Getting started
Bringing in what you already have
What to migrate from the old archive and, above all, what not to.
The question comes up on day one: "what about everything we already have?". The answer that works is uncomfortable but true: almost none of it. Migrating twenty years of archive is a project that rarely finishes, and while it runs nobody is using the tool for anything.
What to bring, in order
- 1
What is current
The insurance, certificates and contracts that apply now. That is what you will consult.
- 2
What expires soon
Because you want to be warned, and for that it has to be inside.
- 3
What you get asked for often
If someone asks for it three times a month, it belongs here.
- 4
The rest, when needed
Uploaded the day someone looks for it. Most of it is never looked for.
What not to bring
- Documents about people who have left, absent a retention obligation.
- Copies of identity documents you have no reason to keep.
- Old versions where you already hold the current one, unless they prove something.
- All the email. Email is not an archive.
Important
A migration is the best moment to stop keeping what you should not hold. If you are about to move hundreds of candidate ID documents from eight years ago, the right question is not how to move them: it is whether to keep them.
Watch out
Bringing a messy archive relocates it, it does not tidy it. And it clutters searches exactly while you are learning to use them.
Worth knowing
A rule that works: if nobody has searched for it in six months, it did not need bringing. Starting with what is current and letting need pull the rest is right nearly every time.
›What about paper?
Scan what gets consulted. Digitising the whole archive rarely finishes.
›Can whole folders be uploaded?
Yes, with their structure.
›Are old documents read on upload?
Yes, if reading is enabled for that type.
A real case
The situation
A company plans to scan twelve years of archive before using anything.
What you do
- Uploads only current documentation for its 60 active suppliers
- Leaves the rest where it is
What you get
It is working in three days instead of three months, and six months on only nine old documents have had to be retrieved.
The situation
The whole archive is uploaded and finding anything becomes harder than before.
What you do
- Uploads only what is current and actually consulted
- Leaves the history where it is, and locatable
What you get
What is looked for daily surfaces without noise around it.
The situation
Nobody knows which documents in the archive are still valid.
What you do
- Records the expiry when each document is uploaded
What you get
The move itself leaves the archive reviewed.
The situation
The start is put on hold until migration finishes.
What you do
- Starts working with new material from day one
- Uploads old material only when someone needs it
What you get
Migration stops being a precondition for starting.
The situation
Old documents are uploaded without knowing which supplier they belong to.
What you do
- Attaches each document to its file as it is uploaded
What you get
What is moved is usable rather than a pile of files.
The situation
Months later a document that was not migrated is needed.
What you do
- Records where the historical archive sits
What you get
Retrieving it is a query rather than a blind search.
This article answers
- migrate documents from a shared folder
- upload the historical archive
- digitise the paper archive
- start with the documents i already have