Genuinely Green

It used to be that storing information required miles and miles of shelving, and a forest worth of paper that listed all the business data.

Just imagine the setup back then: each time you have a new document, you needed to catalog it and put in the appropriate file cabinet, which was growing all the time. And that’s not the end of it. When you have to retrieve the same document later on, you had to look for the index, search through countless drawers and pick out the file. In the interim between storing and referencing, you can only hope that the info doesn’t get lost, drenched in coffee, eaten by rats or moths, or consumed by fire.

Today, we have come a long way from the endless rows of heavy file cabinets and mountains of paper. With just one click, we can send the same document to thousands of recipients, and store it on a virtual filing drawer. All without printing a single piece of paper.

Needless to say, this does wonders for the environment. But that’s the only way you can go green when it comes to storing and retrieving data. In fact, there are plenty of ways.

Scan rather than photocopy

When you have a document you need to disseminate, the tendency is to head for the office photocopier.

Do you know that with each bright flash, you consume more electricity and paper than you need to? Why not save time and just scan the document?

With just one high-resolution scan, you can have a virtual copy you can send to a hundred users, rather than having to stand by the copier and wait for the machine to churn out the same amount of paper.

Here’s a tip: integrate the scanner on the network, OR connect it to a networked PC. This way, there are three ways you can get the scanned document:

• Retrieve it from the host PC and save it to flash drive
• Have it sent directly to your PC through the network
• (For high end printers) email it directly to the recipients upon scanning

Not only do you save time; you save on paper, photocopier ink, and electricity, all in one convenient scan.

Outsource data storage

A lot of things are now possible on the so-called cloud computing platform. Apps can be stored in the cloud, and vital data processing is now possible even with low-end computers or tablets, as the computing process is done online.

Why not do the same for your data storage?

While this sounds like a risky proposition, it’s no more risky than storing your data in your office. Look at this way: do you have a climate controlled server room? Redundant servers? Backup electricity source? Reliable fire protection?

Professional data storage centers offer all these, and more. What’s more, their services are scaleable enough that you only pay for what you use, such as email archiving solutions or app retrieval, instead of a fixed fee. Not only is it safer and more convenient, it’s also more environment-friendly as you need less storage devices, along with the power needed to run and maintain them.