In a recent article featured on CNN.com, the idea of the paperless office was evaluated, showing evidence that though it is slow going, some offices are moving toward the paperless initiative.
The concept of the paperless office has been around since 1975, when BusinessWeek predicted that offices would use a network of linked electronic filing cabinets.
Here we are 35 years later, but most offices are still dependant on the paper document system. According to the article, businesses use paper printouts to archive 62 percent of important documents.
However, there is hope yet for the spread of the paperless office in the near future. For example, featured online magazine, Trendhunter.com, is a completely paperless office that stores electronically even their important financial performance records.
Though the article notes that people still cling to the portability and disposability of the printed page, it also notes the increasing emergence of e-readers and tablet PCs that allow portability and familiar layout for all digital documents in one place.
We’re happy to be helping with the spread of the paperless office both for environmental purposes as well as general productivity. Hopefully offices will find inspiration in our simple, no hassle document scanning service that allows your office not only to turn paper into digital documents, but organize, search, and share those documents easier than with any paper system.
Though we certainly aren’t there yet, the paperless office is on its way. The technology is certainly available, and small to mid-sized offices can easily go paperless with OfficeDrop today. It seems, however, that people aren’t quite ready to let go of their paper entirely just yet. So until then, we’re happy to help businesses reduce their paper use even if they still want to keep a couple filing cabinets around.
