Digital Archiving: Alignment with new regulations and practical examples

Participants in the seminar “Digital archive: Alignment with new regulations and practical examples” were able to hear more about the steps needed to comply with requirements for archiving electronic documents. The event focused on the differing standards archiving documents that needed to be permanently retained and those with limited retention periods.

Current regulations mandate that archival materials for any given year must be submitted for archiving by April 30th of the following year, as well as before any electronic signatures expire. Before submitting materials for archiving, creators and holders of archival materials must align their electronic archive requirements with the Government Order on Uniform Technical Requirements and Procedures for Storing Archival Materials, which took effect on January 1st, 2024.

Electronic archiving ensures greater security for documents, expedites searching, optimizes archive management, and reduces the cost of storing physical documentation. Digital archiving promotes compliance and improves day-to-day business processes, so increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of businesses.

The key topic of the seminar was how to comply with archiving requirements for documents that must be retained permanently, with an emphasis on the use of technical and organizational safeguards, internal rules, classification, and metadata assignment. These documents must be archived in formats suitable for long-term storage and must incorporate qualified timestamps to maintain validity.

The event explained the key differences between “reliable” and “qualified” retention services. While reliable retention ensured protection from loss, unauthorized access, and damage, qualified retention comprised certified electronic archiving services that guarantee legal certainty and conformity with the highest standards. Qualified electronic signatures and seals used with these services ensured that the stored documents had the same legal effect as versions bearing physical signatures.

The seminar also included a presentation of DigitalDocs software, a product of Iron Mountain, designed to digitalize operations and facilitate electronic archiving. The software’s functionality includes digital document receipt, archive ledger, document distribution, and an electronic stamp for signing documents. DigitalDocs also allows integration with existing ERP systems and business apps.