Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Streamlining Data: How Record Management can change your business

BlackBox Record Management can change how you do your business.

With our tools and resources, we can transform your document storage into a secure and accessible records storage system. With our expertise, you will save storage space, employee time and business cost.

We will start by assessing your current record management collection and storage situation to understand what you are missing and how we can help organize your storage better.

Scanning and Imaging
We turn your paper documents into digital files that can be stored, maintained and tracked easily.

One of the things high-functioning companies do differently is storing their files digitally. When you store your documents digitally, you keep them secure in the long run. Also you can easily manage who can access the documents and can track each document.
Black Box Web Hosted Repository
Our online repository and data server holds the digital version of your documents records.

Safety and confidentiality are the pillars of our business and our web server is protected by several strong encryptions and passwords to provide complete security for your business.

Only employees that have been given security clearance can access your company records.

Free Online Tools
You can also use our free online tools for on-the-file document conversation. Here are the tools we offer:

1. File to PDF
With our free online document converter, you can convert files to PDF and also convert PDF files to other formats.
- Convert files from MS word, PowerPoint, Excel, image files and RichText files to PDF
- Convert PDF files to image or PowerPoint presentations

2. Optical Character Recognition Tool
With our OCR tool, you can convert an image or PDF file to text.
- Convert PDF file to Word, Excel or Text
- Convert image file to Word, Excel or Text

Sunday, 23 November 2014

Is it time for your company to take the paperless route?

Every year, companies are making the switch from keeping paper records to going digital and are discovering new and better ways to manage their records.

It is not an easy change to make for most companies as changing the system means letting go of the existing system of managing records and adopting a new way of thinking and operating.

But digitally managed records offer a range of benefits in the long term. The most important of them is cost, convenience and security. In this blog, we will talk about these three factors and how they can help you decide whether you should go the digital way or stick to paper records.

1. Cost
When a company goes digital, it saves money on a number of fronts: printing costs, paper costs, mailing and postal costs. An average company spends over AED2000 annually on their printing. When you Digitally Document your Records, you make a onetime investment but in the long run you free your company of these recurring costs.

2. Convenience
Looking for a document on a digital database in much easier than searching for a document amongst piles of files and other paperwork.
 On a digital document, you can search and sort documents by name, date and even order number, thereby reducing the time it takes to access the file. In the long term, this can improve the company's time management and lead to better organization of documentation.

3. Safety
When your records are digitized, you can be assured of their safety and security. You can decide who has access to which document. Installing an Internal Security System will save you the worry of leaked documents and keep your private documents private. You can always save backups of your documents on cloud or external hard drive.

Tuesday, 28 October 2014

4 Steps to Easy Handling of Large Documents

Does your business deal with large documents regularly? Organizations such as architectural firms, interior designers, museums and laboratories deal with large documents that are bigger than the standard A4 and A3 sizes.

If you personally are required to deal with a lot of large sized documents, we understand that they can be quite a chore to manage. Larger documents are harder to sort, access, manage and share. They can decrease your operational speed and hamper productivity.

Here are ways by which you can effectively manage large-sized documents.

1. Scan the documents.

Yes, you read it right. Your first step should be to scan the documents. Latest scanning technology can allow you to scan imaging documents that are as big as 3ft X 4ft. At BlackBoxRM, our powerful scanners can capture every little detail of your blueprints and other large documents.
One major benefit of scanning documents is that it frees up your team from manually handling the documents and storing them. When you scan the documents, you can access them with a mouse click.
Tip: Before you scan the document, check for un-important documents in the pile or duplicate documents and eliminate them. This will help you save on costs and prevent confusion.

2. Use a classification system that actually works.

Not only do you need a high-quality scanner, but even more important is a classification system for the scanned documents that allows you to retrieve them quickly. For example if your blueprints are classified by location, then employees who are searching for blueprints by category will not be able to locate them. At Black Box Record Management our experienced record managers will consult you at every step to create a classification system that is functional as well as easy to use.

3. Giving access to employees.

Once you have scanned the documents and classified them in the most functional way, the next step is to share the documents amongst the employees who will need access to them. Black Box RM can help you  by giving each employee a unique access code to access the documents from our servers. Not only will this give the business a greater control by limiting the people who can access the document; this also adds an extra level of security.

