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COVER STORY
As businesses exit the downturn
and plan for future growth,
senior management teams are
increasingly looking at ways in
which they can enhance business
process efficiency and divert more
resources to revenue-generating
activities. As a result of the
exponential growth in information
volumes, the digitisation of
business and the growth of the
mobile workforce, the spotlight
has turned on print and document-
related operating activities as a
key focus for improvement.
There is still work to do. It is
increasingly acknowledged that
printing costs are one of the biggest
remaining areas of uncontrolled
spending in many businesses today.
That’s why we are seeing growing
interest in business approaches
like managed print services and
managed document solutions
that drive printing efficiencies,
increase productivity and generally
help organisations to budget more
effectively.
Multifunction printers (MFPs) can
and should be a core part of this
carefully managed and controlled
approach. The latest advances,
with smart MFPs in particular, have
successfully transformed devices
that were primarily printers and
copiers of paper pages into ones
capable of complete electronic
document management processes.
As a result, these devices are
becoming more central to the
workflow of an entire organisation.
When this happens they can help a
company on its journey to a digital
world.
But how specifically can
smart MFPs do this and drive
improvements in productivity and
savings in costs? Smart MFPs are
network and/or internet-ready
with a customisable graphical user
interface (GUI). They have open
embedded platforms and can be
programmed to perform functions
that are modified to specific
requirements (such as addressing
specific workflows). These functions
can also be driven by server-based
software applications.
Online optical character
recognition software enables users
to electronically convert scanned
documents into computer-readable
text for editing, indexing, searching,
processing and displaying in a more
valuable way. For example, some
smart MFPs allow users to convert
tables into Excel format for further
use.
It is often overlooked as a key
benefit, but these devices come
with a compact footprint, integrating
multiple different document
management functions into a single
device and thereby conserving
critically important office space.
Delivering Efficiencies
OKI is in the forefront of delivering
these kinds of business efficiencies
through its own fleet of high-quality,
powerful MFPs.
Its new MC853 smart MFP, for
example, incorporates both A3 and
A4 capability and combines the
reliability of OKI’s pioneering digital
LED print technology with the added
functionality and performance of
more costly and complex copier-
based devices, ensuring outstanding
print and copy quality as well as
comprehensive scan and document
management and secure printing.
In terms of supporting quality
output, LED functionality is key,
helping to deliver sharp, fast and
accurate scanning. This capability
enables users to digitise documents
clearly and easily – and users can
scan directly to email, USB, network
folder and other destinations.
The device’s scanner delivers fast,
high quality output with automatic
document collation. And with
lightweight delivery access protocol
(LDAP), it supports direct access
to contact and email data from an
existing directory server.
Of course, LED technology has the
added benefit of being robust and
durable. It has fewer moving parts,
which means less wear and tear,
for exceptional reliability. This, plus
durable components and a robust,
built-to-last design, allows OKI to
provide users with the peace of mind
of a 3-year warranty as standard.
Moreover, OKI’s smart Extendable
Platform (sXP) ensures the MC853
can sit at the heart of any business’s
document workflow, with a simple
to use, customisable 7” colour LCD
touch screen that operates the
device and all document functions.
by Andrew Hall, marketing manager Oki Systems UK
Why Smart Businesses
Need Smart MFPs
