subject: The Move Towards A Paperless Office [print this page] More and more businesses are moving towards a paperless office as it allows companies to handle their documents easily whilst also saving time and money. Most office environments cannot get rid of all their paper completely, but there are new advancements in technology which are helping offices to get to a minimal point of usage.
In addition to technological progress more and more companies are becoming committed to reducing their paper usage. Why? Because of the benefits of a paperless office, which include:
" Accessibility "" All documents are available online 24/7 a day, and you can also do this remotely.
" Security "" Access can be granted on different levels so only people with the right level of security can gain access. Additionally documents are backed up, so in case of an emergency (such as a fire) all documents remain safe and secure.
" Simplicity "" It can be easier to access historical documents stored online, rather than spending half the day looking through boxes and filling cabinets of old archived documents.
" Automatic audit trail - All activities relating to documents, such as views, prints, forward etc, are noted. Documents cannot be removed from the system from an unauthorised individual or before the legal amount of time has passed, providing a complete and secure audit trail.
" Online storage retrieval "" Stores all documents online, making it quick and easy to retrieve. It is very easy to manage the documents and gives instant access anywhere and to anyone who needs it.
" Better customer service "" Queries can be answered faster (often immediately) as documents can be accessed immediately and with the support of an audit trail and history it"s always clear where a document is in terms of its processing.
All of the above benefits also helps the environment and reduces the company"s carbon footprint. Additionally it also reduces office costs such as the need to buy paper, ink and photocopying charges; making the idea of not having a paperless office quite ludicrous.
Despite the significant benefits of a paperless office some bad habits still exist, a recent report by AIIM, titled The Paper Free Office "" dream or reality?, found that 77% of invoices that arrive as PDF attachments get printed and 31% of faxed invoices get printed and scanned back in. However the report did conclude that instead of disappearing completely, the reliance on paper is slowly decreasing. People still, and always will, find a use for paper, for example it is generally easier to proof read and edit a hard copy than it is to edit on a computer screen, but generally most offices are trying to use less paper.
At Documation, we believe the reliance on paper will slowly decrease in offices around the world, due to technological advances like our Invoice Processing System and Digital Mailroom which are helping companies reduce their paper usage. These, combined with developing technologies such as the cloud, smart phones and general computing are making it easier and cheaper for companies to cut down on their paper usage.
