Digital document archiving is an increasingly necessary practice in a world like ours, where technology is slowly supplanting tradition. Analogue documents, i.e. paper documents, are becoming increasingly rare, as well as more cumbersome and less environmentally friendly. Not only that, but digitization also saves precious time, avoiding having to search for this or that important document under a long pile of paperwork. With a single click, we can have what we need at our fingertips without too much effort, with all our files sorted and stored in our computer.
That’s why, these days, it is important to know which are the most valid methods and tools to be able to store digital documents in a safe and lasting way. A question that we will try to answer together in this guide, which focuses on the best programs available for archiving digital documents. Thanks to their use, we’ll be able not only to store documents, but also to catalog, sort and manage them, whether they are of paper origin or born directly in digital form on a PC.
Digital document storage: the most used methods
As you may have already understood, for the storage of digital documents you can opt for different approaches, which translate into as many methods of preservation all quite valid. Before we identify the most popular tools on the market, we should understand what options are available to us. Basically, the options are divided into two macro-categories: on-site digital archiving and cloud-based digital archiving.
The former involves the use of physical electronic archives managed through dedicated software, while the latter saves documents on external platforms that use cloud technology.
HHD and SSD
The best known and most widespread digital storage systems in the past were undoubtedly hard disks, i.e. magnetic mass storage devices. Depending on their capacity, they can also store a large amount of data, programs and even operating systems. Generally we find them already installed and ready to use in computers, both portable and desktop, but it is still possible to buy external ones. The latter, being portable and rather light, are suitable for those who need to transport them from one location to another and interface them with different devices, perhaps shuttling between home and office.
In recent years, then, are increasingly common also the so-called SSD, ie solid state drives. These, instead of the more traditional magnetic platters, leverage a newer type of solid-state memory. On their side, they are much less noisy than HHDs and definitely faster in reading and managing data, as well as less prone to breakage. On the other hand, they have a much higher price than hard disks, even if their diffusion is allowing the birth of more affordable products.
Memory cards and USB keys
USB keys are also a method of digital document storage quite popular among individuals and companies, especially because they allow you to transport documents quickly and very easily. Unfortunately, however, most USB flash drives provide very little storage space. From a physical point of view, they are also more fragile than HHDs and SSDs, and therefore more prone to wear and accidental shocks that could make them unusable, and in the worst cases see us lose all our precious files contained within them.
Considering their characteristics, they are mainly recommended for those who need to move a small amount of documents from one PC to another, such as individual users. Less suitable instead for companies, which need to move a certain amount of content. Alternatively, it should be noted that memory cards are very similar to USB sticks, but they need a dedicated slot to be inserted and be able to work.
Cloud-storage platforms
The most modern storage also passes through the cloud document storage, based on online platforms that provide storage and cataloging of a large number of files on data centers around the world. In this way, it is particularly easy to consult them from all the devices in our possession, from computers to smartphones, including tablets, and regardless of the physical location in which we are at that moment.
All we need is an Internet connection, although a major disadvantage may be the costs to be incurred, which vary depending on the amount of data we want to save within these useful and innovative services “in the clouds”. In any case, cloud platforms guarantee constant customer support and a high level of security, shielding our data and documents of interest from any external attacks.
NAS (Network-attached storage)
NAS, which stands for Network-attached storage, is a remote file storage service that uses a specific protocol for storing data. To explain it in a simpler way, we can say that we are faced with a device connected to the network whose function is to allow users to access and share a mass storage, in practice consisting of one or more hard drives, within their network or from outside. All this is done by exploiting one or more servers simultaneously. The advantage of this method over a normal hard drive is that digital documents can be shared between different devices simultaneously, thanks to the constantly active Internet connection.
SAN (Storage Area Network)
The SAN, or Storage Arena Network, is a network of block storage devices to which multiple users can connect. Very popular among businesses in recent years, this digital storage system performs essentially the same functions as NAS, allowing not only to store and protect a large number of documents, but also to access them from various devices simultaneously in a direct way. The difference lies in slightly higher costs compared to Network-attached storage, but also in faster access to the stored data.
The recommended tools for digital storage
At this point, having set the basics, you might wonder if there are any tools that will facilitate the storage of digital documents. Obviously, as the demand increases, the offer is quite varied and branches out into various programs that can run on both Windows PCs and Apple Macs. Each of these has its own features and characteristics, which we will now examine in detail.
Dropbox
Dropbox is one of the most popular cloud document storage services. It allows you to store your documents online and synchronize them via the Internet on all your devices, so computers, smartphones and tablets. The operation is very simple: just enter the files you want to store and synchronize in the program’s folder and they will be saved online and automatically synchronized on all the devices you own. The basic version is free and provides users with 2 GB of online storage space, expandable through different subscription plans, even customized for professionals and companies. The most significant advantage offered to users is that any documents uploaded from other computers and/or mobile devices that are logged in with the same account will be synchronized with the device in use.
Evernote
Evernote, for its part, is one of the main solutions dedicated to the creation and management of notes. Through its well-organized archive that can be consulted at a glance, it allows you to write simple notes or manage more complex documents of various kinds using the attachments function. It can be used on Windows, Mac and mobile devices, both iOS and Android, and will automatically synchronize notes and attachments via a network connection. Again, there is a basic version to download for free, but limited to a certain number of devices for synchronization. Limitations that obviously can be lowered by choosing to subscribe to a paid subscription plan. All notes are organized in notebooks, equipped as needed with various added notes freely readable at any time.
iDocument
You can’t talk about digital document storage programs without spending a few words for iDocument. This is an application available only on macOS that allows you to organize and catalog documents on Mac computers easily and incredibly fast. There is a free basic version, which can be enhanced with several options by opting for the paid variant. In fact, it lets you create a true digital archive that is always available, with an interface that closely resembles the familiar iTunes one. Once we have added the documents we are interested in to the program, we can search for them by keyword using a special search field or filter them according to certain parameters such as title or size, just to name a few examples.