The History of the Paperless Office
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The History of the Paperless Office
Creating paperless offices is a popular idea in business today. But how old is this idea? Discover the unlikely journey of the paperless office.
Early 1960s: Computers begin to have video display terminals, such as IBM 2260, allowing people to read text on the screen.
1969: BBC creates a short piece on the automated office future. All processes are streamlined, reducing inefficiency, but also eliminating human contact.
1970: PARC is founded by Xerox, an R&D firm, focusing on hardware and IT.
1975: Businessweek publishes ‘The Office of the Future’, predicting that all records would be electronic by 1990.
1976: IBM introduces the first commercial laser printer, IBM 3800. Soon after Xerox releases the first laser printer for the office.
1980-1995: Paper use doubles due to the rise in affordable laser printing.
The mid-1990s: Cloud storage begins to gain significant bandwidth with the internet.
2001: Sellen and Harper in ‘The Myth of the Paperless Office’, investigate why work is still dominated by paper.
2000-2009: American consumption of paper drops by 20%.
2007: Apple introduces the first iPhone.
2008: The Economist argues that the paperless office is coming with a new generation who rely less on paper, and more on technology
2011-2012: Smartphone use at work jumps from 37% to 60% in one year.
2013: Adobe reports 87% of respondents have a mostly digital office and 59% would like to be more digital.
2013: Millennials push for more tech, less paper. 16% of office workers use Dropbox. Rises to 31% for 18-31-year-olds.
Conclusion – The paperless office isn’t here yet. But, with faster technology and a digital generation, this future is on its way.