Why Go Digital?

If you read our article yesterday on the story of Martin Reisch, a Canadian traveler heading toward the US, who forgot his passport at the airport but was able to use the copy on his iPad,  then you’re familiar with the wonders of technology and the benefits to going digital. According to LaserFische, a digital document is:

But for all of you who have used e-mail, or have filed your tax return online, or have scanned an important document to your computer — you know that the significance and power behind digital files go beyond this simple definition.

Benefits

• Accessibility. With the invention of the Internet, you now have an offline and online location where you can store your documents. This gives you ultimate accessibility, so you can either retrieve a copy from your desktop without the web at the comfort of your home, or you can extract a file from the Internet easily from your laptop or even mobile phone — any device that has web-access.
• Simplicity.Your documents are either saved in one location, such as a folder or a cloud service on the web, or in numerous locations (especially if you’re a master at filing and organizing things). No more mounds of paperwork — everything is made simple through digitization.

• Retrieveability. Since everything is loaded into a particular location within the digital realm, it’s become much easier to retrieve necessary documents. Instead of scouring through tons of papers in your ponderous filing system at home, all you have to do now is simply perform a “search” for your document, and voila! Instant gratification.

• Usability. Nearly anyone can use it, be it for personal or business use. Whether you’re an individual who needs a place to store and share written poetry, or a large company who needs to manage and distribute sensitive information about their business’ analytics.
• Security. If you save your files on a hard drive or online, your data is far more secure than paper, as paper can easily be lost in disorganization, or destroyed by a fire.
• Shareability.  No longer do you have to travel to your clients’ home just to share information. Just shoot them an e-mail!
• Eco-friendly. Going digital is the same as going green — you eliminate paper waste by maximizing on limitless virtual space.

• Vulnerability. Thought it’s a great way to organize data, it doesn’t suit the tastes of everyone. Some companies are afraid that their digital information may be vulnerable to those sneaky hackers, as well as vexing viruses. If the encryption and passwords are weak, it’s possible for someone to infiltrate the system (often achieved through straining and meticulous decoding).

• Expenses. Though digital documents save time and money by reducing the need to travel, there are expenses in modifying how we manage data via computers or the web. This could entail purchasing a scanner, as well as a document management program to store information. Not to mention, you may want to buy software for security measures.

• Counter-productivity. What may often occur is an overload of information, due to poor data organization and storing data incorrectly. One thing leads to another — for some people, their computer becomes an incomprehensible fix.

Though the pros completely outweigh the cons, these points definitely give you some issues to mull over.