izations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, reBusiness document management historically has been - and in many quarters remains - a tedious process involving ranks of file cabinets, platoons of file clerks, hours and hours spent placing specialized paper business documents in storage and often, still more hours researching their whereabouts and recovering them when they are needed.

Recent research indicates the magnitude of the challenge and cost:

• 90% of typical office tasks revolve around paper gathering and distribution
• 15%of all paper handled is lost.
• 30% of knowledge workers' time is spent trying to find lost documents.
• Companies spend an average of $25,000 to fill a typical four-drawer file cabinet; $2,000 to maintain it each year
• Over the course of its life, a single piece of paper costs an average of $30

Documents and records are fundamental to virtually every internal, external, legal and regulatory phase of commerce. Burdensome even in small companies and potentially overwhelming in large enterprises, business document management using paper-based processes represent a huge efficiency/workflow bottleneck.

In fact, relatively few people gave the situation much thought until it was discovered that by substituting electronic documents for paper documents an organization could eliminate file cabinets and productivity deploy inventory and clerical personnel.

Moreover, electronic business documents -- invoices, purchase orders, production control orders, shipping documents and personnel forms, for example - could be stored easily and conveniently, and summoned as needed right from the desktop.

The importance of business documents to the survival of organizations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, rec

ul>

90% of typical office tasks revolve around paper gathering and distribution

15%of all paper handled is lost.

30% of knowledge workers' time is spent trying to find lost documents.

Companies spend an average of $25,000 to fill a typical four-drawer file cabinet; $2,000 to maintain it each year

Over the course of its life, a single piece of paper costs an average of $30

Documents and records are fundamental to virtually every internal, external, legal and regulatory phase of commerce. Burdensome even in small companies and potentially overwhelming in large enterprises, business document management using paper-based processes represent a huge efficiency/workflow bottleneck.

In fact, relatively few people gave the situation much thought until it was discovered that by substituting electronic documents for paper documents an organization could eliminate file cabinets and productivity deploy inventory and clerical personnel.

Moreover, electronic business documents -- invoices, purchase orders, production control orders, shipping documents and personnel forms, for example - could be stored easily and conveniently, and summoned as needed right from the desktop.

The importance of business documents to the survival of organizations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, re

ts and records are fundamental to virtually every internal, external, legal and regulatory phase of commerce. Burdensome even in small companies and potentially overwhelming in large enterprises, business document management using paper-based processes represent a huge efficiency/workflow bottleneck.

In fact, relatively few people gave the situation much thought until it was discovered that by substituting electronic documents for paper documents an organization could eliminate file cabinets and productivity deploy inventory and clerical personnel.

Moreover, electronic business documents -- invoices, purchase orders, production control orders, shipping documents and personnel forms, for example - could be stored easily and conveniently, and summoned as needed right from the desktop.

The importance of business documents to the survival of organizations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, re

for paper documents an organization could eliminate file cabinets and productivity deploy inventory and clerical personnel.

Moreover, electronic business documents -- invoices, purchase orders, production control orders, shipping documents and personnel forms, for example - could be stored easily and conveniently, and summoned as needed right from the desktop.

The importance of business documents to the survival of organizations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, re

izations is often overlooked until they are gone. Unforeseen threats to organizations reveal the risks of maintaining records in a paper format, a point dramatically illustrated by hurricane Katrina. Many organizations, including physician's offices, law offices, schools, even courthouses lost most of their paper records and have been unable to recover. Had these organizations implemented an electronic document management system, recovery could have been much more attainable. When documents are stored in an electronic format, it is a straightforward process to back up to offsite locations. This greatly simplifies data recovery in the event of a natural disaster.

While once considered to be an issue limited to big business, complying with regulations, such as Sarbanes Oxley and others, increasingly require organizations of all sizes to keep tract of all financial information including copies of documents related to financial transactions. The use of paper documents makes it difficult to comply with these regulations. Retrieving copies of documents related to particular business transactions is extremely time-consuming. Moreover, it is difficult to demonstrate control over the use and access to those documents when they are in paper format.

The pay-off in making the switch from paper-based business documents to electronic business documents is immediate and significant. By using a document management solution, organizations benefit from improved efficiencies and cost savings when producing, distributing, and storing documents, better customer service, faster collections, as well as enhanced regulatory compliance and disaster recovery.