In short, there has been a change in how documents are produced- by people . With more access to information and the move toward distributed computing, workers are creating more memos, reports, presentations, and proposals then ever before. Although LAN and PCs have enabled the rapid flow of information, they have not addressed the flow of documents in business. As a result a gap exists between the investments organizations make in information technology and the improvements they are receiving in employee productivity. The opportunity to improve employee productivity lies in redefining the processes by which they output and reproduce documents.
Documents play a significant role in business.
They are used as a medium of communication, to record processes and policies, to explain the features and operation of products. While it's relatively easy to determine direct costs associated with various business processes, the indirect costs of document production often are overlooked. For example, a document that contains outdated information may be used to inaccurately support business propositions, resulting in costly errors. The document production industry has changed a great deal in the fast few years. Where paper documents once were the norm, there is an increasing trend to handle documents electronically, empowering individuals to generate printed versions when and if they deem it necessary.