The 21st-century offices will be an electronic wonderland where expensive paper-based routine work will be replaced by result-oriented and advanced information technology. Office automation, with its microcircuitry and visual display screens, is sure to take over the old and worn-out methodology, in office management. Probably, within the next 3-5 years, office information system would be installed and developed to such an extent that it would replace the desk, the typewriter, the filing cabinet and the plethora of paperwork.
With the evolution of a new work style, based on speed, accuracy and efficiency the offices which fail to wake up to the implications of modern information technology will find themselves lagging behind. They would become vulnerable to the technological onslaught of their better-equipped competitors. A US study16 on office automation has indicated that 100% of the banking industry has already installed Office automation systems of some kind. An average of 85-word processors per 1,000 employees was reported. Together with these, the banks are likely to add private videotext, electronic mail, online management information systems with graphics and voice information systems. Future developments also imply the adoption of multifunctional workstations with a wide variety of capabilities. The technological advances have also invaded offices in Europe, UK, Japan, etc. However, in India, the position has started to emerge, and in certain sectors, rapid computerization is taking place particularly in BPOs, Stock Market Operations, Banking, Retailing, Higher Education, etc. The concept of paperless office encompasses the following:
• The omnipresent desk will now be replaced by the multifunctional workstation with a personal computer linked to other personal computers via a high-speed Local Area Network (LAN) system. The workstation can be further linked to the main station so that the staff positioned at the workstations can contact and manipulate information from the Office records.
• Computers, equipped to process words as well as figures, will replace typewriters. The present-day, word processor will slowly give way to personal computers.
• The electronic-magnetic or optical-filing is the one to succeed the paper filled filing cabinets in our offices. Microfilming will also reduce paper records and facilitate the retrieval of records.
• For outward communication, facsimile (FAX) system will replace the dispatch section.
• For inward communication, shorthand notebooks and typewriters will give way to dictating machines and printer computers.
• Desktop Publishing System will look after the entire printing work of the office. It will write and format documents, create and incorporate graphics, prepare camera-ready copy for printing, keep databases of mailing and subscription lists, create official advertising files and brochures and keep all financial records, no matter how large or small it is.
• Various machines like accounting machines, billing machines, payroll machines, addressing and mailing machines, punched card machines, etc. shall be replaced by computer network (LAN) system.
• The automatic answering devices and automatic electronic branch exchanges will reduce the workload of the reception counter of the office.
• The new emphasis will be on LAN system- a low-cost method of connecting microcomputers, printers and data storage devices on a single site. Imaginative use of information technology helps to create new opportunities. It cuts down operating costs, provides faster and more accessible information and reduces time spent on clerical functions and unproductive tasks.
Are the days of paper limited?
The increasing use of office machines in transmission, storage and data processing has facilitated the offices to abandon the use of paper to a large extent. However, the realization of the goal of ‘Paperless Office’ is subjected to the following problems:
[1] Transmission: Facsimile transmission is already possible, but it requires both the receiver and sender have compatible electronic apparatus, which will restrict transmission for some time to come.
[2] Storing: Microfilm has long been used as a storage medium, but as yet it has made no serious in roads into the use of paper. Data storage of huge quantities of information is already carried out by computers. Nevertheless, the most used device of many computers is not video display units (VDU) but printer.
[3] Data Processing: Again, computers already perform many data processing tasks which previously were being carried out by clerks armed only with pencils and paper. However, aspects like, financial, organizational and resistance to change will inhibit the rapid elimination of paper.
As such, the transformation of the office is not an easy task. An integrated approach where information is treated as a primary resource is necessary to reap maximum benefits from office automation. Further, the software supporting an electronic office should be reliable, accessible to everybody and easy enough to be operated by everybody irrespective of their ability or status, “Office automation can be carried out in a phased manner starting with the clerical staff and later moving on to the professionals and managers”. Managers can have desktop on workstations, which can be used for electronic mail, finding information from large central databases and typing text while producing reports. Through a properly linked network system, a manager can send electronic messages to his colleagues and arrange meetings and appointments. He can also type letters from his own laptops (screen-based/workstation). For maximum results, the technology used should be matched to the needs of the business and business objectives. The person coordinating the ‘Information Technology’ (IT) activity must be familiar with the business objectives of the organization.
Tips for a Paperless Office
Many people who use computers- whether it’s for their home or business- are moving towards a “paperless office”. Simply, they are tired and overwhelmed by scraps of paper, heaps of old file folders, envelopes- and they want to reduce the clutter. Take a look at how many messages are stored in your e-mail’s in-basket. Now imagine how much paper would have been generated if they hadn’t come to you from cyberspace.
