How much can your business save by reducing its reliance on paper?

The eight-employee Majestic Invites, an e-commerce invitation design company, saves about $50,000 a year by going paperless. According to Alina Uzilov, president of Majestic Invites, the company saves this amount on paper, printing, mailing, document storage, and other expenses. Her company has eliminated paper from nearly all processes, including design mock-ups, vendor and client contracts, purchase orders, and invoicing.

The 370-employee Suncoast Medical Clinic estimates that it will save about $1 million by using electronic health records (EHR), eliminating 80 percent of its paper-based medical records budget and most of its transcription services.

Bounty of Benefits

Paper is a large expense that small and medium-sized businesses can easily cut, notes Merilyn Dunn, a director at the InfoTrends research firm. Going paperless can also reduce your costs for toner, ink, electricity, and other related expenses.

Businesses are going paperless for other reasons, too. "Prices for hardware and software are down, and the technology has become easier to use," says Carl Frappaolo, vice president of market intelligence for AIIM, the international enterprise content management association. The timing is good. Frappaolo reports that large companies increasingly require that their suppliers have paperless workflows. Those that haven't gone paperless risk losing business.

In addition to increasing revenue and reducing expenses, businesses are finding that going paperless allows them to:

• Accomplish more with less. At Suncoast Medical Clinic, physicians review patient lab results, radiology interpretations, and progress reports in real time over the network from their office, their home, or a hospital. EHR lets primary care physicians and specialists who are treating the same patient review and contribute to a single shared patient record. The process saves time, helps avoid errors, and reduces duplication of tests. Paperless processes also help EHR streamline billing, accounting, and other administrative tasks.
• Provide better customer service. Unlike paper documents, electronic files can be accessed anywhere, anytime, says Uzilov. To quickly respond to a customer's question, a Majestic Invites employee can review that customer's file over the network from home, instead of having to go to the office.
• Work together better. Using a shared document on the network, employees can work with one another in real time. They can also work with partners or customers, wherever they're located. Working over the network lets people in different locations see exactly what's under discussion. This is especially important when reviewing design proofs, Uzilov explains. She adds that working together online speeds decision making and reduces the time-consuming back-and-forth communications required by paper documents.

Resources Needed to Go Paperless

You can reduce reliance on paper by using digital technologies that range from a simple $100 scanner to advanced document management and other high-end systems.

Here are the network technology strategies that Majestic Invites uses:

• An Internet Protocol (IP) network delivers secure, reliable access to company information on projects, customers, and vendors. The data network is the foundation for Majestic Invites' combined phone and data network, instant messaging, e-mail, and other tools.
• Password-protected online workspaces let customers review and make suggested changes to design proofs.
• Redundant, automated data backup and network security help make sure all documents are online and accessible whenever they are needed.
• Web-based video conferencing and document collaboration enable "virtual meetings" with suppliers in China, India, and Europe.

Uzilov estimates that Majestic Invites spends about $25,000 a year for these and other technologies. In return, she saves about $75,000 annually by using the network to go paperless.

You may prefer hosted or managed services for network document management, video conferencing, voice and data communications, storage, security, and other solutions. Such services, which are available for predictable monthly fees, let you turn the job over to experts.

The transformation to paperless can take a business several or many months, notes Uzilov. You'll need to get your entire business involved, to decide how documents will be organized and accessed. You will also need to align your business objectives with the technologies you need. And you will have to scan and convert your paper documents to digital files.

"Don't be discouraged by the time it takes," Uzilov advises. "It's well worth it."

Next Steps

Read how Cisco SMB customers Tri-State Water Treatment and Citizens Memorial Healthcare went paperless.

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