4. Store the physical documents appropriately.

Once the process of scanning, classifying and sharing is complete and your employees have gotten used to accessing the documents electronically instead of physically, maybe it is time to explore long-term storage solutions for the original physical documents. Since the demand for physical documents has reduced, you can opt for high-density shelving. Black Box RM offers Document Storage Facilities in Dubai and Middle East in appropriate temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled vaults so that your documents do not suffer any damage during storage period.

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

How to Manage Records before a Corporate Move

If you are a records manager, maintaining the records even during a corporate move would be your most challenging assignment ever. Moving addresses is quite risky and might lead to a lot of upheaval.

Adopting a systematic method of sorting and moving documents is the best approach in this scenario. In this blog, we will outline the steps you should take to ensure safe transport of your records.

Audit the existing record collection
The records of a company are as diverse as the business that the company is in. While moving the records, it is hence important to audit the documents individually. Make sure to answer the following questions before the move:
  • Are there records that can be destroyed as they have passed their retention period?
  • Are there documents that will be required during the move to the new premise?
  • Are there some documents that are confidential in nature?
  • What compliance guidelines must be followed before moving the confidential documents?
  • Are there issues related to record storage and management that can be addressed and corrected in the new premise?

Spring clean the records
Record collections usually have several non-records that can be safely destroyed as well as records that have passed their retention period and are inactive. Such records do not need to be moved to the new facility. Records that are inactive should be moved to a record storage provider such a BlackBoxRM to save on the moving costs.
The fewer records you are the mover, the cheaper the move will be and the easier it will be to install records in the new premises.

BlackBoxRM is the most reliable offsite record storing facility in Dubai. Our storage units are climate-controlled and weather-proof. They are under 24/7 surveillance and are protected by fire detection systems, sprinkler, alarms and security personnel. Contact us for more information about our services.

Tuesday, 19 August 2014

Why should you opt for document destruction?

Shredding documents to destroy them is a very effective way of safeguarding your company and it's data. Here are a few reasons to safeguard your data:
•    Protect your reputation and that of your clients
•    Ensure the security of your business
•    Safeguard the identity of your employees

Using a shredder at office only does half the job. It only destroys the documents, but it does not ensure the removal of the destroyed paper from your premises. Our professional document shredding service not only ensures the destruction of all information you wish to destroy, but it also takes care of all the shredded paper afterwards.

We offer types of shredding services:
1. Mobile Onsite Shredding
We pick up the documents that need to be shredded and destroy them off site.

2. Drop Off Shredding
You can drop off the documents that need to be destroyed at one of our offices and we take it from there.

3. Scheduled Shredding Services
We schedule visits to your office to shred documents at regular intervals. The interval is based on your requirements: on a monthly, weekly or fortnightly basis.

So don’t stack up those papers at work. A lot of papers lying around can prove to be a fire hazard. Opt for our Document Destruction Services now.

Friday, 30 May 2014

Important Types of Secure Media Destruction

Media includes CD, DVD, Blue ray, hard drives. Diskettes and Floppy’s too are used in some offices for secured access. Every Data and Storage material comes with a life cycle and when that ends you has to adapt to new technology.The e-waste has to be destroyed properly. When you dispose your media you get it certified as destroyed after fulfilling all required conditions. In order to certify your destruction, you have to destroy your Media complying with certain industrial norms.

E-waste: E-WASTE-waste is one of the growing components of the municipal solid waste stream in developed countries. Electronic waste contains some very toxic substances which ultimately become part of our food chain when they are not recycled properly.

Off-site Destruction of Media
With the help of transit, your E-waste and other material for shredding is taken to another Transit your media from the inventory to our centers where we use advanced technologies to destroy all media .We Shrink-wrap, tag and prepare the materials for a secure transport. Destroy or recycle your e-waste/media using environment-friendly processes in complying with all local, national and international regulations.

On-site Destruction of Media
We bring Data Destruction Machinery to your data center and thereby reduce the convoluted risks involved in sensitive data leaving your premises. Equipped with advanced mobile shredding technologies, our on-site destruction service follows rigorous data privacy and security architecture to ensure your computer hard drives, backup tapes, and other assorted electronic storage media are completely destroyed. Document the security of your data with a fully auditable security framework, helping achieve full compliance with data privacy regulations.

