The Economist on the Paperless Office

The Economist ran a story a few weeks ago about how the paperless office has finally gone from a dream to a potential-reality. With the advent of the Internet, combined with new improvements to digital document management, data protection and eDiscovery plans - office managers may finally be at a point where they can rid themselves of their paper shackles. The article doesn't mention digital document management by name, but it's certainly a major factor in the changing workplace. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the piece is how young new workers are driving the trend.

As new generations of office workers leave university—where their class notes and syllabuses are online these days—they take their habits with them. They like digital information because it reduces clutter. It can be “tagged” and thus filed into many folders instead of just one physical file. It can be searched by keyword. It can be cut, pasted and remixed. It allows for easier collaboration, through features such as “track changes”. It can be shared across an ocean as easily as across a desk."