Channel partners tell me daily that productivity is a top concern for virtually every customer they serve. Moving from paper to digital workflows has the potential to radically overhaul how organizations work internally and externally.
Digitizing paper processes can save time and money, enhance collaboration, and even help to improve data security, a leading concern across all verticals. It also paves the way for more advanced document management and automation across the business, and by all accounts, is the future of work.
According to research from global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, “As digitization penetrates more fully…bold, tightly integrated digital strategies will be the biggest differentiator between companies that win and companies that don’t, and the biggest payouts will go to those that initiate digital disruptions.”
But digitization isn’t just a case of converting paper documents to digital files. True digitization involves creating an end-to-end solution that includes document routing, storing, sharing and printing. It incorporates mobile print and cloud solutions, as well as state-of-the-art security and automates complex document workflows.
It Starts with the Device
The newest fleet of ConnectKey-enabled MFPs change the fundamental nature of the workplace by going beyond base printing, copying, scanning and faxing functions to personalize the way customers work.
ConnectKey Technology® enables one-touch workflows right from the device, so customers can scan an invoice, route it to the correct recipient, and store it in the cloud right from their MFP.
Easy, Mobile
The AltaLink® and VersaLink® family of products were designed with an easy to use interface that works very much the same way your tablet or smartphone does, helping to alleviate one of the principle pain points of digital transformation – cultural adoption.
Introducing a machine that is familiar and easy to use, and which features their most-used apps front and center on the display, makes the concept of new technology much easier to swallow – and to sell.
Because mobility is a critical component to successful digitization, ConnectKey Technology® has functionalities that make it easy to download, share, print, scan, distribute and even translate documents from anywhere, simply by tapping an app. Its optional Wi-Fi feature pairs with customers’ cloud service to connect the entire team to the MFP via their mobile devices, putting AirPrint, Mopria, Google Cloud Print, and the Xerox® Android Print Service Plug-in right at their fingertips. Google Drive and OneDrive are also pre-installed on VersaLink® printers and downloadable from the AppGallery on AltaLink® MFPs.
Security
Security should be a primary talking point when it comes to digitization. Are your SMB customers aware that 43% of all cyber attacks that occurred in 2015 targeted small businesses? Or that a survey done by Keeper Security and Ponemon Institute found that half of all small businesses in 2016 had experienced a security breach within the past year? Every Xerox®ConnectKey® Technology-enabled device is armed with a holistic four-point approach to security that ensures comprehensive protection for the entire system at all points of vulnerability. In fact, it’s so important that I’ll be addressing the topic of document management to boost security in its own upcoming post.
Apps
One of the primary differentiations between Xerox®ConnectKey® Technology-enabled workplace assistants and standard MFPs are the customizable apps that allow your customers to add, delete, or swap tools as their business changes. It also gives you, their channel partner, the power to help them create customized apps and workflows that can completely change the way the work, improving productivity in a way that paper processes can’t possibly match.
Existing apps like Capture Point convert paper into any required format, while Easy Translator lets customers translate documents quickly and easily. There are even apps for specific verticals like healthcare, which enable customers to maintain HIPAA compliance and protect patient confidentiality while still sharing patient information quickly and efficiently.
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The Role of MPS
But the device itself isn’t enough. MPS software helps bridge the gap between paper and digital.
Bob Palmer, Research Director of IDC writes, “Scanning is the fundamental component of any paper-to-digital conversion strategy. However, businesses need guidance when it comes to designing and implementing an effective scan and workflow solution. Ad hoc scanning has become pervasive in today’s office environment, which in many cases only contributes to the growing list of challenges associated with information management. Mountains of paper documents are scanned and converted into static digital files that cannot be manipulated, making it virtually impossible to edit or collaborate the way users can interact with hardcopy documents. This can lead to significant drain on worker productivity.”
“The most effective digital conversion solutions should enable users to work with electronic documents in the same manner as they have with paper, with the ability to annotate, collate, and collaborate. The scan/capture solution should leverage OCR technology to create editable, searchable files combined with the intelligence to scan directly into existing document repositories, applications, and document management systems. Combining these capabilities with the advanced features of the smart MFP allows businesses to simplify and automate workflow, while significantly reducing the amount of time and energy spent rekeying or searching for information.”
Read: How to Leverage MPS to Better Serve Your Customers
Intelligent workflow solutions can increase productivity while pushing additional savings to the bottom line if designed and implemented properly.
Driving Real Business Value
Digitization isn’t just about staying on top of emerging trends. It has real business value for every customer you serve. Results from IDC’s Content Workflow Automation Survey showed that organizations who made strides toward digitizing, automating, and optimizing their document workflows:
- Reduced the percentage of time spent on document-related tasks each week by 17.2%
- Saved an average of 3.1 hours each week on document-related tasks
- Experiences a 3% reduction in paper documents
- Decreased the time spent looking for and/or recreating lost or misfiled documents by 12.5%
- Reduced the costs of storing documents by an average of 41.2%
Better document management isn’t just a conversation starter; it’s a truly transformative process that can help your customers work better. A knowledgeable channel partner can alleviate many of the pain points that have prevented customers from making the switch they sorely need – challenges like costs and potential disruption to existing business processes. Designed and implemented properly, intelligent workflow solutions can increase productivity while pushing additional savings to the bottom line.
Check out Understanding the Building Blocks of Workflow Assessments to learn more about conducting and deliver comprehensive workflow assessments that can bring better document management to life for your customers.
Read: Understanding the Building Blocks of Workflow Assessments
Managed print and document service (MPDS) providers are making the transition to document workflow services – adding a lucrative value-add service that can drive incremental new business, while increasing wallet share and profit per customer.
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[…] This can evaluate all points of vulnerability and help you build a comprehensive security plan that covers everything from information point of entry to user access and even how the device (and the sensitive information stored in it) will be disposed of at the end of its life. It’s also a great way to help customers consolidate, upgrade, and improve their paper processes, while also cu…. […]
[…] this goes a step further. Partners who are able to bring value to their customers by, say, cutting their costs, improve security, and work better, are partners who will keep those customers for the long […]
[…] this goes a step further. Partners who are able to bring value to their customers by, say, cutting their costs, improve security, and work better, are partners who will keep those customers for the long […]
[…] this goes a step further. Partners who are able to bring value to their customers by, say, cutting their costs, improve security, and work better, are partners who will keep those customers for the long […]