Is Email Wearing You Down?

Okay, so you received this newsletter by email. I, like a lot of you normally do, would either delete this ezine from my inbox faster than greased lightning, or I would forward it to someone else because I can relate to what I am about to read:

Over the past two months I have been on at least seven appointments where we discussed all the paper files and electronic files that come into the office, and how they can be stored and retrieved. Interestingly, the most overlooked problem is what to do with the emails. I know, I know, "they are backed up by the IT department."

But even with those regular backups, how many times do you hear, "I didn't know you got an email from the client telling us. . ."? Or, even better--and I hear this one a lot: "We spend about (fill in the blank) hours a month moving emails to the proper folders on the network so we can know who sent what to whom." Great, they are using a manual filing system that has more holes than Swiss cheese.

Arrow up for a minute. Imagine, if you would, one place where you can go to find all of your information. Not only that, but imagine it is also the one place you can go to do a search for any of your digital information without getting that annoying little hour glass popping up on screen. Can you imagine it? A repository for all your documents--electronic ones like Word and Excel, all of your scanned pages, and all of your emails--everything is at your fingertips with a click of the mouse. And that is also the one place you can go to find information. . . with an audit trail!

But wait, there's more. Imagine being able to do this from your favorite application software, like an accounting package or human resource software.

Now, before you delete this as a far-fetched fantasy, or hit forward in order to share the news of this wonderful idea, realize that it isn't just in your imagination. There really is such a place!

So the next time you get an email and ask yourself, "Now what should I do with this?" remember that my usual offer stands: If you would like more information about how to make this a reality, just email me at mzecy@americanmicrokc.com, and I promise to show you a solution that can work.

Mark A. Zecy