Digital Forecast

The paperless office has been much prophesied but has never really materialized even in our increasingly digital world.

Many offices are still buried under piles of paper and stacks of files. Going paperless, or even just implementing a system to cut down on the amount of paper used, is generally more in the category of wishes for a business, not in the category of needs.

Companies thinking about taking the paperless plunge, there are myriad advantages. Studies found that 84 percent of businesses that do implement a paperless system see a return on investment in less than 18 months. So going paperless is a net benefit once a company gets past the process of implementation.

A paperless office saves money in a variety of ways, from printing to distribution to storage to disposal.

Paper Health

Working with paper documents can negatively impact health in several ways. Lifting heavy boxes may cause back and joint strain, while constant handling can lead to poor posture, repetitive strain injuries, and eye fatigue.

Dust, mold, and paper fibers can trigger allergies or respiratory issues, and shared documents can spread germs and viruses. A cluttered paper environment also contributes to stress.

Digitizing documents helps reduce these risks, creating a safer, cleaner, and more efficient workspace resulting is less sick days.

Right Moves

Paper can be expensive to use for something so simple. The average employee uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year at a cost of roughly $80 per year per employee, and that’s just the cost of the paper. Printing has extra associated expenses, such as the price of purchasing, maintaining the printers and the price of ink.

Every printed piece of paper costs a company money, and few of the printed sheets do anything to bring money in. Most printed documents in an office are for internal use and do not contribute positively to the bottom line.

By moving to a system where more tasks are done in the digital space, a business saves money in all of these areas.

Inner Space

One of the biggest expenses a company has is often its physical office space. A business is paying a lease and lights as well as heating and cooling. All of these costs go up the larger a space gets.

In many modern offices, stored paper takes up much of the room. Unlike employees, however, paper is dead space – much of it doesn’t contribute to a company's revenue in any way. In a paperless system, many of the records stored around an office could be digitized and the physical copies recycled or shredded.

With the reduction in paper, the amount of room a business needs to operate could also be reduced. That extra area could be used to bring in new employees that will contribute to the company, making more money. Or a business that reduces its space requirements could find that it is able to move to smaller and cheaper premises.

Planned Success

Companies that do not change with the times, embracing digital transformation every step of the way, will be inherently less likely to excel and reach the top of their respective markets, and such adjustments would be impossible without a tried and true digital document management plan for the future.

Enquire online today about sustainable digital archiving.

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