Why “Digitize Everything” Is a Risky Records Strategy for Businesses

Table Of Contents:

• Why the “Digitize Everything” Mindset Persists
• What “Digitize Everything” Really Means—and Why It Falls Short
• The Hidden Cost of Over-Digitization
• Why Digitization Can Increase Cybersecurity Risk
• Compliance and Retention: Why Physical Records Still Matter
• When Digitization Makes Sense—and When It Doesn’t
• Why Hybrid Records Management Is Safer and More Cost-Effective
• How Corodata Supports Smarter Records Strategies
• Common Questions About Digitizing Records
• Final Thought: Strategy Beats Trends

Digitizing everything sounds like the obvious “modern” choice. It promises fast search, remote access, and fewer file rooms. But in practice, an all-in digitization strategy often creates higher ongoing costs, more compliance complexity, and greater cybersecurity exposure—especially for organizations managing regulated or long-retention records.

One reason this mindset persists is the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure. Gartner forecast worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services to reach $675.4 billion in 2024, up from $561 billion in 2023. Source: Gartner press release

Bottom line: Digitization is a tool. Treating it as a blanket policy is where organizations get hurt.

Why the “Digitize Everything” Mindset Persists

Cloud adoption is growing quickly, and leadership teams often interpret that growth as a mandate to move everything online. Gartner also projected public cloud end-user spending to total $723.4 billion in 2025, reinforcing that digital ecosystems—and their costs—are expanding year over year. Source: Gartner press release

For records managers, the risk is that “go digital” becomes a simplistic directive instead of a strategy grounded in access needs, retention rules, and risk tolerance.

Key takeaway: The push to digitize is often driven by trend and perception, not the practical realities of records lifecycles.

What “Digitize Everything” Really Means—and Why It Falls Short

A “digitize everything” records strategy usually means scanning legacy paper records, converting incoming paper to digital immediately, and storing records entirely in digital repositories (often cloud-based). The goal is to standardize access and reduce physical footprint.

The problem is that this approach assumes all records have the same value and usage patterns. They don’t. A healthcare organization may need rapid access to active patient-care documents but rarely retrieves older charts that must be retained for long periods. A law firm may digitize active case files while keeping closed matters physically archived due to evidentiary and retention considerations.

System fragmentation can also undermine the promise of “digital efficiency.” AIIM reported that 74% of content systems are not connected to other business systems, with only 26% integrating with core applications—meaning digitization can increase silos if governance and integration aren’t addressed. Source: AIIM Industry Watch (press release)

Bottom line: When format drives the strategy instead of usage and retention requirements, you don’t get clarity—you get digital sprawl.

The Hidden Cost of Over-Digitization

Digitization is often sold as a cost-saver, but large-scale scanning introduces both upfront and long-term expenses. Beyond scanning and indexing, organizations face recurring costs tied to storage growth, access controls, cybersecurity, and platform migration.

Those ongoing costs matter because low-access, long-retention records rarely generate enough operational value to justify their digitization. Think: closed HR files, old finance documentation, archived project binders, historical contracts, or legacy compliance records. When these are scanned en masse, you frequently pay for processing now and storage forever—without improving workflows.

Key takeaway: The question isn’t “Can we digitize it?” It’s “Will digitizing this record reduce cost or risk over its full retention period?”

Why Digitization Can Increase Cybersecurity Risk

Moving records into digital systems doesn’t eliminate risk—it redistributes it. Digital environments are exposed to ransomware, credential theft, insider threats, and third-party vendor breaches.

IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 found the average global cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million. Source: IBM (2024)

Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report also noted that roughly one-third of breaches involved ransomware or some other extortion technique. Source: Verizon DBIR (2024)

Professionally managed physical records cannot be remotely accessed, encrypted, or exfiltrated—making them an effective offline safeguard when combined with controlled access, documented chain of custody, and secure facilities.

