With document management technologies, paperless is possible

The benefits of going paperless have become widely recognized by enterprises of all sizes and sectors, and the rewards are growing with advancements in electronic document management software. In fact, while some businesses may have been able to decrease dependency on paper, advancements in the technology allowed them to minimize this even further, all while realizing a new array of advantages for greater efficiency and a competitive edge.

Mother Nature Network reported that many organizations going paperless in order to reduce wasted resources. The source explained that with research demonstrating that the average U.S. worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper each year, the environmental case for going paperless is clear. However, Cathy Sexton, a St. Louis productivity strategist and coach, has emphasized that paperless offices have many other advantages, including saving time, money and office space.

"A great benefit for paperless offices is that electronic documents can be found virtually from anywhere," Sexton said, according to the news provider. "So if you have a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or somebody who works from home, they can access documents too."

Accessibility and preservation
Mother Nature Network revealed that document management software can empower businesses with the tools required to convert paper files into an electronic format that can be easily organized, distributed and shared. As all files are kept in a centralized location, these documents can be easily accessed and searched from a computer in any location.

Additionally, Jon Russell, director of sales for Lucion Technologies, noted that paperless technologies can help an enterprise to prevent data loss during a disaster.

"Recent disasters have highlighted the need to keep business files securely backed up off-site," Russell told the source. "While paper is easily destroyed and expensive to store, files digitized with paperless office software can be backed up daily."

Following in the footsteps of many of the nation's enterprises, New York's Legislature is finally on the verge of going paperless. This transition will result in savings of tens of millions of dollars per year that would have been spent printing bundles of bills, many of which went unread by legislators and staff. Republican Assemblyman James Tedisco has long supported the bill to go digital that recently passed last week.

Now that document management technologies have made going paperless a real possibility, businesses can deploy these tools to make data easily retrievable to those who need it without compromising the budget or security.

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