Conducted by Coleman Parkes (2011), research revealed that companies on the continent combine to spend about 362 million hours each year looking for documents. Overall, that costs more than $210 billion, according to the new report.

"The Index shows how outdated, manual processes have multiple impacts on the business. For instance, if critical information is processed using traditional hard-copy methods, business risk is enhanced as the data is less likely to be backed up," Carsten Bruhn, executive vice president for Ricoh Europe, which underwrote the study, said.

According to Coleman Parkes' poll, 22 percent of companies said they have a fully automated workflow in place for their business-critical documents. By implementing a records and document management solution, the remaining 78 percent of respondents would be able to find their information more quickly, because records would be organised and easily searchable.

Such a system is especially important for organizations that continue to rely on paper documents. That's because hard copies of information are easier to lose and are more prone to security breaches, according to the research.

On a good note, only about 8 percent of respondents said their data protection procedures don't fully protect paper documents. Yet 36 percent of respondents admitted that either they or their staff have lost or misplaced such information. However, when a document management solution is deployed, respondents seemed to be on the same page when it comes to priorities. Sixty-seven percent said they hope a solution will improve data protection and 65 percent want to drive workforce efficiency.

Top reasons for not implementing such an information management platform included lack of time, as cited by 45 percent of respondents, and lack of resources, which was highlighted by 35 percent of respondents.

Document Genetics have a toolkit of document management products, which can be used in isolation, or in their entirety, to address document-related issues within an organization. Unlike many other companies, we don't brand this tool kit of products and services under an all-encompassing umbrella, charge a premium and hide the true identity of the component parts; we prefer to take industry-standard technology (at the right cost) and make it work reliably and efficiently.

Whether you need an entire document management system or you have customised needs that encompass elements of Document Genetics' portfolio, we can provide comprehensive solutions for all of your technology needs.