Many companies have made at least a partial move to a paperless office. They’re doing so this way: by using scanners instead of copying machines, sending electronic faxes instead of paper faxes, storing information electronically instead of in filing cabinets, giving staff clients or vendor’s information on CDs or through Internet attachments instead of inbound folders. In short, they’re getting a greater return on their hardware, software and technology investments. Here are six things to keep in mind as you move towards a paperless home or business office.
a) Without paper, make sure you’re backing up files. In the traditional backup system, you would make a photocopy of a document and put it in a properly-labeled folder that can later be retrieved from a filing cabinet. Many people and businesses develop electronic filing systems that mimic the old paper systems, using Microsoft Word or customized programs for storing documents by type of document, client, project or other prioritization. But those files can’t just be created — they have to be backed up as well. Backup solutions can include backing up to second hard drives, to removable drives or to Internet and off-site locations to minimize the risk of loss of data from a computer failure. So, the message here is to have a system in place for regular and consistent backing up of your information.
b) Realize that a paperless office doesn’t happen overnight. Your home office or business won’t go from all-paper one day-to-paperless the next. It’s a progression. You might start out by scanning all incoming bills into your system and then expand to include all general business correspondence. Initially, you might imagine you’re creating more work instead of less —especially if you run a business. It’s just another way of backing up information.
c) You’ll need to rearrange your office — a good thing. There usually aren’t tremendous savings of office space when you first start focusing on using less paper. After all, you still have all those paper documents housed in your big, clunky file cabinets. At some point, during your transition to a ‘paperless office’, however, the difference in your physical storage space will become apparent.
d) “Paperless” often really means “less paper”. Yes. It’s possible to scan all received documents into your computer and to store all in-house documents in your system as well. You can virtually eliminate paper faxes by generating faxes on your computer and having inbound faxes delivered to your computer system. You can even electronically sign or signature-stamp outgoing documents. But you’re still likely to have some paper floating through your office. Not all of your clients or customers will want to be billed electronically. Some vendors will still want to communicate by snail mail. And tax and regulatory requirements could force you to either do some current business on paper or to keep hard copies of your past home or business records.
e) Everyone has to participate in change. Merely saying as head of household, owner or manager of a business that you want those around you to embrace your paperless office doesn’t make it so. Your partner or staff has to buy into the transition as a permanently-new way of doing business. Change can be difficult. People who have been making photocopies, sending paper faxes, putting documents into legal-sized folders or saving tons of mail and catalogues that they just can’t part with are going to have to change their perceptions. They will have to learn new routines that they already feel skilled at.
f) Realize that less paper is just the beginning of the pay-off. The most visible impact of a move to a paperless office is the reduction in the cost of printing, mailing, shipping and storing paper. Over time, lots of other benefits should become apparent: Less time spent looking for paper lost in the shuffle. Fewer hours looking for bills, documents and, if you’re in business, copies of client documents. The ability to access all sorts of information from computer files, in a matter of seconds without having to search your office. If you’ve got a home office that serves as a satellite office of a business, you can have access to all of your business files, using a product like Terminal Services or other software, even if you’re not at your business location. In short, change can be hard but it can be profitable.
Working towards the Paperless Office
The paperless office — promised since the first desktop computers started appearing in the 1980s- has yet to become a reality for most companies. Despite, the increasing use of computers in all types of businesses, a good portion of most day-to-day work is still paper-based. Besides, basic human behavior works against a truly ‘paperless office’, employees will always want to print documents for more careful study or to bring to meetings. For now, the perfect paperless office system remains an elusive goal.
Despite these challenges, you can drastically reduce the amount of paper documents your business depends on by choosing a document management system. The term “document management” (DM) covers a range of systems for managing paper and electronic files. To work towards a ‘paperless office’, a more specific term is “document imaging systems” which include tools to help convert paper records into electronic files.
Benefits of a Paperless Office Solution
It provides additional cost savings by eliminating paper records. Converting records rooms into usable office space can let you make much better use of expensive real estate, and to eliminate warehousing costs entirely. Other benefits include increased security, better disaster recovery protection, environmental benefits and remote access for your important documents.
The Automated Office
Till now, it was customary to transfer and store information on paper. With new electronic procedures and systems becoming more and more popular in use in modern automated office, the so-called “Paperless Office” is becoming a near reality. A ‘Paperless Office’ is one in which paper has been replaced by electronic, digital, micrographic and micro-processing systems and equipments. It is aptly said that. “The office is now in a period of transition” where more and more information processing functions are being automated through sophisticated electronic systems; the Paperless Office is attainable today.”
