10 reasons businesses should buy e-readers

commentary E-readers are making an impact. They have been available for some time, but only now--thanks, in part, to Amazon's Kindle--are they being taken seriously.

The biggest advocates of e-readers may still be avid readers, but that situation need not--and probably will not--continue for long. Enterprises should start deploying e-readers to certain staff for many reasons, several of which relate directly to the bottom line.

So why, exactly, should your company adopt e-readers? Here are 10 good reasons for the switch.

1. Cost savings
The average e-reader--one that would make sense in the business environment--costs less than US$300. If you bought five for senior staff, it would cost a total of US$1,500.

The average cost of a box of multi-purpose paper is US$35, so you would have to go through about 42 boxes of paper to recoup your e-reader investment. That is 210,000 sheets of paper, or 575 sheets of paper a day for one year.

You must also include other costs in this equation. For example: delivery; toner; printer wear, tear and repair; the electricity used by printer; and the downtime when printers are not functioning.

Although it sounds as if it would take a long time to recoup the cost of the e-readers, just remember how senior managers devour reports.

Besides, by the time your company is ready to take the plunge and purchase e-readers, the average cost of the device will have dropped. Not only that, but many e-book editions of books are cheaper than the standard editions. O'Reilly books are always cheaper in e-book format.

2. Greener business
No matter where you stand on environmental issues, you know businesses waste tons of paper every year. The paper is either recycled or thrown away.

Although recycling may be good, even the act of doing so contributes to the problem. Someone has to pick up or drop off that paper to recycle. And recycling plants use up energy and give off pollution in the process. You can avoid a good deal of this by employing e-readers.

Distributing all your company paperwork, documentation and meeting materials in the form of files that can only be used on an e-reader makes sense.

3. Space savings
Cluttered desks are not only a sign of a cluttered mind, they are also a sign of a less-than-efficient worker.

If you were to measure the space taken up by printers and printer paper, you might be surprised at how much space you would regain by eliminating them.

But it is not just about space. Removing clutter around the office improves efficiency and morale. Think about how often you hear staff complaining about the condition of the work environment--something that is directly affected by the clutter created by printers, printer tools and accessories, and paper.

4. More efficient workers
How many of your employees are paper jugglers? And how much of that juggling makes them less efficient at work?

Imagine your employees having all their paperwork, memos, meeting notes and handbooks in one portable location. This approach would mean less lost work, less mess and less time wasted sifting through papers. More-efficient workers directly affect the bottom line.

Meetings could be more efficient, as well. Imagine employees coming to meetings and being handed an e-reader containing every piece of relevant paperwork, instead of distributing stacks of paper. Some e-readers also allow for annotation, which would enable employees to take notes.

5. Increased professionalism
If your company depends on its image to help stay ahead of the competition, how better to impress clients than by having all your information on an e-reader instead of a folder with the traditional paperwork?

E-readers will also allow you to protect intellectual property. No client will be able to walk off with your information or steal your work or ideas by walking off with papers at the end of a meeting. Besides, modern business is done at the speed of data--not the speed of a piece of paper and ink.

6. Staying in the know
Some e-readers allow you to download newspapers, magazines and blogs wirelessly. This facility provides users with an excellent means of staying on top of events, while at the same time conveniently giving them company data, documents and other resources in the same space-saving device.

True, laptops also offer this advantage. But with laptops, there are added issues absent from e-reader use. Remember, the e-reader is a single-minded device, so your employees will be using them only for the task at hand.

7. Higher morale
There are times when a company needs a boost in morale. Distributing e-readers, even if they are for work, will give a short-term boost. The e-reader is an outstanding tool that can be used to keep employees focused and happy.

By allowing employees to use these devices for their own reading, as well for managing company documentation, they will see you not only value their work but also consider their mental wellbeing.

This perception is critical to employee retention. Although an e-reader may seem a small offering, it will go a long way to make employees happier and better workers.

8. More documentation to hand
Imagine having an entire library of documentation ready for your employees to use on a single server--no more having to dedicate office space for a library or buying multiple copies of books.

Instead, purchase an e-book and make it available for all employees using e-readers.

These efficiencies do not just apply to purchased books, either. You could also provide in-house documentation for all e-reader users.

In addition, if you have the technology in place, users in certain circumstances could access documentation on the move.

9. Reduced eye strain
It has been proven that e-ink technology leads to less eye strain than standard PC monitors or laptop screens.

When employees spend most of their day reading at their desks, their eye health will benefit greatly if they can spend some time reading from an e-reader.

The average person can spend much more time safely using an e-reader than a monitor. These benefits help boost morale, along with productivity. Less eye strain leads to fewer headaches. Fewer headaches lead to more-productive employees.

10. In-house publications
How often do you spend money having large documents bound for ease of use? With e-readers, you do not have to outsource this service. It becomes an in-house job that can be done quickly and easily.

Not only will you save money when you publish in-house, your employees will have faster access to the documents they need.

No more waiting for bound copies to arrive. No more having to unpack and hand out heavy books. No more waste. You are your own source of documentation, publication and distribution.

Brave new e-reader world
You probably never thought you would see the day when e-readers could be a possibility in the enterprise. That time is coming, and you can be ahead of the curve by making this investment. Just make sure you do your homework to find the e-reader that best serves you and your employees.