The Black Box RM advantage:
When the E-waste is destroyed and becomes non recoverable, you have got rid of clutter and you have much needed peace of mind. While complying with audit-ready documentation makes media destruction a very safe process, This leads to an Improved efficiency in the entire process—from media preparation to certificate of destruction. Therefore, you now have a valid certificate of destruction to produce for your company that is in compliance with existing norms in Dubai.

Onsite and Offsite Destruction of Media is a part of the certified media destruction plan. Document the security of your data with a fully auditable security framework, helping achieve full compliance with data privacy regulations. After complying with existing regulations and after an audit, a certificate is issued for a destruction of media that is sensitive or whichever is to be destroyed as per client’s wishes.

Document Destruction: Important Facts about Paper Shredding

Document Shredding has been there since before the time of the First World War, when the Army and the government made use of it to destroy certain war secrets and documents.
The paper shredder was invented in 1909 by Abbot Augustus Low in New York, USA. However, it was only patented and never manufactured. It was later developed by the Nazi’s to destroy the Anti-Hitler propaganda. It was later used to destroy and wipe out the names of Jews from the records. As the paper was shredded most of the data about the existence of Jews was destroyed. In this way their names were wiped out from the state and country list. There were some hallmarks in paper shredding. Richard Nixon; the erstwhile US president too used it to destroy the water gate scam papers.

Many Corporations to have used the paper shredder and other assets by destroying the documents that they wanted to hide from income tax officials or from the government officials. But certainly Paper shredding can have far more positive uses in real life when we use it for our personal uses in our homes and offices. Sometimes storing too many documents adds to the clutter.

They may reveal vital transactions of the past not valid today, but they may reveal things that might compromise your position. Therefore, it becomes essential to be secret of past dealings sometimes for reasons of privacy. It is up to you to pursue ethical and we always keep our stand that you always remain ethical in all ways.

The Paper shredder is one of the most sophisticated inventions of the 20th century and a marvel that is times ahead of the industrial revolution.

Friday, 25 April 2014

File Management Tips for Organizing Your Data

Is managing files a big hassle for you? Are you having troubles finding your
files amidst the clutter of all others? Well, here are some golden tips that will help you to save your files in a better, efficient manner:

1.    Organize according to your convenience. There are some people who want to look for their files as per the date they are generated; some others with their types and some prefer arranging files with their name. So, you choose the way you want your files to be and accordingly arrange.

2.    Store all your important files in one location. Do not have everything spread over in different locations. It will be an unnecessary hassle and it will make it difficult for you to look up to files when you need them.

3.    Name your files aptly. It is advisable to avoid naming your files with huge or complicated names. It becomes easier for you to look out for a file with a shorter name rather than searching for a file with names that run too long.

4.    Perform regular clean ups and virus scans. An important part of managing files in a good way is to conduct virus scans and clean ups in regular intervals. Virus infected files need to be deleted from your system before they hamper your computer.

5.    Delete unwanted and unnecessary files. It is important that you delete files which you will not use ever again or those files which haven’t been used for a long time and are of no relevance anymore to you.

6.    Lastly, it is vital to take backups. Whether you're copying your files onto another drive or onto tape, it's important to set up and follow a regular back up regimen.

So, these are the things that you need to do for effective file management. If you feel it is too much a hassle to manage data on your own, you can always hire data management services to handle all your business data.

Thursday, 24 April 2014

Three Steps for a Well Organized Data

Organizing data is not as complicated as it seems. Yes, it can be hassle free
even when the amount of data you have is huge. However, you need to follow certain simple steps which will enable you to get organized in a better way.

1.    Don’t store unnecessary data:
It is important that you decide what you need and what you don’t. Storing unnecessary data simply adds to the clutter of documents. Moreover, it also consumes a lot of time to look up for documents when you have a lot of data. So, it is essential that you keep a track on what you need and what you don’t.  Once you compile all the data you actually require, you can organize it in a better fashion.

