Editor's Note: Matt Peterson is president and CEO of eFileCabinet.

The concept of cloud storage has been around for over a decade, but using the web for applications and storage has really taken off in the last five years.

Paperless office systems and file sharing systems rely on a complex network of servers to host and share data that may be accessed from anywhere in the world. Importantly, cloud-based file storage and sharing frees a company from the challenges and costs of maintaining internal servers and hiring the IT support staff to manage this infrastructure.

Based on over 10 years of experience in the document-management industry, here are some tips for efficient document management via the cloud:

About 80 percent of what you put in your document-management solution will be scanned pages. Require all paper documents to be scanned as soon as they come into your office or department. Start scanning from this day forward and don't worry about your back files. After you have the scan-forward process down, then begin scanning back files from the most recent to the oldest.
A scanner is an essential tool for a paperless office, but it is very important to buy one that has optical character recognition (OCR) functionality, otherwise, you are creating "dead graphics" that do not have any text-search ability. With OCR, you can do Google-like searches for text within the document rather than just searching for the document name. Additionally, make sure the scanner can scan at least 20 pages per minute at 300 DPI (dots per inch) resolution or higher with an automated sheet feeder.
Like any type of clutter, files can accumulate to the point where you find yourself digging through chaos. Be consistent in your descriptions and naming schemes so that you can easily find files when you search for them later. Use specific names for your files that include not only the topic, but the media type and the date when the file was created. Avoid using names that are overly cryptic. Use a specific order in how you name your files. For instance, you can list the type of document first, the client it is intended for as second, the date as third, and the date the file was created last. Developing a formula makes it easy to quickly pull up files when needed.
Use a firewall. On top of using complex passwords and a secure network get a firewall—a software or hardware-based network system that analyzes data packets from incoming and outgoing traffic. It decides whether data should be allowed through or not, and is essential for keeping your information from getting intercepted by the public.
Back up files regularly. Files are not entirely safe if they are only on a hard drive. Back up all necessary files on the cloud, and it's best to do it immediately so you don't forget which data is critical.

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