Government departments hold years of circulars, correspondence, endorsements and administrative records, often in folders on racks across multiple rooms. As volumes grow, storage space runs short, files become harder to retrieve and sensitive records face greater risk. Government records digitization converts these archives into searchable digital records while preserving the link to the original paper. This case study shows how Somnetics approached bilingual digitization for a UAE government client.
The Challenge: Bilingual Paper Archives
In one Emirate of the UAE, several government departments, including Administration, Immigration, Legal, Purchase and the Crown Prince Office, were considering full digital transformation. Their work depended heavily on hard-copy documents and manual processes.
Two departments faced particularly pressing issues:
- Administration: a large and growing archive of physical folders was creating storage problems, and documents needed to move into an easily accessible electronic system.
- Immigration: archived circulars and internal endorsements were difficult to maintain manually, and keeping highly sensitive, confidential documents only in physical form was considered unsafe.
Documents existed in both Arabic and English, so any solution needed bilingual text recognition.
The Solution: A Structured Digitization Approach
Process Study and SOP
Somnetics began by studying existing procedures and designing the digitization approach. For the Immigration Department, a detailed standard operating procedure was prepared for the digitization process.
Local Team Training
Rather than relying solely on external staff, Somnetics recommended scanning resources and trained the local team to carry out scanning and digitization.
Physical Locator Indexing With Barcodes
Each document’s physical location, by room, cabinet and rack, was registered. Folders were identified with barcodes, so the digital record carries a footprint of where the original is stored.
Scanstream and Arabic-English OCR
Scanstream, Somnetics’ scanning management software, handled the scanned output and uploaded documents in batches by folder barcode. Documents were OCR-processed for both Arabic and English, making text in either language searchable.
Indexing and Publishing in i-doc
The indexing team indexed each file under its folder barcode, and files were published in i-doc, Somnetics’ document management system.
The Results
For the Administration Department, digitization of historical documents with physical locator footprints made the archive quickly searchable. For the Immigration Department, securing sensitive documents with digitization made files quick to find, while users can still use the physical locator to retrieve the original document when required.
Why Physical Locator Indexing Matters
Many government bodies must retain original paper records even after digitization. Linking each digital file to its exact room, cabinet and rack means staff can search digitally, then locate the original quickly for verification, legal or audit purposes, without reorganizing physical storage. Barcodes also make it easier to return each folder to its correct rack after retrieval.
Supporting Arabic-Language Organizations
For organizations working primarily in Arabic, i-doc Arabic is a document management system built for Arabic-language content. Its AI is trained on Arabic script and dialects for accurate text extraction, full-text search and indexing, with a switchable multi-language view, dual-layer encryption, role-based access controls and audit trails.
Lessons for Government Digitization Projects
- Study existing procedures before scanning begins.
- Document a clear SOP for consistent results.
- Train local teams to build internal capability.
- Use barcodes to connect digital and physical records.
- Ensure OCR supports every language in your archive.
- Index files consistently before publishing.
- Plan for secure access to sensitive government records.
For broader guidance, read our posts on planning a large-scale digitization project and Arabic document management system requirements.
Start Your Government Records Digitization
Planning to digitize bilingual government archives? Talk to a Somnetics digitization expert to review your records, languages and indexing requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is physical locator indexing in document digitization?
Answer: Physical locator indexing links each digitized document to the exact place its paper original is stored, such as the room, cabinet and rack. In Somnetics’ government projects, this location was captured in a barcode, so staff can search the digital record first and then go straight to the original when it is needed.
Q2. Can OCR read both Arabic and English government documents?
Answer: Yes. In Somnetics’ UAE government projects, scanned documents were OCR-processed for both Arabic and English, making text in either language searchable in i-doc. Bilingual OCR matters for archives where correspondence, circulars and endorsements mix languages, because single-language recognition would leave part of the archive effectively unsearchable.
Q3. What is Scanstream and how does it support digitization?
Answer: Scanstream is Somnetics’ in-house scanning management software. In these projects, it handled the scanned output and uploaded documents in batches according to each folder’s barcode, connecting the scanning stage to i-doc. This keeps large digitization programmes organized, with each batch tied to its physical folder and location.
Q4. Can a government department’s own staff carry out the scanning?
Answer: Yes. Somnetics recommended suitable scanning resources and trained the client’s local team to carry out scanning and digitization, supported by a detailed standard operating procedure. This approach helps departments build internal capability, reduce reliance on external staff and continue digitizing other departments’ archives consistently.
Q5. Should government departments keep paper originals after digitization?
Answer: Many do, because policies or legal and audit requirements may call for retaining originals. Digitization does not have to mean disposal. With physical locator indexing, the digital copy supports everyday search and access, while the original remains traceable to its room, cabinet and rack for verification whenever it is required.
Q6. How can our department start digitizing its government records?
Answer: Begin by assessing your archive: which departments, document types and languages are involved, and how files are currently stored. Then contact Somnetics to discuss procedures, scanning resources, bilingual OCR and barcode-based indexing. Their team can help you plan a structured digitization approach that fits your department’s records and security needs.
