Pros & Cons of a of paperless document management system.

The sophistication of modern software and internet services raise the demand for a paperless office. Going paperless utilizing document management software is always the preferred option in facilitating a paperless initiative. The benefits of this technique have been mentioned many times in previous posts, or you can learn more in this video: Benefits of Paperless Document Management.

The upside of paperless document management

Having a paperless office would help reduce paper in our landfills. Reducing your paper usage by just 10% would prevent millions of tons of greenhouse gases.

You could reduce or eliminate the need for paper, ink cartridges, envelopes, postage and storage saving considerable money.

All of the digitized documents would be accessible through the cloud or a remote desktop providing easy access.

Bulky filing cabinets are eliminated or reduced, and a paperless office uses less physical space than a traditional one. Electronic faxes and email now can replace the need to print mail and ship documents to clients.  As a result, your company can reduce expenses, lower the investment in reams of paper and eliminate the chances of losing important documents or the potential for misfiled paper.

 The downside of paperless document management

If you decide to go paperless, as hard drives can fail, your servers need a safe secure off-site or cloud backup. 

Since digital documents can’t be protected by a lock and key, you need to consider encryption, secure policies and document restrictions. Almost software today, including Workflow and BPM Products, offer document security.

You must consider adequate measures for secure signing and annotating documents.

Office personnel will need training for the new paperless system and for the data security.

Going paperless isn’t for all businesses, but reducing paper in your office can easily be accomplished with the investment in good tools.  You can calculate the amount of money you spend on the software and the whole cost savings achieved thanks to document management solutions. In most cases you will find that it’s worth the investment!

If you have any other concerns with paperless document management software contact us now!