With the advent of Y-generation and technological advancement, organizations must abandon paper and move to digital if they do not want to go extinct.

• Anyone who remains in the paper will become extinct // Illustration: Getty Images

For many, the fourth industrial revolution that technology companies are leading seems obvious, but for older companies it is a challenge and a huge difficulty, both in terms of old technology systems, work processes and manpower.

However, staying comfortable with the lack of organizational change can cripple their existence. Although it seems self-evident, most processes in government offices, banks and countless other companies are analogous to the involvement of paper forms.

For most veteran companies and businesses, discontinuing paper use at all is changing the organization from the ground up and senior executives tend to give up, reject them, and their priority declines due to the challenge and the hassle. Any such rejection only deepens the problem and keeps the company from being able to compete in the new world.

Not only this, but the alternative cost of analog and paper processes is increasing in the digital world, increasing the costs of financial institutions and insurance companies, who need to hire a large number of logistics and administrative staff to maintain paper archives.
Government regulation also does not facilitate the adoption of the digital age. For example, Israeli law requires that every paper be kept for seven years. Even in cases where these documents have not been used for years. These create rental, reclamation and tracking costs.

On the other hand, it harms many operational angles of business and makes processes significantly less effective, especially with new generations, who never have access to fax and sometimes not even email. All of these processes actually make dealing with those clients with paper impossible.

According to official data, since 2005, paper consumption originating from deforestation has been steadily declining, but the target for almost complete reduction of non-recycled paper use is achievable and requires effort, which is economically viable. Global warming and environmental destruction are causing tremendous damage, and business companies should strive to contribute their part to the environmental effort, and when it has significant economic benefits, it seems that only the challenge of adopting digital processes is what is stopping this trend.

Today, for insurance and financial entities, there are technologies that can help them complete the transition from analogue to digital. Beyond the savings in operating costs, those businesses need to understand that if they do not undergo the digital revolution by now, they will miss their access to Y-generation customers and they will lose their future growth.

Bottom line, in an age when mining companies and data analysts are becoming unicorns, even if they have not shown high sales, organizations with data access and invaluable information, can become extinct if their processes do not become digital. For, competitors who offer them a digital-based service will be able to have the most significant benefits on their needs and requirements, thereby preventing abandonment, offering relevant value services and meaningful good service.

The writer is a co-founder and CEO of Lightico