We often hear about Managed Print Services as an example of the Internet of Things. We discuss how analytics drive the MPS roadmap, and how document security reduces breaches in digital workflows. These sophisticated topics we now associate with MPS, but let’s not forget what started it all — the devices themselves.
In your job, you may never have to pay much attention to the printers, scanners and MFPs that share the office space. And that’s as it should be, but don’t underestimate those devices. They’ve come a long way, and now they contribute to many corporate initiatives:
- Security
- Customer experience
- Digital workplace
- Innovation
- Productivity
- Sustainability
- Compliance
With a little knowledge of the current capabilities of intelligent multi-function devices, you can better consider how to use them in the broader scheme of your business strategy. This may seem like a minor decision. It’s probably one you don’t want to do quarterly or annually, but by paying a bit of attention now, you’ll feel a positive impact for a long time to come.
Why Should You Care About Your Printer?
Why should you care about print devices? Because the real story isn’t just about the hardware. That’s just part of it. The real story is how information flows in, out and through your organization. It’s about knowledge workers, customers, agents, branch offices, compliance, security, sustainability and even digital transformation. That’s no exaggeration. The lowly multi-function device is a proud participant in the Internet of Things. It’s a point on the journey to digital business. Thanks to intelligent devices, documents and information tasks move consistently and flawlessly through the workflow steps, making your business more efficient.
These devices play multiple roles: sometimes as endpoints, sometimes on-ramps, sometimes as just nodes in a process where digital turns physical or vice versa. In any application, the quality, performance and intelligence of the device matter a great deal if you are concerned about customer experience, costs, security and productivity.
How Devices Are Different Today
There are LOTS of devices on the market and soon to be more. What do best in class office printers offer today? If you haven’t compared lately, you might be surprised at how intelligent and integrated your endpoints have become. If you want to talk about office productivity in terms of the latest device technology, you have to include:
Technology that Improves User Experience
- Installation wizards to guide non-technical users through setup
- Preview scans and faxes right at the user interface
- Quickly make scanned documents searchable with built-in OCR capability
Designed for Accessibility and Connectivity
- Directly access cloud services – Dropbox™ / Google Drive™ / OneDrive®
- Work from all your devices with the latest mobile technologies
- Concurrent wired and wireless connections
Personal and Office Productivity
- Easily personalize the user interface for each user
- Tiltable, capacitive tablet interface for a mobile experience
- Expand capabilities with an App Gallery
How do you make sense of what you need? How do you get your money’s worth? How do you get technology that will complement and integrate with what you already have, but still provide a bridge to your future company? Ask whoever procures your fleet to consider investing in devices with capabilities like those listed above. Share this blog with your colleagues if you want to make sure you’re all on the same page when it comes to devices.
Output devices have the power to let you work the way you want – from any device – with maximum security and easy connectivity to and from both cloud and network-based locations. These days, that device matters more than ever.