Definition: office automation

The integration of office information functions, including word and data processing, graphics, desktop publishing and email. Office automation was a popular term in the 1970s and 1980s as the desktop computer exploded onto the scene.

The backbone of office automation is the company's local area network (see LAN). All office functions, including dictation, typing, filing, copying, fax, microfilm/records management and the telephone switchboard, fall into this category. See micrographics and graphics.

Office Automation

This drawing was made by the author of this encyclopedia in the early 1980s to depict an integrated terminal in the office of the future. See about this encyclopedia.