DeutschIn recent years, digitization has reached more and more areas of our daily lives, including the management of postal documents. Digitization of postal processes offers many advantages for companies, organizations, and especially for individuals who want to optimize and modernize their daily life or are planning to emigrate.
In this blog post, we will explain what the term “digital mailbox” means and what digitizing mail entails. We present the advantages and disadvantages and recommend the best providers currently available in this field. We hope you enjoy reading :)
Who benefits from digitizing mail?
Managing letters, invoices, contracts, and other paperwork can be tedious and time-consuming. It is no wonder that the digitization of mail in the form of mailboxes has become so popular in recent years. Online mail simplifies everyday life and offers excellent clarity and accessibility without the need for sorting or archiving. A digital mail solution is suitable for anyone who wants to manage letters and documents quickly, efficiently and securely.
Especially in times of digital nomadism and increasingly mobile lifestyles, the ability to manage mail regardless of location and time is a great advantage. If you travel a lot and are tired of asking someone to empty your mailbox and open or forward important correspondence, an online mail solution can give you access to your mail anytime, anywhere and help you avoid missing deadlines and appointments.
Such a service can also be of great benefit to expatriates. Instead of placing a forwarding order for analog mail, letters can simply be forwarded to a provider such as Caya or Dogado, which will then scan and upload the mail to a mailbox online.
This way, you no longer have to wait for important documents that can get lost on long postal routes abroad. Instead, you can access your mail anytime, anywhere, and process and manage letters quickly and easily.
Businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, can also benefit from online mail processing. It allows them to focus on their core business without worrying about manual mail processing. Automation and workflow improvement are the keywords here. Paperless office management is another application area where digital mail processing comes into play. With an online solution, essential documents can be sent to international customers in real-time, saving resources as well as time and money.
How to digitize mail?
When mail arrives at the digitization provider, it is mechanically opened and then digitized using high-tech scanners and optical character recognition (OCR) software. The documents are first scanned and then converted into machine-readable text by the OCR software. The digitized documents are then stored in a mailbox or archived online, where they can be accessed and processed at any time.
Where are the letters scanned?
Specialized scanning service providers or online mailbox providers usually scan letters. These companies typically have advanced scanning technology, such as OCR software, and the infrastructure to digitize large volumes of mail quickly and efficiently. The scanned documents are then uploaded to a digital mailbox that customers can access through an online platform or mobile app.
How does a digital mailbox work?
A digital mailbox works much like your email inbox. It is a platform or application that allows you to receive and manage mail electronically.
Your original mail is delivered to the provider of your choice, scanned, and uploaded into a form that you can easily access online. This means you can view, edit and archive your incoming mail at any time, from anywhere in the world. The benefits of such a mailbox include easier organization and management of your mail and greater flexibility and mobility.
Advantages and Disadvantages of receiving physical mail online
Like any technology, the digitization of mail has its advantages and disadvantages. We have listed some of the most important points here.
Pros and Cons of Digital Mailboxes
Like any technology, receiving mail online has its pros and cons. Here are some of the more important ones.
Advantages:
- Convenience: You can access your mail anytime, anywhere. You no longer have to adhere to specific opening hours, and you can access your important documents on the go. Save time and energy by eliminating the need to check your physical mail each day. Even when you are traveling, you are notified of every delivery and shipment.
- Save time: You save time and energy by not having to regularly check your physical mailbox or retrieve missed mail.
- Accessibility: With a digital mailbox, you can access important documents anytime, anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection. You can easily organize and sort your mail because everything is in one central location.
- Security: Online mailboxes are generally more secure than physical mailboxes because advanced security technologies protect them, and documents are stored digitally encrypted. Your mail is never lost or damaged because everything is stored digitally.
- Paper reduction: Using this new form of mailboxes results in less paper being used, which is good for the environment and your wallet.
Disadvantages:
- Dependence on technology: To use online mailboxes, you need a stable and reliable Internet connection and a digital device such as a computer or smartphone. You may experience technical problems if something goes wrong with your device or Internet connection.
- Cost: Receiving physical mail online may require a monthly fee, depending on the services and features you need.
- Technical know-how: Using digital mailboxes effectively sometimes requires a certain level of technical understanding and expertise. You will need to become familiar with a particular technology and may need to learn a new platform.
- Privacy: Although these new systems are generally secure, there is always a risk that hackers or other threats could compromise personal information.
We find that digitizing mailboxes is a great way to automate existing processes and improve efficiency. On the other hand, it can be a limitation because you have to get used to a particular technology and workflow. In addition, some people may miss receiving physical mail.
