imagize Security
imagize™ utilizes secure, SSAE 18 certified and HIPAA compliant data centers for hosting your portal, data, and digital imaging files. These state-of-the-art hosting environments are equipped with the latest technology for security, data redundancy and back-up protection while maximizing application performance and efficiency.
- Latest firewall security
- Intrusion protection and monitoring
- SSL security
- Secure ftp file uploads
- SAN storage with redundancy
- Your own https:// portal url
Imagize Compliance
Compliant digital image formats include electronic and scanned documents (images) in a sustainable, non-proprietary format in order to meet long-term archiving standards (see the National Archives article on sustainable formats for electronic records). Many governing bodies including National Archives Records Management (NARA), HIPAA and State Historical and Archive Societies have deemed the Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) as a sustainable image format for electronic records.
imagize™ stores the root archive image file as a TIFF Group 4 image for long-term preservation and archiving. This allows your digital records to comply with industry standards making them sustainable for long-term preservation. PDF images are popular and generally used for portability. A document management or content management system uses a Group 4 TIFF image as the root, archival image. Once scanned as a Group 4 TIFF image, PDF images can be created easily for document portability purposes via secure email, etc.
Long-term information preservation and storage standards were first created back in the 1950s and 1960s when microfilm was used as a media to preserve important information while providing reduced storage benefits and improved the way in which information was distributed to multiple locations. Once deemed as the benchmark for information and document archiving, microfilm was tested and certified for over 100 years of preservation and was the industry standard for archival preservation, distribution and back-up method.
Document scanning and digital imaging began in the 1980s with many software companies developing proprietary software and hardware to scan and archive digital images over the microfilming formats. Scanned images were often large and computer hard drive storage space was relatively expensive so a Write Once Read Many (WORM) technology was developed and optical disks were created with jukeboxes acting as the storage system.
Fax machines sent digital images from one location to another in a standardized black & white (Binary) image format called the CCITT Group 3 TIFF file. Group 3 is the algorithm compression used to create a smaller file for sending across the analog phone lines. Group 4 TIFF images are an extension of the Group 3 TIFF images and are used today as the standardized image format for long-term image storage in a non-proprietary format (see the National Archives article on sustainable formats for electronic records).
Digital Record Storage Provides:
- Non-Proprietary Image Format for Long-Term Compatibility
- Low-Cost Filing and Document Retrieval
- Information Back up and Disaster Recovery Plan
- Cost-Savings on Document Access and Distribution of Information
Tiff image definition and types:
Definitions:
- Tiff (i.e., Tagged Image File Format)
- CCITT: Consultative Committee International Telephone and Telegraph (est. 1956; now International Telecommunication Union-Technical).
Types of Tiff Images:
- Uncompressed = TIFF
- Compressed Group 3 (G3, III) example: CCITT Group 3
- Compressed Group 4 (G4, IV) example: CCITT Group 4
Tiff (CCITT Group 4 or Group 3) meet industry and regulatory requirements for long-term storage and digital file sustainability).