2.    Store in the right manner:
Well, it is not just enough to store what you need; you need to store your

data safely. It is also important that you maintain your data in a safe environment. Data management companies work wonders for the same. So, these are the ideal people to handle your data. However, you should also ensure tight security of your data. Limit the access of your data, get password protection enabled and take backups of all the data you require.

3.    Maintain a shredding schedule:
It is important that you discard all the unwanted data in the right way. Shredding services are ideal for the same. Well, in order to ensure that you need to maintain a regular schedule for shredding. You can opt for mobile shredding services; these services enable you to see through the entire process of data destruction.

Use these three tips and make sure that your data is organized well. Data management services are the ideal options to ensure that all your data is successfully and efficiently managed.

Monday, 24 March 2014

Tips for Hassle Free Data Destruction

Every business strives hard to ensure that all their data is secure and is free of theft. However, it is not easy to manage data without professional help.  For secure documentation, it is advisable that you consider hiring document destruction and shredding services. These companies are highly beneficial and they are extremely efficient. However, as a business, you can lend a helping hand to these systems and ensure more protection. Use the following tips and be rest assured about your data:

What to Destroy:
Decide what to keep and what to do away with. It is important that you do not simply keep piling on to your data. Some accounts which have closed down, some other age old records which are of no use whatsoever need to be destructed. These pieces of information will only take up space that could be used for something much more constructive and productive.

Control Access:
Do not let anyone and everyone have access to all your data. This might prove to be truly problematic for your business. Limit access of data to certain trustworthy employees in the company only.

Demand On-site Destruction:
On-site data destruction is recommended as it will keep you satisfied. You can request the company to provide you with on-site mobile shredding services. As you see for yourself that the documents have been destroyed, it will only give you contentment.

Schedule  the Destruction:
Have a systematic schedule. This is highly important as it is advisable to have documents like bills and other documents which have a shelf life to be shredded as these documents can provide a lot of information that can be risky if in wrong hands.

Thus, these are a few tips you can utilize in order to ensure that data destruction is secure, effective and stress free.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Benefits of a Document Imaging System

Document imaging systems are ideal for those companies having a lot of information and data. These systems work to maintain and manage your data in a way which makes all the managerial processes very simple and regimented. Well, here are a few reasons why you should definitely look forward to implement this system:

Document imaging systems prevent loss of records. All the information that you have gets stored in a very safe and successful manner. So, in case your company faces any kind of problems like data destruction, accidental deletion of data or any other issues, these systems can help you retrieve the data easily.

These systems are also known to save a lot of storage space. Don’t you just hate the unnecessary cluttered mess of files and folders on the desks? Well, it is more organized to have a document imaging system in place. It saves a lot of storage space which can be utilized in a better fashion.

The management of records also becomes quite simple. It is easy to locate a file or folder using these systems than doing it manually. Looking up a file physically through so many paper folders can not only waste a lot of time but also be taxing for the employees. A lot of time is saved due to these systems.

These systems offer you an easy access. You can operate and access your information from any part of the world once you have internet access and the correct password. So, if you are not in office and you need a particular file, you can simply login into the system and retrieve all data you require.

The best part about these systems is that they are highly secure. You can limit the access to your data by setting up passwords. Also, you can make certain data private and only authorized staff can access it.

Thus, these are the top 5 benefits of a document imaging system. Want to have a better management in your office? Hire a document imaging company today!

Monday, 24 February 2014

Benefits of Tape Archive Solutions

In today’s world, every business is looking forwards to maintaining excellent
backup of their data. In such scenarios, tape backups are brilliant options for storing your information. Tape backup has some significant advantages. Let us take a look at a few of them:

Lower Costs:
Well, as a business owner or a business manager, you will fall in love with the tape backup systems as they are pocket friendly. So, you do not need to spend a huge amount of money in order to store your data well. Also, this solution is quite efficient when you want to transfer a huge quantity of data from one place to the other.

Tapes Provide Scalability:
Tapes are scalable. All you need to do is keep adding more tapes whenever needed. This is not only cost effective but also convenient. On the contrary, buying more hard disks is a huge task and is very expensive. You will need to invest in added power and cooling for these disks. Well, that’s not all; you will require more space and other materials. 

