While the once frequently prophesied dream of the paperless office still isn’t a complete reality, the majority of new business information exists in the digital realm. While digital documents can be infinitely copied, the lifespan of digital storage media is often shorter than that of analog media. Despite technological advances, the need for proper archiving remains, and is often required by law.
Datawitness, a fourth round finalist in 2004 based out of Richmond, provides a robust data retention solution for small to large business, education, and governments. In addition to archiving documents in their secure data center, Datawitness also transfers those documents to microfilm, creating an analog copy suitable for long-term storage. Documents are digitally fingerprinted to guard against tampering. On top of this platform, they provide a “Mailwitness” service that tracks delivery and receipt of sensitive email, along with archiving.
The service has been approved for use by the governments of British Columbia and Ontario. In 2006, they won an “Investor’s Choice” award at the 20th Angel Forum in Vancouver. In 2007, Datawitness received “Eligible Business Corporation” status, allowing investors to receive a tax credit under the New Media Venture Capital program. Also in 2007, Datawitness launched an API, allowing third party developers to plug in to their service.
Datawitness’ innovative technology, competitive pricing, and attention to legal requirements has rewarded them with pleased customers and stable growth. As more of the world’s data is converted to digital form, and data retention standards become more strict, demand for Datawitness’ services will increase into the foreseeable future.