Each person should aim to develop their own rhythm, the cultivated ability to make decisions that solve problems related to the work they do, and to find within routinized daily life a way for the work itself to change and for goals to be renewed in reality. In this way, everyday life will become better, at least in the office, since that is what we are discussing.
A relative mapping of information according to its path during circulation within the company can provide a picture of what is happening internally during work. It shows who truly holds responsibilities and authority, and who attempts to evade their own while being generously paid for the opposite. Beyond this, in the next chapter we will see how all of this can form the basis for reducing operating costs by sixty to ninety percent annually.
To be in a position to negotiate with external partners, a company must not depend on them, or must limit the revenue they derive from it. If a problem exists, it will function like a black hole that absorbs working time and money. This can be addressed through a general assessment using a few or even continuous internal restructurings of the tools provided for work. To avoid exaggeration, the time saved is often negligible, one to two minutes, based on experience, while the financial benefit can be substantial. It can either ease the annual budget or be redirected elsewhere while keeping it unchanged.
In cases of financial adjustment, the budget may remain reduced. Otherwise, it is better to allocate savings to areas such as building infrastructure, research, modernization of equipment, and departmental reorganization. In this way, internal operations can expand and stable relationships with third parties can be built. If operating costs are sustainable, it is preferable not to reduce them but to redistribute them into useful and necessary processes.
In all of this, the focus is on how improvement can occur without disruption. The correct selection of information avoids additional costs, both logistical and practical, from every perspective.
The distinction between data and metadata must be clearly understood in order to avoid misunderstandings and opportunistic conflicts in a field that has no relation to supporting one viewpoint over another.
Data are defined as stable information related to the corporate organization, either as assets or as customer history. In addition, corporate information transmitted through corporate email may also be considered data.
For example, an employee in a payments office handling transactions between the company and suppliers can be significantly assisted by electronically recording useful information in a digital notebook and quickly referring to it when needed. However, this notebook does not constitute an archive of proof of payments or purchases, nor can it replace the written information of original paper documents sent to the company by third parties, which are considered officially accepted documents.
This distinction must be clear, because neither analysis, nor statistical research, nor data sorting can replace the commonly accepted archival procedures required to resolve potential disputes.
Mass Digitization
Scanning documents is a better option than digitally reproducing a document, which could constitute forgery if it originates from a third party. Under no circumstances can signatures be copied, as this raises serious issues of legality and validity. These details are essential in the broader issue of document digitization.
Targeted Digitization
Targeted digitization refers to the proper digitization of specific departments. This can be done either as a pilot phase for broader digitization or partially, with the aim of avoiding operational costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
Separation of Digitization and Analysis
Digitization is often confused with analysis because most analyses are now conducted electronically using software and are presented digitally. However, the two concepts are entirely separate. Digitization refers to the complete digital representation and management of electronic archives, enabling documents to be printed at any time and transferred digitally between departments. Therefore, the method of organization should not differ from that used in the physical paper archive.
Analysis, on the other hand, does not involve archiving or storing critical information. Instead, it selectively gathers specific data and draws conclusions on broader issues that may be related but are not archival in nature.
Junk Mail
The excessive accumulation of data does not help any corporate organization utilize information effectively. On the contrary, it is potentially a time bomb for operations, entirely dependent on a constant inflow of revenue solely to be spent on storage. For example, storing such data would require approximately four hundred dollars per month per one hundred and twenty employees. Four hundred dollars per month effectively wasted on unnecessary analysis is not insignificant.
In the modern era, it must be understood that past mistakes have shown it is no longer viable to grow by simply following the flow of technological evolution and then adapting to the problems that arise. A truly sustainable business must chart its own course and utilize its resources in its own way. The analysis of junk mail is essentially the same as the analysis of low importance data, only carried out in isolation.