Will Paper Grow?
"We believe that paper-based information will continue to grow, not inspite of, but because of, new 'paperless' technologies such as e-mail and the Internet. These technologies have prompted the creation of hard copies of such electronic information and have also led to increased demand for electronic records services, such as the storage and off-site rotation of backup copies of magnetic media. In addition, we believe that the proliferation of digital information technologies and distributed data networks has created an emerging need for efficient, cost-effective, high quality solutions for digital archiving and the management of electronic documents."
Source: Iron Mountain 10-K Report
How do you think that affects you?
Corey Smith
Co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free
Corey Smith
Co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free Corey Smith is the president of Tribute Media a web development firm providing high performing, industry specific websites. He is a businessman, writer, technology fanatic, graphic designer and web developer. His greatest passion is teaching, consulting and speaking.
You can find him on Twitter, FaceBook, FriendFeed, and LinkedIn.
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Submitted by Leo Piccioli (not verified) on Sat, 02/23/2008 - 06:23.
Thanks for the quote, it is very interesting.
Although Iron Mountain is an interested party (what would happen should paper documents disappear?) there is some sense in what they are stating.
Many people print emails -behavior I do not understand- and other stuff they can easily see in their computers. Will this change as "digital natives" grow?
Submitted by Corey Smith (not verified) on Sat, 02/23/2008 - 13:49.
Thanks for the comments Leo... I wonder, however, if some of the reasons that paper increases is simply the fact that there are more businesses than ever and more people simply means more paper.
Do you think that is just over simplified?
I think that as the "digital natives" grow, paper will be less important. As people become more accustomed to electronic presentation of data, paper will be less desirable.
Submitted by Ken Stewart (not verified) on Sun, 02/24/2008 - 10:06.
There are several major factors for the increase in paper and lack of "keeping it digital"... First, and what I see as the most obvious, is a generational gap. Second, there is the factor I call "tangibility", a need to touch, hold, or 'control' a physical representation of information before one can feel confident in making decisions. Third, paper is still a very convenient way to transport information. Lastly, there is most definitely an aspect of our on-demand society whereby we utilize the technology of DMS to realize the documents and then subsequently dispose or recycle them (at least if you are eco-conscious). Being in the industry of office equipment, I can see first hand, there is most definitely NOT a decrease in the amount of paper being generated.
With the continuing decrease in technology costs (mainly monitors) and the increase in availability of the network (see John C. Dvorak's article Computing's Final Frontiers in the March 2008 edition of PC Magazine), coupled with the up-and-coming generation and ecology concerns, we may very well see a decrease in the amount of generated paper -- much to the dismay of the office equipment industry. However, unless there is some major catalyst for change this trend will not come to fruition until far into the future, much like the adoption of alternative fuels in the mainstream.
With all that said, and even though I like to think of myself as a technology-savvy person, I still like to touch the paper sometimes... So, the interim strategy is all about helping people do what they want to do - whether it be about realizing a document (printing, copying, etc.) or rendering a document on-screen; after all, with all things being equal, we will gravitate towards what we are most comfortable with.
