When buying office furniture for a modern, 21st century workplace, there is no shortage of products and options on offer. Much the same applies to suppliers of office furniture. Customers are literally spoiled for choice.
In an economically active area like Johannesburg, the choices on offer are amplified exponentially, since greater Johannesburg is universally regarded as the economic hub of South Africa. If it’s happening, it’s definitely happening in the Johannesburg/Gauteng region, regardless of what “it” may be.
This fact invariably implies the existence of enormous numbers of office blocks, buildings and centres, as well thousands of people who work there, each at his or her own desk and chair, surrounded by additional furniture pieces.
Depending on each employee’s position or function, the incumbent may generate enough significant documents and important correspondence that must be filed away for safekeeping and possible future reference. This person would require the use of one or more filing cabinets.
As a result of the rapid evolution, development, new inventions and innovations in technology during the latter part of the 20th century – the first two decades of the 21st century, filing systems have undergone huge changes. Many electronic, computerized files may now be saved and stored electronically.
Even so, and despite worldwide ecologically sensitive ambitions to move towards paperless offices and societies, hard copy documents and paperwork still have their deserved place in the 21st-century workplace. Some may use both electronic as well as hard copy filing systems in their offices, particularly if their saved materials are vitally important. One filing system serves as a backup for the other.
Responsible businesses, which exclusively or additionally use, store and keep paper-based documents for easy accessibility, recycle their redundant used and wastepaper, once the contents become obsolete. In doing so, they also make a valuable contribution to transforming the old into the new – the creation of a greener, more eco-friendly environment and planet.
So, files and filing cabinets will still be part and parcel of today and tomorrow’s workplaces for quite some time, well into the future. However, the face of office cabinetry has changed from its former appearance – and, to a certain extent, its former functions too.
To know, understand and appreciate how far office furniture and equipment has come, it’s necessary to take a brief peek at what they once were, how they’ve evolved and changed, as well as their current features and benefits.
Old fashioned, bulky and very heavy ledgers that were featured in and of erstwhile offices have become relatively rare collectors’ pieces. These pieces are occasionally found by lucky shoppers and avid collectors in antique shops, or more often, only in museums, on display amongst other antique exhibits.
The cabinets that housed bulky journals, ledgers and files now seldom appear in a modern workplace and space, unless it is specifically designed to be themed accordingly – something which seldom happens nowadays. There is an exception, though – furnishing a large home office with antique pieces, cabinets included, that have sentimental value and are family heirlooms.
Take your pick of storage solutions from the following ranges, or if required, choose one or more of each:
Buy at Quantum
When you want to buy multi- or single-purpose filing cabinets for your modern, flexible formal or home office set-up, be sure to consider the comprehensive ranges of attractive, practical options on offer at Quantum Office Furniture. We’ll deliver and install your new pieces free of charge within the greater Johannesburg area. Quantum provides the same service nationwide, at reasonable rates, because we strive to add value and fine, functional modern appointments to your office space.