How Paperless Offices Work

无纸化办公,有很多好处eyond simply having less paper to deal with. While you're unlikely to have a completely paper-free office, electronic communication and other systems can eliminate much of it. Let's take a closer look at how this has benefited some businesses:

Taken one step at a time, moving toward a more paperless office doesn't have to be difficult. Go to the next page for some steps to put the process in motion.

如果你正在考虑转变paperless office -- or at least a more paperless office, you may be wondering where to start and what you'll need. Many companies offer document management systems, hardware, software and consulting services to help improve electronic communication on the road to having no paper. We'll look at some of those later in this article. For now, let's explore the process.

Here are some decisions for you to consider before you start the transition to a more paperless office:

Based on recommendations from experts and companies who have gone through the process, here are some basic steps for the transition process.

Next, let's look at a key part of any paperless office -- the document management system.

Digital documents, like paper, need to be stored so they can be retrieved and used as needed. For a paperless office -- or more likely, a near paperless one -- you'll need a way to turn paper documents into digital, or electronic documents.

That type of communication transformation is handled by a document imaging system. Since not having paper is unlikely, you'll probably find an ongoing need to turn paper into electronic files. A document management system usually goes beyond that transformation to deal with all documents -- computer generated, as well as those that are faxed, scanned or e-mailed.

The basic document imaging system consists of a scanner and software that allows paper documents to be scanned, converted to electronic images and saved in PDF, TIFF or other formats for storage on CDs, DVDs, a computer hard disk or a network server.

Most document imaging systems include optical character recognition (OCR). This allows the images to be recognized as text when saved as searchable PDFs or copied into programs like Microsoft Word or Excel. With OCR, you also can search for specific words or phrases within a scanned document.

Document management systems provide the electronic file cabinets and filing system tools. They combine data storage space with software that goes beyond document imaging to include functions such as audit trail and reporting tools, document expiration controls to delete documents at specified dates and Web-based document viewing.

More advanced document management systems offer extras such as:

If you have large quantities of paper documents to turn into electronic files or need help getting the job done quickly, you may want to outsource document imaging to a company like microMEDIA. One of the company's current on-site conversion projects includes OCR and fully searchable PDF files with more than 25 million images.

And if you don't have a robust enough server or want to store electronic files off site, many document imaging companies offer a hosted server solution. Web-based document hosting allows you to store or back up your files on their server and then access them securely anywhere, any time. The advantage is that valuable files are off site in case your company's server goes down or cannot be used on site, like during a hurricane.

Beyond your company's paperless needs, employees may have a home office. On the next page, we'll look at how to bring a paperless look to your home office.

Whether you're a solo entrepreneur or a telecommuter working full or part time from home, there's no reason your home office can't be as paperless as possible. In fact, given limited space and available time, the move to electronic communication and reduced paper may be even more important at home than in a conventional office. Most of the same concepts apply, only on smaller scale.

Start your at-home push to paperless by taming your inner pack rat. No, you probably don't need marketing materials from five years ago or every scrap of paper related to completed projects. Reduce junk mail by calling 1-888-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) to stop receiving credit card offers. Once you've cleared out the unnecessary, you can work to keep those newly cleared spaces clear permanently.

Next, switch to electronic with everything you can. Electronic banking eliminates statements and checks. Online credit card and financial statements knocks out more paper. Check to see what other accounts, like insurance, you can make online. The same goes for project proposals, resumés and invoices. When paper comes to the door, handle it once, and recycle or shred as much as you can immediately.

Make PDF documents of your receipts and save them online instead of printing out paper copies. Create an online filing system that's easy to understand. And develop a regular back-up system that you do at least weekly to make sure you don't lose important documents. A flash drive or CD can work, unless you have enough data to need an external hard drive for back-up.

Consider getting an inexpensive scanner, if you don't already have one, to scan and save receipts, contracts and other documents. If you need to return a signed contract and your employer or client is willing, you can scan the contract, sign it and fax it back. If not, you can at least scan and save the signed contract for your records.

Take that concept a step further, and consider signing up for electronic fax services. Several companies offer this service and accompanying software for as little as $40 per month. With electronic faxing, or Internet faxing, as it's sometimes called, you can send and receive faxes without a paper-using fax machine. Any document you create on your computer can be sent to a fax machine via e-mail or the Web.

Add a firewall and evaluate your software to make sure you have adequate security for your electronic documents and can protect them from cyber-thieves. If you think you need more, buy something more robust.

Work on one area at a time to gradually build to a nearly paperless office. Plan an annual end-of-year clean-out. Go through files, and move everything that simply needs to be stored onto CDs.

And accept the fact that some paper won't go away. Deeds, birth certificates, notarized documents and some tax-related items just need to be stored securely. Fortunately, by the time you've made the other changes, you probably won't need a large box to store the paper you've left!

Next, let's consider paperless office solutions beyond document management systems that can make a paperless office work better.

While document management is an important part of the paperless office, other technology can help make the switch to electronic communication easier. If your goal is to eliminate paper, take a look at these options.

Data Back-Up-- For a paperless solution to work, a company needs the security of knowing digital documents are duplicated. This can be done through on-site back-up to a disk, hard drive or server. However, some less-used data can simply be archived, or stored on or off site for record keeping or in case it's needed at some point [source:Digital Assets].

Companies providing document hosting services frequently offer data archiving services. They may also offer data mirroring, in which an exact copy, or mirrored repository, of your database is kept off site so that your company can connect to it and use it at any time.

电子传真-- With electronic faxing, a company no longer needs paper-using fax machines. Incoming faxes are converted to digital images and sent to individual e-mail boxes. Similarly, documents created on the desktop can be sent to a fax machine via e-mail or the Web. Faxing also is more secure because paper copies can't be lost or left on a fax machine for everyone to see.

Security Solutions-- While electronic documents provide a level of security beyond paper on their own, you may want to go beyond the security offered as part of a document management solution. In choosing a security solution, consider the three main points of security: Does it provide confidentiality by protecting against unauthorized entry? Does it have integrity in that data within the device can't be altered? And does it limit availability by requiring authorization before the database can be used?

As technology advances, other solutions to the paper problem will undoubtedly emerge. One in development is Xerox Corp.'s electronic paper, which allows notations on thin digital displays with a stylus. The notations can either be erased or saved digitally. Another, Anoto Group's intelligent paper, also allows notations with a stylus, but using a magnetic ink. The notations appear on the paper and simultaneously on a computer screen.

For more information about paperless offices and related topics, check out the links on the next page.