“It may be noted that though paperwork can be reduced by up to 95 per cent in the traditional office, many people believe that a completely paperless office will not be attained in the near future.”According to William Benedon in the ‘Paperless Society; fact or fiction,’ there are six major barriers to a totally paperless office; namely-
• Traditional Values.
• Legal Requirements.
• Accounting and Audit Values.
• Legislative Values.
• Societal Values and.
• Procedural Values.
In contrast, the System Analysts, Records Managers, and other management professionals often complain of the high cost of creating, storing, retrieving, reproducing and disseminating paper documents.
Modern offices are increasingly converting all incoming and original data to either electronic form or microfilm, which can then be edited, indexed, stored, retrieved or converted to paper. In some companies’ ‘Paperless Office’ integrates voice inputs, word processing, optical character recognition, electronic mail, calendars, message sending, filing directions and text editing, computer indexing and processing, COM, Micrographics, automated storage and retrieval, telecommunications and colour graphics systems into a fully automated office facility.21 The integrated office has evolved into “Communicating Integrated Office”. Office systems communicate with each other by the use of satellites. Several modern offices provide satellite communication, video teleconferences, and electronic mail and computer-to-computer hookups for intra-company use.
Subsystems of an Automated Office
The Modern Office System is said to have the following subsystems that are integrated into the Automated Office.
• Voice System.
• Word Processing.
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
• Data Processing.
• Reprographics.
• Micrographics
• Communication and Facsimile
• Graphic systems.
• Telecommunication (e.g. Teleconferencing, Videoconferencing, Computer conferencing, Telepresence [Latest innovation by CISCO Inc.])
• Electronic Mail.
• Photocomposition.
• Computer Networking
• Robotics
The business office is currently undergoing a dramatic change, an abrupt transition from antiquated procedures that have been evolved fundamentally for over a century to sophisticated, integrated systems involving electronic and advanced microcomputer technology.
The Virtual Office
A virtual office is an integrated suite of applications that is accessed via the internet and available 24/7. The 18 applications include calendar, addressbook, webmail, etc., and can also synchronize with PDA or Phone. One can receive agenda by SMS/Text Message every day and send SMS/Text message right out of virtual office. One may access the virtual office even from a pocket PC or mobile phone.
A virtual office may be created by an individual or maybe opened up to a group of employees, colleagues, vendors or anyone else within or outside the business. One can decide as to who joins, what to share and who can share what. Anyone who has access to the Internet has access to the virtual office, if allowed. The virtual office offers the following features:
• Calendar: Personal and group calendar. Share public events within your group, view another member’s calendar and sync it with your PDA or wireless phone.
• Address book: Personal and group address book. Share public addresses within your group and view other member’s addresses.
• Web Mail: Compose, send, receive, reply, forward e-mail with your new “@office.com” e-mail address. Includes POP3, folders, attachment, address books, templates, signature, anti-virus and anti-spam.
• Documents: Full document management centre with automatic backup. Share and jointly edit your personal or group’s valuable information.
• To Do’s: Be better organized. Manage your tasks, send tasks to other group members and control completion.
• Forum: Broadcast company news and ideas with your group effortlessly. Great for keeping everyone on the same page or brainstorming.
• SMS: Get your daily calendar by wireless phone via SMS (Short Message Service, commonly known as Text Messaging) or send reminders by SMS, send SMS directly from your address book.
• Virtual Drive: Using the virtual drive, you can access all your private and group documents directly from your PC or Mac computer.
• Groups: Create groups (or Virtual Offices) to share information with other members, such as addresses, documents, and bookmarks.
• Meetings: Schedule your meetings online in seconds and automatically invite others in your group to attend. See the responses as they roll in.
• Calls: Don’t miss another important phone call. View a list of the calls “while you were absent,” marking them off as you return to them.
• Notes: Create, save and stick notes to any object in your Organizer. Better than all those “Post-It” notes stuck to your monitor. Keeps the notes where you will see them, when you need them.
• Reminders: Meetings, birthdays, reminders on time of any events. Reminder displayed by screen pop up, e-mail, messages or SMS.
• Bookmarks: Save bookmarks which can be used from any browser, share them with other members.
• Fax: Using your messaging account, you can send faxes worldwide. You simply send a message in the same way that you send an e-mail.
• Synchronize: Synchronize your personal calendar, address book, tasks and notes with your PDA or PC. Whether it is Palm, Outlook, Lotus Organizer, iPAQ Pocket PC or Treo, you can sync up and run.
• WAP: Access your virtual office through WAP in order to check and enter information, using your WAP enabled wireless phone.
• Encryption: Use secured transfer when required (documents, calendars, addresses, or e-mails) or faster, non-secured transfer for no secure transfer.