During one of our business class discussions, the concept of
the paperless office
was brought up in regards to making and
maintaining computer backup files in a QuickBooks
class. The question is, “what ever
happened to the paperless offices we were predicted to have by now?”
Back in the 1980s and ‘90s, there was a big push towards making
all business documents exclusively electronic documents. The idea was nobody
would ever have to print a piece of paper because the document can be moved
effortlessly from one computing device to the next. Since it is so much easier
to edit a document on a screen then on a sheet of paper, this would save time,
money, effort, the
environment, etc., etc.
There was even conjecture that bulk paper manufacturers
would become a thing of the past, sort of like the makers of horse and buggy whips
for the everyday traveler and hitching posts.
So what happened? Obviously, paper hasn’t disappeared. In
fact, it’s more prevalent than ever. What
happened to the concept of the paperless office?
Here are few points from our classroom discussion:
Nothing Feels Like
Paper.
Paper hasn’t disappeared because it’s so useful. Got to hand
it to old Gutenberg, paper is still an extremely efficient carrier for
messages. And nothing yet feels as solid and tangible as paper. Seeing a
document on the screen is one thing, but getting it handed to you on sheets of
paper makes it seem more “real.” Another fascinating fact is once you download
an Adobe pdf file, you can look at the page count to see how long the document
is. On the other hand, if you are handed a stack of papers stapled together,
you immediately have a sense of how long the report is before you even look at
it.
Can’t Trust Those
Computer Contraptions
Despite vast improvements in the reliability of computer
hardware and backups, there’s still the comfort of having your information on
paper as a last resort. If you have just finished an exhaustive project upon
which your career and livelihood depend, isn’t there something in the back of
your mind that says print out a copy and keep it in a file folder…just in case?
It’s that nagging little suspicion that is replicated dozens of times a day
that means paper isn’t going anywhere soon.
Besides, putting an urgent piece of paper on an absent co-worker’s
keyboard is going to get noticed before any e-mail or transferred file. So paper is still a tried and true method of
getting your message noticed.
The Best (Worst) of
Both Worlds
There has been great progress to eliminating the mounds of
paper that used to be produced. Document
management systems help keep things organized and archived. Just look at
how people file their income taxes every year – more and more can
electronically file saving, literally, tons of paper.
The other advantage of paper is it doesn’t matter what operating
system or what device is your our your company’s personal preference, it will
work. You don’t have to worry about device compatible operating systems to read
a post-it note and you don’t have to be concerned that your recipient will need
the latest software upgrade in order to read your document.
That doesn’t mean that things won’t be changing any time
soon. There are electronic
paper substitutes being developed which when adopted again might not
completely replace paper but will probably find its own specific uses.
So it pays to keep up with trends, including storing
documents in The
Cloud. There’s much to learn to truly understand the cloud, including how
to make the cloud work for you. Click
HERE for details on a short class.
Just remember, that when the real paperless office arrives,
be sure you get the memo.
 |
| PC & Pixel |
