Business and technology are in a continuous state of evolution, which means that organisations need to constantly adapt to their customers’ changing wants and needs.
Office work is undergoing significant change and work is becoming increasingly mobile and flexible.
This poses challenges for companies from all sectors and sizes. It is important to use the growing amount of information, data and content and to extract and process it as efficiently as possible.
On the way to the office of the future, contracts, correspondence, orders, invoices: almost all business-critical company processes are document-based. Therefore, the change in office work requires companies and organisations to rethink how their workflows are handled.
“Research conducted in May 2021 by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Kyocera Document Solutions, investigated the implications of remote work on organisations, employees and productivity and it confirmed our suspicions and our findings locally,” says Greg Griffith, senior product manager at Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa.
Clients that have invested in the right tools to enable their employees to work from home are definitely benefiting in terms of productivity gains, business continuity, resilience and innovation in the current environment.
“Interestingly, the humble printer can offer multiple opportunities in the hybrid work office,” says Griffith.
Print technology has evolved considerably over the years, along with developments in the cloud, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc. As these trends develop, so too does the essential role of the printer become evident as a key part in document management.
Sustainability in the cloud
Along with the increasing need for mobility, control and functionality among hybrid organisations, printing technology is adopting digitisation and moving to “cloud printing”, effectively reducing the number of documents that need to be printed.
Kyocera’s recently launched Kyocera Cloud Information Manager (KCIM) enables flexibility and performance improvement by allowing full control over documents. It is a software as a service (SaaS) platform that facilitates the storage and management of all digital documents in a highly secure online archive.
Paperless office: dream or reality?
Kyocera’s products have evolved into intelligent devices that facilitate digitisation. Once content is organised and searchable, this reduces the time it takes to respond to information requests, and eliminates costly and time-consuming manual processes. Streamlining the process through document imaging, enabled by Kyocera devices and software solutions, positively affects productivity, and, ultimately, the bottom line.
Fewer employees are needed to manage the process and less paper means significant cost savings from fewer consumables and lower energy costs. Once documents are scanned, users can also avoid significant costs related to physical file storage. Ultimately placing intelligent devices at the forefront and bridging the gap between paper and digital ensures that employees have the tools they need to support the reality that is the hybrid working environment.
Security of IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) is an increasingly popular and practical concept in the modern workspace and printers are no exception to these connected ecosystems. But while IoT may improve the management and maintenance of printers, security remains a concern.
Today, printers have evolved into full-fledged ‘servers’. The boundaries between printers and servers are blurring due to the increased functionality of the devices.
The future of printers
We are constantly reminding our clients to view their printers as an essential part of the overall network, in order to get the most from the evolving technology. As an example, if a client configures their MFP to scan documents straight from applications like Dropbox, they can reduce the number of stages in the workflow, while also freeing up important e-mail server capacity, says Griffith.
When businesses optimise document flow through the organisation, they simplify processes, reduce costs and ensure that employees work more efficiently.
By taking steps to invest in the right technology, businesses can make a clean transition to hybrid work models, while simultaneously buffering the adverse effects of disruptive change.