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There’s an elephant in the room. His name is Trunk, but we call him Paper. He gets into everything. We don’t know where to put him. Yet strangely, sometimes when we need him, we can’t find him. You’d think it would be hard to hide an elephant, but we lose him a lot. Not surprisingly, he really slows things down at work. You can imagine how cumbersome it is to have an elephant sprawled all over your desk, scattered throughout the office, gumming up the business processes. And oh, the waste! Massive piles and random bits everywhere you step.

 

Despite his nuisance, we have trouble letting go of Paper. Frankly, we like him. We’ve become so dependent on the content he carries, we’re afraid to release him. Yet the time may finally have come where we are ready to let him go. Over the past several years, we’ve learned to accept digital alternatives. Our increased confidence that we can actually find and retrieve what we want -- almost anything we want -- in digital form, has allowed us to give Paper his leave.

 

Yes we know; eviction notice has been served on Paper many times over the past two decades -- perhaps longer. Yet each time, he lumbers back into our lives. The "Paperless Office" has become almost cliché. Truth is, Paper is nearly impossible to part with. If only we could be sure he finds a safe home.

 

Not that he hasn’t come in handy from time to time. He’s given us someone to blame. "That Paper is here on my desk somewhere..." We might say. Or,"...I sent Paper off to you; didn’t he arrive?" And there’s the old classic, "The Paper’s in the mail..." Better still, a slight twist on the old school house excuse: "The elephant ate it."

 

Yeah... Right... Sure he did. Trunk ate it. Which,-- at the risk of being too clever -- is exactly the solution to the dilemma of Paper -- truncate it. Truncate paper as quickly as possible. (Sorry, old boy). By turning content from paper to digital, you can digest and distribute his contents wherever they’re needed. (Sorry for getting a bit gross).

 

There really are signs that we’re starting to learn to live without him. AIIM recently celebrated "World Free Paper Day" (Oct 28, if you missed it); a pointed effort to encourage document handlers around the world to wean themselves of their respective elephants. We find that digital content (the identical representation of Paper’s physical counterpart) is infinitely safer and more secure; and it’s so much easier to share. More importantly, we’re beginning to trust it.

 

Hardware technology has helped. The ease with which we can now convert those massive piles and random bits into usable content. Affordable and reliable MFPs are able to take Paper and share him (or more accurately, his content) effortlessly wherever it’s wanted.

 

Another benefit of truncating paper (or avoiding its use in the first place) is habitat preservation for Trunk and his family. (And it’s not too far a stretch to include ourselves in that group). Digital content is rightly viewed as a greener alternative to wasted paper. In fact, Network World Magazine recently named its Top 12 Green IT Products, and included a "Going Paperless" category. (NSi AutoStore from Notable Solutions was identified as one of the best environmentally friendly solutions for reducing an organization’s reliance on paper).

 

Go free Paper! We’ll never forget you.