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Business Bytes
June 4, 2009

Letting Go Of Paper

 

Is the dream of a paperless world reallly a dream or more of a nightmare? I think most of us fear the latter and that is probably the biggest reason why it hasn't happened.

Here a few areas many businesses just can't seem to let go:

1. Contracts. Electronic contracts are just as binding as paper contracts and have been under Federal law since 2000.

2. Archived files. Paper files from way back when sit in file cabinets or boxes in storage sheds just waiting to be ruined in the flood or fire. But shelling out the money to scan and organize some scatological approach is not exactly at the top of the budget priority list, is it? Perhaps, its time to at least chuck what is truly chuckable and see what's left to save for the ages in digital form.

3. Snail Mail. Chances are your business still gets mail other than the latest Lillian Vernon catalog. Should you scan it as you get it and throw out the paper or file it? I vote scan as you go.

4. Resumes. See above. Not all resumes are submitted electronically. Perhaps you should consider scanning the hard copy resumes and saving them in a recruiting file on the network somewhere.

Bottomline: I'm not suggesting you can go completely paperless. But, it's a goal worth pursuing to get more aggressive about paring down your paper.

So...

1. Scan it, don't file it.

2. Remember there's more space on your network drive than square footage in your office. Which is cheaper?

3. Two words: fire hazard.

4. One word: decay

5. One other word: green!

I'm just saying!

Renee Oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987.