Evolving Tech

I’ve had this conversation more than once. Do we really need to go digital? Paper has worked fine for years. To some people, digitizing records still sounds far-fetched. I get it. Change is uncomfortable and paper feels safe because it’s familiar.

I’ve led this transition a few times now. One project converting employee files into digital records stands out. Every file that fell under data retention rules, painstakingly scanned, tagged, and labeled, page by page. We flew across states and across the country to manage it. Physical file rooms. File clerks. Boxes of paper sorted, retained, or destroyed according to policy.

Until the barcodes and QRs became built in and standard. Scan, sweep, done.

It’s wild that not long ago this took people, planes, and warehouses. Now I wonder how it ever worked any other way. That’s what happens when digitization actually gets adopted. First it’s painful. Then it becomes so normal you forget the old way existed.