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Space. When we have it, we take it for granted but when we don't have it it can cause some major problems for businesses and organisations across all sectors.

Problems caused by lack of space

Poor file retrieval
If it's documents that are taking up a large amount of space in your office in filing cabinets, boxes and folders, this can lead to poor file retrieval with extended times needed to find the information you need. One misfiled document placed in the wrong storage cabinet can have damaging effects on business.

Poor customer service
Not only will a cluttered office reflect poorly on your company to potential clients, it could also have a negative effect on the customer services you can provide. If you need to find things like files quickly but instead you leave the customer waiting on the phone then those customers may look elsewhere for the services you provide to find a company really cares about their clients.

Wasted costs
By not utilising office space in an efficient way, you may as well be flushing money down the toilet. Space is valuable nowadays, there's no doubt about it, so why do you insist on wasting this space by filling it with documents and other things that are not necessary?

Lower office morale
No one likes to feel cramped or restricted and since we spend a large portion of our lives in the office, a poor working environment can seriously lower the morale of not only one worker but the entire office. Low morale also lowers productivity levels so is not a healthy outcome for the entire business.

How to free up space

There are a number of ways you can free up space in offices from rearranging furniture to reducing the amount of staff in an office at one time with flexible working. One solution that many companies and organisations have found to be effective is adopting digital document management. This method involves the scanning of documents to be indexed and implemented onto the new and fully digitised system. Once the files and documents have been digitised, they can be destroyed which will mean you will no longer need so many filing cabinets and other storage means.

Benefits of freeing up space with digital document management

• Files can be retrieved instantly with fully indexed digital documents.
• Office morale can be boosted with airier offices and easier file retrieval.
• The new found space can also be utilised for more important things like new technology.
• You can redesign your office/premises with endless possibilities available.
• Money can be saved/reclaimed through renting out space previously taken up by documents.

Pearl Scan Can Help

Here at Pearl Scan, we provide fully bespoke yet affordable document scanning and document management solutions for companies wanting to free up space and benefit from the flexibility of digital documents. We offer a range of solutions including full document scanning, scan on demand and store to scan giving our clients complete freedom as to how they manage their documents. We can even provide our document retrieval software, Halogen or use of our online cloud platform, Pearl Cloud. For more information on the range of scanning solutions we have on offer, take a look at our website or get in touch for a free, no obligation quote.

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The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

According to recent reports, more paper than ever is being thrown away and 35% of companies are ordering more paper than they were five years ago. So what's the problem? What is stopping businesses taking paperless steps?

The paperless office. Yes, we do talk about it a lot but judging by these reports, it needs discussing a lot more to change people's misconceptions about adopting digital business processes. So, let's take a look at the most common excuses that have prevented companies going digital with their document management.

It's too expensive to go paperless

This is not the case. In fact, you may well be wasting money with your current system on document storage and file retrieval costs among others. If you don't have the infrastructure to handle the digitisation process yourself then the smart choice would be to outsource to document scanning services rather waste money on attempting it yourself. Plus, outsourcing usually costs a lot less than you realise for the services it brings.

I can't get rid of aLL of the paper in my office

This is a common misconception about the paperless office which shows that perhaps it should have been called something else. While achieving a completely paper free office can be achieved if you really set your mind to it, the paperless office concept is really just to encourage the use of LESS paper and adopting more efficient and environmentally friendly means of doing business. Now this idea is easily achievable!

I will need to train my staff again

In this increasingly digital age, we are all surrounded by digital products on a day to day basis whether that's mobile phones or computers so if you adopt the right document management software, it will be simple enough that it can be picked up by anyone with a basic knowledge of computers.

My documents will be less safe in digital form

Again, not true. This rumour is constantly fed by news of digital files being hacked and information leaked but if you use safe servers and file encrypted documents with passwords, your digital documents will be completely safe from the risks of loss, theft and damage that paper documents are increasingly susceptible to.

Paper is too important for my business

This opinion is definitely just a mind set. In the same way that we claim we can't live without our mobile phones , it is simply a case of adapting to change. Where you would usually use paper documents to share important files with colleagues, you can just send a digital file over email. It can even be edited in real-time with apps such as Google Docs.

Going paperless won't change anything

There is such a broad range of benefits that come with going paperless that it's incredibly likely that it will bring at least one positive change to your company. You could;

• Save huge costs on storage
• Speed up file retrieval times
• Improve customer services
• Give your documents more security
• Increase office efficiency
• Boost green credentials
• Save/reclaim office space
• Boost employee morale

...the list goes on!

It's always been done this way, why change it?

What kind of attitude is that? If everyone thought that way, we would still have walking as the only mode of transport and be cooking dinner on bonfires! Progress is important to improve everyday life. Sometimes you might not even realise the positive effects a change can have until you make it. Just think about the evolution of the telephone to smartphone. All I can say is you'll never know unless you try and the benefits speak for themselves.

How Pearl Scan can help

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer a wide range of paperless office and document scanning services which can be tailored to suit the needs of each individual client. Our services can ensure the process from paper to paperless (or at least paper-light) is a smooth one with optional extras including OCR processing, cloud hosting and document retrieval software. If you would like some more information about the paperless office and how your company can benefit, check out some of our blog articles. For a free, no obligation quote for paperless office solutions, get in touch today.

The Daily Telegraph released an article announcing the 9 worst predictions in the history of technology. Being in the technology services industry, we found this article very interesting and amusing. What do you think?

As mere humans, we are arguably not that great at predicting the future. In Back to the Future, Marty McFly travels to the year 2015 giving the scriptwriters and director a chance to be creative with how they saw the future of the world 25 years on. This involved the prediction of flying cars, hoverboards and self drying clothes.

With a bit of artistic license, these can be forgiven but the predictions featured in the worst technology predictions articles were made by big names in the technology industry. Here's a few favourites among the spectacular gaffes...

IBM President Thomas Watson- "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." (1943)

Well...where do we start with this prediction? Is there anything that needs to be said?

Are you reading this on a computer? Yes? Have you had more than five computers in your life? Probably. The verdict: This prediction is pretty horrifyingly wrong, especially coming from someone at a company that recently brought in an annual revenue of $100bn selling computer hardware and software!

Founder of 3Com, Robert Metcalfe- "I predict the internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse." (1995)

This is another prediction that, in hindsight, is laughable. In 2011, there was an estimation of 2.1 billion internet users and this figure is guaranteed to have risen since. Far from collapsing, the internet has now become a vital lifeline for business, communication and information. It's even possible to store things online on cloud platforms such as important documents.

Founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates- "Two years from now, spam will be solved." (2004)

A quick look in my rarely checked spam folder last week revealed over 200 emails over a 30 day period. Sorry Mr Gates, but I think you were a bit far out with that prediction. Unless there's something he's not telling us...

Former writer for the New York Times, David Pogue- "Everyone's always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, 'Probably never." (2006)

If Pogue had just held on for one more year he might not have been forced to eat his words. Apple are now onto their 10th model of the iPhone and despite the death of CEO Steve Jobs, the market continues to boom.

How does this relate to Pearl Scan?

So as you can see, it's quite difficult to make a bold statement and predict the future when it comes to technology and often it's just not advised but we like to make a few bold statements of our own. Here at Pearl Scan, we see an increasingly digital world with less reliance on paper based resources and more digital file management. The benefits of going digital can be found in some of our other articles so in terms of progressive business, it's a no brainer.

If you would like some more information on the document scanning and digital document management solutions we offer, feel free to browse our website and blogs or get in touch for a free, no obligation quote.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900