Johannesburg, 24 Jan 2001
On the network, digital and paper documents are merging, the convergence of document output technology is accelerating, and output devices are becoming components of seamless information delivery systems, says Datacentrix Infrastructure Solutions senior account manager Christo Briedenhann. The information technology (IT) infrastructure solutions provider is part of JSE-listed Datacentrix Holdings.
These trends are driven by a number of factors, such as the migration from analog to digital systems, which means that documents and information are becoming digitalised at an increasing pace. "By the year 2004, 70% of all information will be in a digital format," he forecasts.
This has huge implications for the copier industry. "The total copier market will remain relatively flat, with digital copiers replacing analog copiers," he predicts. Briedenhann observes that the demand for analog copiers is declining steeply, while the purchase of digital copiers is growing rapidly.
As more information becomes digital, the volume of information skyrockets. For instance, more information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the last 5 000 years. "We exist in the information age where the amount of information doubles every 5-7 years and access to information is increasingly becoming immediate and ubiquitous," he remarks
Although the volume of information and the number of printed documents are increasing rapidly, the percentage of information that is printed is rapidly declining. This is the result of a swing from traditional document distribution to the digital transfer of information on networks with the convergence of printers and peripherals.
The traditional method of information transfer refers to the distribution of documents only as hardcopies. This process involves producing the original document, printing it, reproducing it using a photocopier or a printing press and then distributing multiple hardcopies by fax, hand or post. To execute this process, employees must print their document, walk across the office to the printer, and then walk to the photocopier room, usually some way away from the printer. Then, they need to walk to the fax machine or mailroom. This process is so time consuming that Information Week estimates that each year 87 hours per person is spent walking hardcopy pages around the office. The loss in productivity, added to the expense of printing, photocopying, faxing, posting and couriering documents makes this traditional method of document distribution extremely costly. In addition, it also requires multiple devices, such as printers, copiers and faxes, which tie down working capital and take up office space.
As volumes of information rapidly increase, the traditional method of document distribution is becoming less and less appropriate. High-volumes of information, made worse by the migration to home and virtual offices, which has lead to the destucturing of corporations and decentralisation of information, have made the traditional distribution method even more unsuitable and uneconomical. Customer expectations of obtaining information immediately from locations of their choice, and the growth and emergence of technologies, such as networks, Internets and Intranets, have also accelerated the decentralisation of information and, consequently, the need for alternative methods of document distribution.
As network printing and peripheral costs have spiraled out of control and the volumes of information and decentralisation of information have increased, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of redesigning their network printer and peripheral environment to manage and control printing costs.
As a result, corporates are looking for more manageable solutions that offer centralised control and lowest cost of ownership. To create a more efficient and cost-effective environment, communication is becoming increasingly digitised, technology is converging and large organisations are opting for network printing, as opposed to stand-alone printers.
Electronic document transfer has become the principle method of exchanging information, both internally as well as between different organisations. The new digitised method of document distribution involves sending documents electronically instead of physically printing and distributing them. This method saves time, money, and paper, as users decide what they will do with electronic documents. On receipt of a document the user will print, destroy, archive or electronically forward the document to someone else if necessary. This results in lowering the percentage of printed documents which, in turn, helps to reduce costs.
The downside to this is the proliferation of multiple copies of electronic documents across company networks, resulting in a significant increase in disk storage areas on servers in local area network (LAN) environments, as well as increased loads on network bandwidth. The need for user awareness in document management with a focus on retention, archival and document housekeeping in general is as important as having a document management strategy in place, which makes use of intelligent software to limit the increase and duplication of electronic documents. Infrastructure Optimisation company Supported Software, also a Datacentrix Holdings company, specialises in document and data management and network storage integration services.
This new distribution method and the problems associated with traditional document distribution have created a demand for converged technology. A growing number of corporates are opting for multifunction peripherals that can copy, print and send digitally from a single device, seamlessly working on the network. An example of this type of technology is the HP Mopier, which is an entire office in one unit.
To achieve centralised control and lowest cost of ownership, companies are choosing to proactively manage HP printers and peripherals connected to networks, as opposed to stand-alone PCs. Network printers and peripherals are then controlled by software, such as `WebJet admin`, which alerts users to problems, such as `low toner` and `paper out`.
This type of information is valuable to a company`s helpdesk and to the users as it drastically reduces down time. It is also possible to draw maps using this software and plot users and the actual printers on these maps, so that at any time the controller can monitor printer inventory and movement, as well as control security and update firmware from the controllers` desktop. `WebJet admin` can discover, configure and manage HP devices, as well as non-HP devices, provided they use industry standard network communication methods.
The network administrator can also make use of asset utilisation to track how much work a device is doing over a period of time. This enables a company to afford more powerful and feature-rich printers where needed and control network printing and peripheral environments more effectively. The life of consumables, such as toners and ink-cartridges can also be monitored to ensure extended use as promised by the manufacturer warranties of these typically expensive items.
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