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DOCUMENT WORKFLOW
More than four out of five (83%)
professionals believe their
productivity and effectiveness
at work is being hampered by
outdated document processes,
according to a study of 5,000
office workers released by Adobe
to coincide with the launch of
Adobe Document Cloud (see
below).
Paper Jam: Why Documents
are Dragging Us Down
reveals that
74% of professionals in the US, UK,
Germany, France and Australia are
reliant on paper documents at work
and six out of 10 would switch jobs if
it meant less paperwork.
As implausible as this sounds, it
does suggest a degree of frustration
with paper-based document
processes, with 54% saying that
inefficient processes are stopping
them from doing their best work.
Paper is not the only drain on
productivity. Almost half (44%) of
respondents say that the volume of
e-mail attachments has made their
work life more complicated; and
40% have lost important electronic
information or documents, with 66%
of those losses being caused by a
computer or hard drive failure.
Overall, the two greatest
frustrations cited by respondents
were not being able to find
documents they know exist (82%)
and managing version control (77%).
Another frustration is not being
able to access documents when
away from the office, seen as a
priority by almost two thirds (64%) of
respondents. Only 43% of documents
are accessible in digital format, with
just 6% stored in the cloud.
Reliance on paper is not purely
the responsibility of employers.
While more than four in five agree
that paper-free working saves time,
50% admit to being emotionally
attached to paper documents. More
than one third (35%) said they felt
uncomfortable only having digital
copies of work documents.
Adobe Document Cloud
To help business people cope with
the inefficiencies of existing paper-
based and digital workflows (e.g.
email), Adobe has developed Adobe
Document Cloud.
Available via subscription or one-
time purchase, Adobe Document
Cloud is a collection of integrated
services offered through an online
personal document hub with a
consistent online profile across all
devices. Together, they enable users
to create, review, approve, sign and
track documents on a desktop or
mobile device.
Bryan Lamkin, senior vice
president of Technology and
Corporate Development at Adobe,
said: “While most forms of content
have successfully made the move
to digital (books, movies, music),
documents and the process of
working with them have not, and that
needs to change. Adobe Document
Cloud will revolutionise and simplify
how people get work done with
critical documents.”
Key elements include:
n
Adobe Acrobat DC. Featuring an
intuitive, touch-enabled interface,
this all-new solution takes Adobe’s
PDF software to a new level with the
ability to convert any paper document
into a digital, editable file that can be
sent for signature;
n
eSign Services (formerly Adobe
EchoSign). Included free with
every subscription, this lets users
electronically send and sign any
document using any internet-
connected device;
n
Mobile Link and Mobile Apps.
These smartphone/tablet apps
let you access, work on and sign
documents when you are away from
your desk. They also let you use a
smartphone camera to capture and
convert any paper document into a
digital, editable file.
n
Document Management and
Control. Services such as Send
& Track let you track and control
documents as they are worked
on and processed by colleagues.
Intelligent tracking gives you visibility
of where critical documents are along
a process, including who has opened
them and when.
Business process are getting clogged up with paper,
claims Adobe, as it launches its document cloud
Jam today
74% of
professionals
in the US,
UK, Germany,
France and
Australia
are reliant
on paper
documents
at work
