Going digital in today's economy is not just about having a website or exchanging short e-mail messages. It's about reducing cost and saving the planet at the same time, Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right starting point, Recycling bins can be found in many offices but that may not be enough. Paper use contributes the most landfills, and the associated printing machines such as copiers consume energy at a faster rate than any other business device.
Saving money can ultimately reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide – an atmospheric gas released by the burning of oil and coal and other fossil fuels. This activity heats our planet according to many scientists, and the paper use may also put a depression on your profit. How can you start of the right way to a greener business and lower costs? Digitize your documents and retain control of it through your computer systems. The more you store digitally, the higher the savings for your company. Let's take a look at some good ways to start.
Use your desktop computer to review information and save energy. You can also send faxes to other computers by utilizing applications and having a disaster recovery option as well.
Processes such as accounting and billing can be streamlined through digitization, and document handling can be more secure with fewer errors and faster reviewing. You can then publish documents securely to your intranet for sharing or even to the Internet for marketing to your clients. And all documents can be searched easily with the click of a button.
To start your digital conversion, you can use scanners to move documents into a document management system. This can be accomplished on existing devices such as Multifunction Printers. When a worker scans a document into a local repository, automated classification software can automatically attach an index and share the document to other locations. For text search ability, after extraction, the document can be converted fully to digital form through OCR software. A fax server can also maintain easily accessible documents instead of faxing printed documents manually. When you do have to print, be smart about it!
Paper use has skyrocketed twofold from 1980 to present. Part of the reason is the increasing use of e-mails, which can amount to 97 billion e-mails, shared though the Internet on a daily basis. Employees feel the urge to print e-mails for reading as the information sharing increases. Converting your documents to digital form makes it much easier to review them on the computer. Here are some tips to handle digital documents the smart way:
- Use e-mail to share links to Internet pages. There's no need to print a web page when you can simply share the link to it.
- For convenience, you can add web pages to your Favourites folder. Use the “add to favourites” button your toolbar and add the page to your favourites. You can always come back to the page and share the link to it with others.
- Preview the document in Print Preview so reduce printing costs. Check all the settings and reduce your font size if possible. Make sure your pages are printed efficiently.
- Digital documents can be secure documents. Leaving documents around printing devices can expose information and create a security issue. Online management reduces that risk by creating a direct connection between the receiver and the sender.
- Reducing paper use can also be achieved by automating business processes and workflows. Your employees can be more efficient, collaborative, and accountable. If you use software such as Microsoft SharePoint, workgroups can also be more productive. The more productive your employees become, the less energy you consume.
It can be challenging to handle documents from various sources including document images, digital application files, emails, faxes and Web sites. The task can be accomplished by utilizing a workflow to store, organize and securely distribute documents to the appropriate users. All of these steps amount to greener and more profitable business approach for your company.
Give us a call to learn more about how you can transition to greener business strategies today.
