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Subject:
From:
John Phillips <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Records Management Program <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 9 Feb 2012 20:04:03 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (129 lines)
You are correct. It is an unsubstantiated meandering vendor-mercial.
Clouds, data formats, and working remotely are not significant drivers for
going paperless. They are minor incidental incentives, maybe. The reason
paperless workflows and records systems have been resisted is far more a
function of limited ROI and cultural resistance. This is true whether or not
you are talking records use or storage. Even if they volunteered to expose
their survey's methodology and data, I doubt that it would reveal much of
anything convincing regarding their claims.

Let me see now, it says "In the past people have pledged to cut down on
paper use before. What makes today different is that people have committed
to cutting back ..."  Wow. I always say that a "commitment" is much more
reliable than a "pledge" any day!

Right.

John


***************************
John Phillips
Information Technology Decisions
www.infotechdecisions.net



-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Tom Shull
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2012 5:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The Paperless Office - Why It Hasn't Happened

Does anyone else have trouble with this "infographic" and what it says? I
was very surprised by what it is saying.

In the first section, "What has made the paperless office possible?" it
proposes that "Prior to the following innovations, paperless offices were
simply nice ideas no one had the means to implement. These developments
provided the tools and technology needed to bring the paperless office from
the planning page into reality. " It then goes on to say that three
tools/technology are:
1. The growth of cloud computing
2. The increased adoption of shared document formats like PDF 3. The rise of
remote work arrangements
 
I think this statement is WRONG, WRONG.
 
These three tools/technology may contribute to better adoption in the
future, but they by no means made the paperless office possible. For
example, cloud computing is simply remote storage of data and/or
applications. We have had that ability for many years, in many flavors (file
servers, etc.). 
I think what made the paperless office possible was computer networks, that
is, being able to link computers to each other and move information
electronically between them. And as we all know that's been around for quite
a while.
As to "the increased adoption of shared document formats like PDF", while
this may be a factor in reducing printing, it did not make the paperless
office possible. The dominance of certain applications such as Microsoft
Word made the paperless office possible. I can send (via the network) a Word
document to a co-worker or someone outside my organization and they will be
able to open, read and even alter it. PDFs reduce the hassle factor and
contribute to the fidelity of the document, but did not make the paperless
office possible. We had ways to electronically share documents and
information before PDF.
And "the rise of remote work arrangements"? I believe remote work presses
the need to move information electronically so, again, it will contribute to
the adoption, but does not make a paperless office possible.
 
As other have already discussed, a lot of what prevents faster adoption of
the paperless office has to do with the user's experience - does the
paperless system work? does it save me time? can I trust it to have what I
need when I need it? (Thank you Carolyn and Simone for pointing this out).
We've had "the means to implement" in place for a long time. But we've not
done a good job of making the paperwork system, or business process, usable.
Working in a remote office and being able to store a PDF in the cloud helps
to get us to "paperless", but we still have miles to go.
 
And in the last section, how exactly does pledging to cut your use of paper
bags, magazines and toilet paper really have anything to do with a paperless
office? 
 
I rest my case. I'd be interested in others' thoughts.
 
Tom Shull
[log in to unmask]

 


> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:44:57 -0500
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: The Paperless Office - Why It Hasn't Happened
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> "The paperless office has been deemed inevitable over the last 20 years.
So why, despite these predictions, have offices stubbornly stood still?...."

> http://visual.ly/paperless-office-why-it-hasnt-happened-and-why-its-go
> ing
> 
> 
> Carolyn Mariani, CRM
> Director, Records Management
> Warner Music Group
> 75 Rockefeller Plaza
> New York, NY 10019
> [log in to unmask]
> 212-275-2410
> 
> 
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