Since the early 70s skeptics and advocates alike have been engaged in heated debate about the possibility of a working environment independent of paper files. To this day it remains a controversial topic. But how likely is the eradication of paper-based documents in this decade, or even our lifetime?

You would think, with over 40 years of advancement in technology, our dependence on a thin, disposable method of storing data that dates back to the 2nd century CE would by now be ousted. Yet it remains an irrefutable truth that many of these hi-tech alternatives to managing information simply do not circumvent our global dependence on paper documents.

A big issue is highlighted when you take—for one example—the difference in cost: the average tablet is priced between £200-£400; server hosting of files almost indefinitely incurs a monthly charge, requires yet more expensive technology, professional knowledge and is liable to annoyances as trivial as power cuts. In the current economy, are organisations or government officials likely to supply every employee, civic servant and school child with a personal tablet? Is it realistic to think that these devices will seamlessly link and share all documents without bespoke, costly software packages?

By comparison paper excels at being the cheapest, most universally recognised document management medium. Paper is independently tangible without the need of a supporting device; its lifespan greatly surpasses that of a computer hard drive, and its very "existence" isn’t reliant on a fleeting battery life and a supporting piece of equipment. Equally—unless physically obtained—confidential paper archives are not privy to ‘hackers’ or accidental exposure online, as are their digital counterparts.

Most of our important official documents gathered over the years have been carefully archived - and will need to be for years to come. Within many industries hard copies of files are a necessity to show regulatory compliance. As such, throughout London many high-profile firms in the legal, medical, media and financial sectors generate so much paper-based information that they require professional archiving companies to help them negotiate this colossal workload.

For companies who specialise in offsite document storage, efficient systems have been put in place to maximise resourceful paper archival and retrieval, whilst recycling wherever possible to reduce this impact on the environment. Although decreasing with time, the cost to convert these files into digital archives far outweighs storing the original paper alone. Calculations indicate a cost increase of approximately 80 times for digital copies when compared to that of standard off site document storage.

Clearly, as a society we are not quite ready for this shift, and may not be for some time to come. Nevertheless, it is worth taking comfort in the fact that technology doesn’t always replace longstanding methods, but more often serves to augment them.