Last year’s hurricane still affecting companies

If a natural disaster strikes and a company has not invested in an electronic means of document management, the business runs the risk of losing its crucial information. When storms or other issues bring floods, strong winds or fires, paper documents can be destroyed.

Though 2011's Hurricane Irene was relatively docile in many regions compared to the storms of years past, a number of businesses still experienced tangible data loss. Specifically, a large amount of financial data went missing during the hurricane, putting companies' tax filings in peril.

Though the time for filing 2010-2011 taxes has passed, many firms continue to deal with the issues from the data destruction a year later, as the IRS is continuing to settle back taxes. Individuals and companies in the path of Irene suffered large losses because they had to default on their taxes when they couldn't find receipts and other files.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends individuals keep certain documents, like certificates, wills and stocks in a deposit box or safe. However, if companies want to make sure they can access their critical data immediately, digitization is probably the best option. To make sure the firm can still operate, owners may be best served if they can access files over the internet, no matter their location.

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