Technology has certainly changed a lot in the past twenty years, especially when it comes to long distance communication. While we once had to handwrite and send letters before waiting weeks for a response, the Internet made the process much shorter. With the dawn of the Internet age, all we had to do was sit through a lengthy dial-up process to hear that tinny “You’ve got mail!” before waiting for more loading screens to show us an email, but it was a lot faster than snail mail. With smartphones, now we can receive emails at any time and from virtually anywhere, all with a device that fits in the palm of our hands.
And it’s not just communication—life is no longer the waiting man’s game, and we have totally and completely changed our capacity for patience as a society. While we once waited for weeks to receive a product we ordered from a catalog, we now get annoyed when a product isn’t eligible for free two-day shipping on Amazon. While we once were fine with piling the family in the car to go down to Blockbuster and grab a movie, we now get annoyed when there’s nothing good on Netflix.
There’s no getting around it—the Internet, and more importantly the smartphone, have become a necessary part of everyday life. So how has this affected the business world?
The Impact of Anytime Access on Business
Since consumers don’t have the same amount of patience that they once did, they expect information, products, and services to be available as soon as possible—why else would people camp out for the newest iPhone or drag themselves to a midnight showing of the latest Marvel movie? Consumers need to have their products the second that they’re made publicly available.
As a result, many businesses have a mobile web-friendly site or mobile app that their customers can use to access their business at any time. Service departments even send instantaneous email replies when customers file a complaint or query, usually saying something along the lines of, “We received your message and will be responding shortly.” They do it because they want to satisfy that customer’s need for everything to be taken care of immediately.
Business owners and employees also seek instant gratification. The instant a financial report is drafted or a new account is opened, people want details ASAP. Many corporate workers find themselves glued to their smartphones, even during off hours, so that they can reply to an email as soon as they get it. In the modern business world, even the smallest issues are pressing because everyone expects everyone else to operate on their time, and they don’t want to wait.
With all of this being said, it’s important to know that this new era of instantaneous is good for business. Decisions are made more quickly, productivity and efficiency are encouraged, orders are filled in record time, invoices are paid and money is transferred on the same day. New technologies are constantly being developed to speed things up, and every aspect of normal business operation is becoming more streamlined.
Streamline Business Operations with a Document Management System
You can perhaps most noticeably see this in the way that companies handle their document management systems (DMSs). Filing systems were once beige monstrosities that occupied valuable square footage in an office, and finding the precise manila envelope that you were looking for was a chore. Today, if you’re doing things right, you have the Internet (and more importantly the cloud) to easily handle all of this filing for you. When you work with the right document management system, every co-worker, customer, and client can get the information they’re looking for within seconds.
eFileCabinet is the best document management system on the market today, for small businesses and multi-national corporations alike. With tight security, innovative features, and an easy-to-understand user interface, eFileCabinet makes every document in your business, whether they’re internal memos, invoices or various forms, instantly accessible from any authorized computer, smartphone, or tablet. Gone are the days of snail mail, faxes, or even traditional email. eFileCabinet revolutionizes the way that document management is handled, and many businesses the world over use it to make their business dealings more intuitive and efficient.