Paperless efforts are increasing

Businesses throughout the United States and United Kingdom have reported strong efforts to go paperless in their offices, according to a recent survey by Anoto. The digital pen company recently released a report showing that 71 percent of businesses need to keep electronic records, while more than half said digital information is easier to work with than paper documents.

However, the report also revealed that companies still feel they are spending too much time on scanning documents, with 44 percent of respondents taking anywhere from one to five hours a day scanning paperwork.

The study focused on businesses in the financial, legal and insurance industries and had around 200 responses. Of those that submitted answers, an average of 93 percent said that their company has a scanning requirement, with about 75 percent reporting that they scan upwards of 100 pages a day.

When asked the reason for utilizing document imaging, the majority of respondents said that it was to improve document management, while about 41 percent said it was to backup paper files. However, these are just two of the advantages of document conversion. By converting paperwork to digital data, a business can reduce operational costs and help employees be more productive, as well as keep up with legal and financial audit requirements.

To overcome the challenges associated with scanning paperwork and and streamlining a system, a company can invest in conversion services that take the pressure off of employees and free them to get on with more mission-critical tasks. Investing in conversion also puts a company on the first step toward going fully paperless. Electronic record keeping, digital signatures and other resources can help even law firms and financial institutions get rid of paperwork.

By investing in document imaging and, ultimately, information management, a business can improve more than its efficiency and records backups, it can help the environment and improve workflow all at once.

Brought to you by Image One Corporation, providing complete information governance since 1994.