Less Power:
Tapes consume much less power than other storage devices. Moreover, disk drives have to run to be used. On the other hand, the tape drives run only when the data is being used i.e. they run only when data is either being read or being written. This ensures that less power is utilized and gives a great advantage to the user.

Legacy Data:
Majorly, all the backup software supports tape and the interface of the tape. It is easier to maintain data on these tapes rather than changing to a new medium. It is a well supported technology and thus managing enormous legacy data easily. 

Tape drives are easy to use and storing data in these drives is a painless process.

Thursday, 6 February 2014

How to Hire the Best Data Recovery Services

Data recovery services come to the rescue when a company faces terrible crisis of data loss. It is a situation
in which no business wants to be. However, such situations cannot be underestimated and every company needs to be prepared for such catastrophes. The best way to handle these circumstances is hiring a data recovery service. Well, these companies are definitely beneficial but, it is advisable that you carefully choose the company you want to hire for this purpose:

Reputed Company:
It is important that you select a company which is well known for its services and had been in the market for a long time. This is highly important because such companies are well established and they have a strong experience. They know how to handle the trickiest of situations and have an expert staff to handle all your data.

Licensed Company:
There are many fraud companies in the market today and you’d definitely want to stay away from them. Any information leak can be disastrous for your business. Every day, we strive to keep our company’s data a big secret. Thus, it is essential that you look for a company which is certified and has the proper, valid license to carry out their business practices.

Updated Technology:
It is of great importance that you evaluate a company on the basis of the technology that it puts into use. Updated technology is essential because there are constant developments happening in the field of information. So, it is vital that records management services maintain their pace with these updates and store your data in a technologically sound and advanced manner.

Thus, these are three most important parameters on which you should select data recovery services for your business. Black Box RM is one of the leading records management services in Dubai and excels in all the above parameters.

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

How important is Record Management in Dubai

With the growth of businesses in Dubai, records management is becoming necessarily important. However the question arises why. Why is records management so important? Let’s look at a few reasons that make this practice vital:

Handling of Records:
Well, this is pretty obvious. However, what you need to understand is these systems also help in controlling the growth of records. No matter how far technology has gone and going paperless is a trend everyone wants to follow, we do end up using a lot of paper. These systems keep a check on the same.

Reduction in Costs:
You do not need to maintain physical, paper copies all the time. And electronic documentation is cheaper. Moreover, storage and maintenance of these documents is easier. These systems also save a lot of time and energy of the staff which can be utilized for other productive work.

Secure Information:
It is of utmost importance that all your information remains secured. Any data theft or loss of data could be much hazardous to your company. Records management services keep your records safe and ensure complete security of all your data. You also have the control over who can access your data.

Efficiency and Productivity:
Well, if your employees spend long hours on searching for files, it does hamper the productivity of your business. Record management companies have great technologies which enable you to find files quickly, without any hassles. This increases efficiency in your work and also gives a boost to the productivity.
Thus, records management services have a positive effect on the overall working environment of your company and thus is highly important.

Friday, 10 January 2014

What is Records Management?

Is managing records a big hassle for you? Does it take a lot of time for you to look for a file? Well, youdefinitely need a record management system to maintain all your documents of your business. Don’t know what these services are? Well, in simple language, these services help to systematically organize your data in a way where it can meet your business needs and make managing your information a hassle free task.

What is a record?
Firstly, let’s understand what a record is. A record is any information that is created, sent or received. These pieces of information are basically meant for maintaining evidences for your business. A record can be in any format, paper or digital. It can be anything from an email to letters, databases, letters, text messages, photographs, minutes of meetings, research, maps, plans, faxes, samples, so on and so forth.

What are record management services?
As mentioned earlier, these services maintain and manage all your records.  These services ensure that all your information is stored in the correct way. Be it cloud storage or a physical storage of your data, these companies will make sure that all your data is preserved efficiently. There are some documents which might require a climate controlled storage; these services take care of maintaining such documents as well. These systems also make circulation and retrieval of information easy. Apart from this, record management services make sure that the disposal of unnecessary records is done ably.

In a nutshell, record management services handle, maintain and preserve your business’s information. These services are highly beneficial and you should definitely consider one for your business!