only to share records internally but also to fill public information requests. Filling those requests more quickly increases transparency, boosts public trust and satisfaction, and eases the workload of workers who fill requests.

OCR has another key use that underlines the importance of records management in government. In paper storage, retrieving a record often requires manually sorting through potentially misfiled cabinets. It can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially if records aren’t in a single, centralized location. By digitizing records, governments can eliminate the need for these tedious searches, freeing up time for more important tasks.

Instant remote sharing

Government records management can trim inefficiency in more ways than just intake and retrieval. After finding a paper record they intend to share, a worker often has to copy and deliver it. In the best-case scenario, that delivery happens by hand. If the record is filling an external request, it must instead be mailed. Both of these processes are slow. The latter can lead to materials lost in the mail, delivered to the wrong address, or destroyed in transit. That can mean the whole process must begin anew. And if other requests have piled up in the meantime, you’re likely looking at a logjam.

With records management software for government agencies, sharing files is almost instantaneous. In just a few clicks, a worker can share a document with a colleague or a member of the public. Beyond accelerating record sharing, this can alleviate potential concerns about records being lost or destroyed in transit. Furthermore, some government records management platforms can integrate with your department’s website. That powers fully electronic records request forms, making it straightforward and speedy for citizens to request materials.

Key benefits of streamlined government records management

Once you have a more streamlined government records management system in place, you can take advantage of its benefits. In addition to greater productivity and less wasted time, these can include:

• Space savings: Records with long retention schedules can eat up square footage. By moving to a digital solution, those records shed their physical footprint. That allows for more productive use of office space.
• Simplified FADGI compliance: High-powered scanners can turn paper records into FADGI-compliant digital items.
• Protection from disaster: Paper records are vulnerable to fires, floods, earthquakes, and more. Records lost or destroyed can disrupt commerce for thousands of businesses. Moving to digital records can insulate data from calamity. Cloud solutions and frequent backups can reinforce that insulation.
• Increased security: Cybercriminals target local governments more than almost any other organizations. They recognize government's tendency to use outdated solutions. That can present vulnerabilities for bad actors to exploit. Digital government records management, however, provides new security tools. Role-based permissions, data back-ups, and data encryption can protect records.

Our recommendation: Ricoh fi-7700

Those in the market for government records management technology have no shortage of options, but they’ll need a great scanner to support their work. We take great pride in having spent the last 50+ years researching, designing and developing some of the most advanced and powerful electronics in the world, including our professional grade fi Series scanners.

Built to purpose for the most demanding document handling jobs, fi Series scanners are capable of processing tens of thousands of pages per day at the highest levels of accuracy. Their intuitive integration capabilities with all existing work suites minimize time-to-value for businesses looking to invest in tools that will pay dividends for years to come.

The fi-7700 combines speed with versatility. Its A3 double-letter size flatbed makes it easy to scan fragile documents such as old records, and it can handle ultra-long documents up to 656 feet. When it's scanning standard sheets, it can reach speeds of up to 100 double-sided pages per minute. Perhaps most importantly for government workers, it's capable of meeting FADGI 3-star standards and is TAA and EPEAT Silver rated. Click here to learn more or shop the rest of our production scanner line.

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