86% of IT professionals still using paper

A study by document management software provider Version One has found that 86 per cent of senior IT professionals are still reliant on paper.

The study also found that of this 86 per cent, just over half of them counted themselves as ‘very reliant’, with just one per cent of respondents saying they hardly used paper at all.

Just under a third of those surveyed said they’d consider a switch to electronic documents if it would improve customer relations, while a fifth said they’d use the format if they received assurances that e-documents would be legally admissible with organisations like Inland Revenue.

“It is astonishing that so many IT professionals still rely heavily on paper documents,” said the managing director of Version One, Julian Buck.

“Electronic document management systems considerably reduce the amount of paper that organisations produce, circulate and store whilst providing instant electronic access to imaged documents. The benefits of EDM include significant cost and time savings and greatly enhanced customer service. In addition, as electronic documents are legally permissible, organisations should not feel obligated to hold on to paper documents ‘just in case’.”