The Paperless Office is a Mirage...or Is It??
Posting after a long time. This was a short essay I had to write for a forum at Infosys. The theme is mentioned in the title :)
Papers and Pens have been an integral part of offices throughout the world. They are considered indispensable and until recently, had anyone even mentioned a paperless office, he/she would have been considered a candidate for serious mental evaluation.
It is only with the recent advent of IT and its infinite possibilities that people have woken up to the fact that the paperless office could become a reality. However the transition is not easy. Ensuring that the office is 100% paperless would mean making sure that technology is affordable and accessible to all members and a huge influx of support infrastructure. Even if these are available, the functioning of the technology need to be absolutely PERFECT with all dependencies accounted for and with a contingency for all possible issues defined. This is certainly a very tall and seemingly insurmountable order. Technology and its solutions are not achieved over-night. It takes years to implement and even more to perfect it (this is evident from the fact that Microsoft keeps releasing patches to improve working of its software every other day). The success of a technology, say a software for example, in mitigating all possible issues and to function flawlessly ultimately depends on its developer who is human. It is in the nature of humans to be fallible and we are yet to see a PERFECT software. Even if such a flawless, perfect technology is achieved (it is a huge IF), there is still a lot of unpredictability to contend with. An Infoscion would pride himself in not using paper by accessing all the data he needs for a conference call by remotely logging into his system from the conference room and typing notes in his notepad application. Now what happens if he is not allowed to remotely log in into his system because the conference room system is not allocated to him in AMANAT? He has no other alternative but to take a print out of his data and attend the call. One of the most important characteristic of the successful modern times is always having a contingency or back-up plan…something to fall back on when the unforeseen happens. Keeping in mind the current unpredictability and security concerns in the IT sector and its inability to completely overcome them, it would be prudent to elevate the status of the paper and pen in the office from that of an enemy to that of a necessary collaborator. At least for now.
The weary desert traveler doesn’t stop when he realizes that an oasis he sees is a mirage. His need for shade and water will take him forward, make him encounter more mirages and finally end up in an oasis. Likewise, the paperless office is a mirage at present. The will to achieve it and the flight of technology to dizzying heights would someday ensure that the mirage becomes an oasis.
P.S: Advocates of technology claim that it is just a matter of time before the pen and paper would become completely obsolete. However they should understand that they are up against a medium of expression which has survived through many a millennia and it will not give up without a fight. Technology would probably win the battle in the office, but the war will definitely belong to the survivors.
Papers and Pens have been an integral part of offices throughout the world. They are considered indispensable and until recently, had anyone even mentioned a paperless office, he/she would have been considered a candidate for serious mental evaluation.
It is only with the recent advent of IT and its infinite possibilities that people have woken up to the fact that the paperless office could become a reality. However the transition is not easy. Ensuring that the office is 100% paperless would mean making sure that technology is affordable and accessible to all members and a huge influx of support infrastructure. Even if these are available, the functioning of the technology need to be absolutely PERFECT with all dependencies accounted for and with a contingency for all possible issues defined. This is certainly a very tall and seemingly insurmountable order. Technology and its solutions are not achieved over-night. It takes years to implement and even more to perfect it (this is evident from the fact that Microsoft keeps releasing patches to improve working of its software every other day). The success of a technology, say a software for example, in mitigating all possible issues and to function flawlessly ultimately depends on its developer who is human. It is in the nature of humans to be fallible and we are yet to see a PERFECT software. Even if such a flawless, perfect technology is achieved (it is a huge IF), there is still a lot of unpredictability to contend with. An Infoscion would pride himself in not using paper by accessing all the data he needs for a conference call by remotely logging into his system from the conference room and typing notes in his notepad application. Now what happens if he is not allowed to remotely log in into his system because the conference room system is not allocated to him in AMANAT? He has no other alternative but to take a print out of his data and attend the call. One of the most important characteristic of the successful modern times is always having a contingency or back-up plan…something to fall back on when the unforeseen happens. Keeping in mind the current unpredictability and security concerns in the IT sector and its inability to completely overcome them, it would be prudent to elevate the status of the paper and pen in the office from that of an enemy to that of a necessary collaborator. At least for now.
The weary desert traveler doesn’t stop when he realizes that an oasis he sees is a mirage. His need for shade and water will take him forward, make him encounter more mirages and finally end up in an oasis. Likewise, the paperless office is a mirage at present. The will to achieve it and the flight of technology to dizzying heights would someday ensure that the mirage becomes an oasis.
P.S: Advocates of technology claim that it is just a matter of time before the pen and paper would become completely obsolete. However they should understand that they are up against a medium of expression which has survived through many a millennia and it will not give up without a fight. Technology would probably win the battle in the office, but the war will definitely belong to the survivors.
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