Ultimately, whether you see the integration of a digital mailbox into your life as an opportunity or a limitation depends on your personal preferences and needs. It is crucial to weigh the pros and cons before deciding on or against receiving physical mail online.
Scanning mail: The best providers for 2024
Anyone looking for a reliable mail scanning provider will quickly come across the names Caya and Dogado. Both companies specialize in digitizing physical mail and offer their customers a reliable and easy service.
- Dogado is an established company that has been in the market since 2001. It is known for its high-quality cloud solutions and online services in the field of digital transformation. With the introduction of the Digital Mailbox, Dogado has expanded its portfolio and now offers an efficient solution for digitizing physical mail.
- Caya is a young company founded in Berlin in 2017. Since then, it has become one of the leading providers in the field of mail digitization. With a secure online mailbox and an experienced team of scanning specialists, Caya offers its customers a reliable and efficient solution for managing physical mail.
Both providers have their strengths and offer excellent service. Ultimately, your choice will depend on your personal needs and preferences. However, it is certain that you will make a good choice with Caya or Dogado. We will now take a closer look at both vendors.
Receive mail online with Dogado
Dogado, an established provider, also offers an advanced solution for mail digitization. The company was founded by experienced entrepreneurs who specialize in digitizing business processes. As a result, Dogado also uses advanced mail digitization technologies to scan letters and mail quickly and securely. Once digitized, the letters and documents are available in a clear and secure online area. With Dogado, you not only save time but also have access to all important documents anytime, anywhere.
Dogado offers intuitive operation, easy integration with existing systems, and high security for your data. This allows you to focus on your work without worrying about handling paper mail.
The Dogado digitization process
At Dogado, the process of digitizing your mail is simple and convenient. Your mail is made available daily through a web interface or an app. Specially designed machines automatically open and scan your mail to make it available to you online. The mail is forwarded to Dogado through a forwarding order and digitized through high-quality scanning. You can conveniently view and browse your documents in an easy-to-use web viewer or app. With a fast full-text search, you no longer have to wade through your paperwork to find the document you need.
Privacy is crucial at Dogado
Dogado takes the protection of your data very seriously. All technical and organizational measures are implemented in accordance with the GDPR, and your business or private mail is stored in audit-proof archives. These archives are equipped with video surveillance, shelf sprinklers, alarm systems, and fire alarms to ensure maximum security.
Physical originals are retained for 90 days and then destroyed in accordance with legal requirements. Your data is hosted exclusively in German data centers and processed according to the highest data protection guidelines.
Receive mail online with Caya
Caya currently has more than 50 employees and receives mail from more than 20,000 customers. The company uses modern technologies to digitize its customers’ mail. The process begins with the creation of an online mailbox for each customer, which is then forwarded to the company’s physical address. Caya then scans the mail and stores it online so it is easily accessible and searchable.
The digitized letters can be accessed from anywhere through the Caya Cockpit, and customers can organize and edit their letters directly in the app. Caya uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to extract important information from the letters and automatically categorize them for easier management and processing.
Thanks to Caya, customers can save time and resources by automating their business processes or daily life and focusing on their core business. According to customer feedback, Caya is a game changer that allows them to focus on what matters most.
How does Caya digitize mail?
In Caya’s digitization process, letters and documents are first sorted by format and mechanically opened. They are then removed from the envelope and prepared for scanning. They are then digitized in milliseconds by state-of-the-art production scanners.
The digitized letters and documents are first stored in a short-term internal archive before a decision is made whether to destroy them, send them to customers, or transfer them to the long-term archive.
To complete the digitization process, the digitized documents are sent to the customers. Caya offers several options for this, such as the Caya Document Cockpit, an FTP server, by e-mail, or through integrated systems.
Conclusion: Digitizing Postal Mail
Archiving physical mail online has many benefits for both businesses and individuals. Not only does it provide more organization and overview, but it also provides more security than traditional document storage. Dogado and Caya offer a practical and easy solution for archiving postal mail online.
Especially for people who move abroad, digital mail archiving can be a great advantage because they can access their documents regardless of their new location. This saves them the hassle of setting up a mail forwarding service that sends physical mail abroad. They also do not have to worry about their important documents getting lost or damaged during the long postal journey because they are stored securely in a data base.
Overall, online mail archiving is a practical and beneficial alternative to traditional document storage. It is a convenient way to keep your mail secure and accessible and provides a simple solution for businesses or individuals who travel frequently or move abroad.
