Document Management - White Paper (ID 5277).pdf Jul. 2014 | Page 27

Archive formats

Information Publishing

Another consideration for long-term storage is the format
of documents. It is recommended that archives utilize nonproprietary image and text formats (such as TIFF and ASCII,
respectively). Even though one proprietary format may seem
universal at the current time, this situation can rapidly change in
the future.

The dramatic leap in efficiency and convenience from DMS
adoption often occurs because it becomes possible to easily
access information from outside the office.

The danger of proprietary formats is that if a software developer
discontinues the application that reads the file, or the company
no longer owns the software, there would be no way of opening
and reading the document. TIFF image format and ASCII for text
are universal, non-propriety standards that will likely have easily
available conversion products well into the future.
Records management requirements
Records management is a specific asp