Bottom line: The more records you push online without discrimination, the larger your cyber “blast radius” becomes.

Compliance and Retention: Why Physical Records Still Matter

Compliance obligations don’t disappear with digitization. Many regulations still require retention of original records, clear chain of custody, and defensible destruction practices. In audits or litigation, being able to prove integrity and control often matters as much as retrieval speed.

Healthcare illustrates the stakes. HIPAA Journal reports that 725 healthcare data breaches were reported in 2023, exposing more than 133 million records. Source: HIPAA Journal (2023)

Government guidance also reinforces that recordkeeping isn’t always “digital-only.” The U.S. National Archives notes that agencies without electronic recordkeeping systems must still print and file certain electronic records into paper systems. Source: U.S. National Archives

Key takeaway: Hybrid strategies often align more cleanly with real-world retention and defensibility requirements.

When Digitization Makes Sense—and When It Doesn’t

Digitization delivers real value when it improves active workflows—especially for records that are frequently accessed, shared across teams, or required in electronic form. For example, insurance claims teams often benefit from digitized working files that speed up approvals and reduce cycle time.

But digitization is often a poor default for long-retention, low-access archives. Manufacturing companies, for instance, may retain engineering documentation or compliance records for decades and retrieve them only occasionally—making secure offsite storage a practical, cost-controlled option.

Here’s a simple way to explain the decision internally: if a record’s access value is low but its retention burden is high, mass scanning is rarely the best first step.

• Digitize records that are high-access, collaborative, or operationally active.
• Store records that are low-access, long-retention, or needed as protected originals.
• Do both when you need digital convenience but must preserve originals for defensibility.

Bottom line: Digitize what you use. Store what you must keep.

Why Hybrid Records Management Is Safer and More Cost-Effective

Hybrid records management blends selective digitization with secure offsite physical storage. Instead of forcing every record into a digital environment upfront, organizations apply digitization where it creates real operational value and store the rest in controlled facilities designed for long-term retention and protection.

This approach reduces unnecessary scanning spend, limits exposure to digital-only disruption, and keeps storage expenses predictable. It also gives organizations flexibility to digitize additional records later if business needs change—without over-investing upfront.

Key takeaway: Hybrid records management modernizes operations without making them digitally fragile.

How Corodata Supports Smarter Records Strategies

Corodata helps organizations implement pragmatic, hybrid records strategies grounded in operational reality. That includes secure offsite storage for long-retention and low-access records, optional scanning for records where digital access creates measurable value, and compliant handling practices that support chain of custody and defensible retention.

Industry examples where this matters:

• Healthcare: retain legacy records securely while digitizing active workflows and protecting sensitive information.
• Legal: preserve originals and maintain defensible custody while scanning working sets for speed and collaboration.
• Finance/Insurance: store retention-heavy archives offsite while keeping frequently accessed documents digital.
• Government: balance public records obligations and continuity planning without forcing premature digitization.

Bottom line: Smarter records strategies start with balance, not absolutes.

Common Questions About Digitizing Records

Is digitizing everything cheaper in the long run?
Often no. Low-access, long-retention records can be cheaper to store securely offsite than to scan, host, secure, and migrate over time.

Are physical records less secure than digital ones?
When professionally managed, physical records are highly secure and immune to cyberattacks. Digital systems can be secure too, but they carry a different—and often larger—risk profile as volume increases.

Can organizations mix physical and digital records?
Yes. Most organizations already do. Hybrid records management is often the most practical and resilient approach.

Final Thought: Strategy Beats Trends

Digitization is a powerful tool—but without strategy, it can create new problems instead of solving old ones. Organizations that pursue “paperless at all costs” often discover higher long-term spend, more governance complexity, and greater exposure to cyber disruption.

A balanced, hybrid records strategy offers a more resilient path forward—one that aligns cost control, compliance, and security. The goal isn’t a paperless office. It’s a risk-aware, cost-effective records strategy built to last.