Cleaning up legacy records - an intelligent first step in your digital transformation journey

Executive summary

Any organisation that has been around for a while is going to have paper records — often times, lots of them.

Although it’s tempting to look in the other direction and keep everything “in case we need it,” this isn’t an optimal strategy. In fact, the over-retention of records can be detrimental in terms of cost and legal risk. It can also limit your ability to address organisational initiatives and achieve your digital transformation objectives.

New research has uncovered how decision makers view the challenge of legacy paper records in their organisations and what they’re doing about it. A recent survey, conducted by a third-party research firm, demonstrates the concerns of decision makers in roles across legal and compliance, records and information management/governance, and information technology. The findings show how your peers are thinking about legacy records and the need to clean up paper files as part of the digital transformation journey — along with the obstacles that may get in the way.

93% of respondents stated a goal to eliminate paper records in the next five years.

The current state of paper records

Organisations store more than 70% of records digitally, 30% on paper.

Although the percentage of paper records is declining, one-third of respondents are currently storing over 100,000 boxes of paper records, and some have 500,000 or more. The volume of paper records remaining is still tremendous for many organisations.

Reasons why paper records cleanup is a priority

For organisations that still have large inventories of paper records, cleaning up these records has become a priority. The top reasons for paper records cleanup are shown below, with cutting costs and risks as the number one priority.

Paper records are still a significant part of the total records inventory and need to be addressed in the transition to digital. They cannot be ignored or left behind.

What are organisations hoping to achieve?

The survey looked further into the most important factors around paper records cleanup and what organisations hope to achieve. The top factors motivating paper records cleanup are related to over-retention, organisational initiatives, and digital transformation.

Download the whitepaper to find out more.