Love Ain’t Always Cheap. What About Software?
It’s that time of year again: folks are searching high and low for the perfect present to give their significant other (or hopeful!). With that, money is being spent, a lot. Valentine’s Day retail spending is expected to reach $18.9 billion this year – on jewelry, candy, clothing, cards, flowers and evenings out. Still, you might not be certain that the gift you buy expresses just how much you care for another. Perhaps you’ll have to pretend to love the necklace you receive. When it comes to buying a software “gift” for your organization, companies often suffer the same problems. Are you spending too much? Is it the perfect fit?
If your company is considering going paperless, things don’t have to be so uncertain. It’s true that integrated document management solutions can be a significant expense for organizations, but make sure to fully educate yourself before scratching the idea altogether or acting rashly. Remember that costs vary tremendously depending on what features and integration work is required. Plus, did you know that most well-designed document management solutions will provide a payback in less than 12 months? A recent AIIM report found that over three-quarters of organizations that went paperless achieved their ROI in 18 months or less.
Integrated document management is an investment that gives back (time, security, versatility, money). Instead of spending hours a week filing paper, fellow employees can work on more productive tasks. Forget about scanning, copying and printing; tedious business processes will be automated and expedited. Think about how much time is spent to approve a single invoice. With integrated document management, that whole process can instead be completed from a mobile device!
After going paperless, your company will receive money back too. Your business will no longer have to worry about paper, toner, storage and shipping bills. Should you endure a natural disaster, you won’t lose money while you shut down operations to search for lost documents and you won’t have to spend money recreating damaged documents. With new, streamlined business processes, you won’t miss out on early-pay discounts and you may be able to reallocate employees from antiquated roles to more useful positions.
Go to industry leaders and ask for costs to be clearly broken down between software, services, support and maintenance. Review with the software providers your business processes and ask for calculations on expected return on investment. You may discover that the workplace gift you and your coworkers love doesn’t turn out to be so pricey in the end!
XOXO, Altec
