It’s a scene out of a 1950s sitcom: As the sun is beginning to set, the work-weary husband stumbles through the front door, briefcase in hand and announces to his apron-clad wife, “Hi honey, I’m home.”
Rarely does this scene play out in modern life. For one, the idea of the husband working while the wife stays at home and cooks went out with the black-and-white situation comedies. And the idea of a 9-to-5 office job is quickly becoming a thing of the past as companies everywhere are adapting a more flexible work schedule. Today’s workers do their work not only in the office, but on a train, plane, coffee shop or home office. And they do it at any time of the day or night, in any time zone.
This increasing trend towards working on the go has opened new opportunities for channel partners, as the number of mobile workers is rising quickly. According to an IDC study, the number of these workers in the U.S. will rise from 96.2 million to 105.4 million over the next five years. By 2020, the report says, mobile workers will account for nearly three-quarters of the U.S. workforce.
The IDC study separated mobile workers into two categories. There are those mobile workers who work primarily in offices, either at company sites or in a home office. Non-office mobile workers do their jobs mostly in the field instead of in an office environment. Channel partners can find opportunity in both.
Wherever they’re working, technology gives employees the opportunity to stay on the job all the time. Technology can be marketed toward workers who want to be productive wherever they are. Xerox’s ConnectKey Technology® addresses the needs of both the modern workplace and the modern worker. The portfolio’s personalized automated workflows, one-touch access to the cloud, mobile readiness, tailored apps and multi-layered secured features help improve user productivity, efficiency and information security.
Know someone who wants to go for a run before work, or needs to review files while commuting to a meeting? The Xerox Audio Document App can help them review their content on the go. With this app enabled on an MFP, users can easily transform hardcopy content into an audio file. Listening to audio content can help anyone multitask without losing quality content.
These audio documents are easily created. Users just open the app, enter their email, source language, settings and scan their document. An MP3 link is instantly sent to their email. Then, they can pop in their earbuds and enjoy being read to, just like listening to an audio book. The app supports document submission in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese for every person in every industry.
Chances are, today’s workers all have a phone, tablet and/or laptop at their immediate disposal. With all these devices, it is important to have data all stored in one central location. Cloud-enabled solutions make it happen. Xerox Mobile Link, for example, is a mobile app that can scan, fax and print from a phone or tablet by connecting with the MFP and sending data to cloud storage. Documents can be combined and merged into password-protected PDFs, and captured and sent to email, print and cloud simultaneously. This can be done from an office or a coffee shop — wherever it is the most convenient.
Some workers are always on the go, traveling to different offices. The Xerox Mobile Express Driver takes away the hassles from working in multiple locations. This driver can be downloaded to a PC and can print to almost any Post Script device on the network. Instead of downloading individual printer drivers every time they go to a new office, workers can download the single driver.
All this technology, however, does not come without risk. The danger of losing company data via mobile devices has dramatically increased. Data can be hacked, and phones can be lost or stolen. To this end, Xerox has partnered with Cisco and McAfee to secure ConnectKey technologies. Document capture and workflow solutions integrated at the MFP can help combat the security risk of data leakage. For example, organizations performing distributed document capture benefit from not only streamlined workflows and reduced costs, but customizable security allowing for increased compliance for essential documents. A solution that logs and reports all system actions allows for documenting and creating audit trails. Offering secure email connectivity, Cisco TrustSec integration encrypts data transfer between ConnectKey-enabled MFPs and external mail servers, while PDF files can be password encrypted when using scan-to-email, protecting documents after they leave the network firewall.
As businesses continue to see the advantages and perils of employees working remotely or on-the-go, opportunities for channel partners to expand this market will continue to grow. Xerox solutions can help your clients keep up with the latest trends in technology and industry, and keep their clients secure and productive while doing so.
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