There has been an ongoing debate between business owners across the country. This debate stems from one simple question: “should I store my documents at my place of business or at an offsite facility?”
On one hand, if you store your documents at your business, they are close by at all times, helping you keep an eye on them.
On the other hand, your documents take up a lot of space and can clutter your workplace.
In this post, we’ll be taking a look at a few reasons why storing your documents at an offsite facility might be a good idea.
Let’s get started!
1. Reduce Clutter
Perhaps the best argument to be made for storing company documents offsite is the amount of clutter doing so can eliminate from your workplace. Instead of filling up your back room with countless boxes, file cabinets, and shelving units, you could be using these spaces to create more offices for employees, a new breakroom, or many other things.
Also, if your documents are taking up space in your office in high-traffic areas, they might present a safety risk. For example, they might be blocking a fire exit, or could possibly present a tripping hazard.
Offsite document storage can help prevent these hazards turning into workplace incidents.
2. Around-the-Clock Security
Another great thing about offsite document storage is that your sensitive company information will likely be kept in a purpose-built facility with 24/7 security.
Whether this means your storage provider is using state-of-the-art cameras, high-tech security systems, or a manned security team, you can rest easy knowing that your documents are being watched at all times.
3. Environmental Protection
Storing your documents in areas with high humidity or moderate-extreme temperature fluctuations can degrade and damage them. A purpose-built facility will likely have climate controls (temperature and humidity) to create the ideal storage conditions for your documents, whether they are paper or digital.
4. Access
Sometimes you might need to access your documents at a moment’s notice. When that’s the case, you need to make sure that your documents are stored in an organized manner with the proper labelling and filing system.
Offsite facilities typically have processes in place to guarantee that your documents will not get lost or mixed in with those of other clients. This means you will be able to come to the storage facility to privately view your documents or pull them out of storage if you need to.
5. Elimination
Finally, after a certain amount of time has passed, sometimes the law requires you to destroy old documents containing sensitive customer information. Most offsite storage companies also provide document destruction services like secure paper shredding to help you stay on top of this.
Western Archives – Offsite Storage Facility in Edmonton
The Edmonton storage facility owned by Western Archives is truly unique. It provides 24/7 security and a comprehensive filing system to make sure your documents are protected at all times and you will be able to access them at a moment’s notice if you need to.
To learn more about how we can keep your records safe at our Edmonton storage facility, contact us today!