While it might not be quite as exciting as The Return of the Jedi, these old warriors of the office world are back with a vengeance. With the Paperless Revolution hard upon us, you would be forgiven for thinking the age of the filing cabinet was long passed. Tech-entrepreneurs have certainly encouraged us to embrace digital storage, digital file management – even digital contracts!
However, despite techies goading us toward the digital age, filing cabinets are making a resurgence. In fact they are one of our top ten selling products at Premier Office Furniture.
So let’s look at our 6 reasons why the filing cabinet isn’t dead yet!
1: Always Accessible
How many times have you forgotten a key password for your system? Not just your email or PC password, but one that unlocks the all-important Cloud. This digital cumulus now holds your important documents to ransom until you jump through the hoops of resetting your password. And depending on the level of security your Cloud requires, that could take a fair while.
The beauty of filing cabinets is that they’re always accessible. You simply walk up to the cabinet, locate the required drawer and there are your files. It might be a little old-school but sometimes “retro” is just more efficient.
Your filing cabinet isn’t going to ask you to remember the name of your first teacher before you can access your files!
2: Can’t Crash
We have become almost distressingly dependent on the internet. This is no more apparent than when it comes to our files. We have been long encouraged to store all our valuable files for our businesses on Cloud servers. Everything from contracts to tax are nestled in the Cloud.
But when the internet connection drops, your important files are suddenly unreachable. And sometimes tech support just can’t get it back up and running before your next important meeting, leaving you stranded without your important files.
The great thing about filing cabinets is that they don’t rely on a dodgy internet connection to allow you access to your files. Filing cabinets do not have downtime, crashes or viruses. You can simply reach in, grab them and go. It takes mere minutes to find and consult the document you’re looking for, and then you’re on your way!
3: No Hackers
Even the most secure systems in the world get hacked. We hear about it nearly every week on the news. From celebrity nudes to military budgets, all these supposedly Cloud secure documents made their way into the hands of others.
Hacking is an unfortunate reality of the digital world. Many hackers simply take advantage of security weak points and grab what they can. Others leave behind malware and viruses, the worst of all being ransomware. Opening a single dodgy email can see your entire company’s files locked and encrypted until you pay a ransom fee.
Malware can affect your Cloud storage, too. Reports have come in from all over the world of ransomware locking up files in Cloud services – and even moving on to infect other companies using the same service. If you don’t have the money to release your files or you can’t find a way to “hack the hackers” and de-encrypt your files, then they are essentially lost forever. It has even been found that, in some cases, errors in the ransomware code mean your files are irretrievable, even if you do pay your ransom.
With the kind of sensitive information many business carry – including employee details– it seems like madness to rely on Cloud storage and security to protect sensitive documents.
A filing cabinet, thankfully, cannot be hacked and can be safely stored in a secure location in your office, under quite literal lock and key. While it won’t stop your business from being robbed, few people will bother attacking a filing cabinet when they can simply take cash and electronics. Online, hackers are far less discriminate, happy to ruin your company’s hard work just for “the kicks”. Keeping your files safe and secure, in your office, is the best way to go.
4: Digital vs. Hard Copy
Even with the encouragement towards a paperless existence, many important documents still come to us in paper form – everything from banking statements to work contracts. And while you can transfer many of these into a digital format, we’ve already discussed why you might not feel so safe doing so!
Legacy files are also an issue. Many of us still have paper versions of our birth certificates, school records and the like. While many of these can be digitised, there are some paper files that are actually illegal for you to destroy. This varies between states and is dependent on a number of factors – so it is best to double check if you’re in the process of digitising your office!
Even in this push for a paperless world, paper still exists. And sensitive documents are still printed on it. So when you have a document that cannot be digitised, for one reason or another, where else will you safely keep it?
That’s right, the filing cabinet.
5: U-G-L-Y No More
Let’s face it, old school filing cabinets were ugly. They were big, steel monstrosities that took up a good chunk of your office space. It’s no wonder that a lot of people were quick to abandon the old office hero and go digital.
But with the advent of stylish, modern office spaces, have come modern takes on the filing cabinet. Filing cabinets – and drawers – can be tastefully styled to blend in with the rest of your office furniture. A wider range of shapes, colours and finishes means you won’t have trouble finding something that blends in with your office’s style and functionality.
6: Organisation
This might seem like an obvious issue and one that can be solved easily with digital files. But how often have you saved a file quickly with a nonsense name, planning to come back to it later? And how often have you completely forgotten what the file was named and where you put it? Not to mention the fact that many programs have their own default location for saving files that aren’t always obvious or easy to find.
Digital files are also not permanent. An accidental miss-click could result in a single file vanishing – or hundreds if you manage to delete a folder!
When it comes to hard copy files, there is no accidental deleting of files. And you can’t miss name a piece of paper. Yes, you still need to be on top of your organisation to ensure everything is properly filed away. But it is far less daunting a task than facing a Cloud filled with files like “Document1”, “Document22” or “Notes” and knowing you will have to open them all, rename them and sort them into the appropriate folders.
A paperless world is an interesting idea. And there is little doubt that, sometime in the future, our businesses will be entirely digitised. However, with the threat of unstable technology, hackers and ransomware, it’s a little too soon to completely replace our loyal filing cabinets. Looking for filing cabinet solutions? Begin shopping now or contact us today!