Futuristic science fiction often depicts a world in which machines will do everything for us, with humans controlling their every move. But, interestingly, the office of today is moving in a different direction. With the focus on cost-efficiency and green business becoming more intense, office systems are becoming smarter - to the point that not only do they operate virtually autonomously, but through rule-based office systems, they now manage the way human workers make use of the system, controlling who can print what and where.
It makes sense. After all, what business would refuse the services of a manager with super-human administrative powers? One who always has a complete, high-definition picture of every multifunction printer in the office and can make split-second decisions that can save the company tens of thousands - or more - per year.
Leading document solutions company PanSolutions is already offering this capability with a system called SmartPrint. A system that allows you to fine tune your printing policy to achieve the cost-efficiency, productivity and environmental goals of your business.
Ajen Maharaj, PanSolutions National Technical/Software Solutions Manager, explains: "SmartPrint is like a printing manager in a box that answers only to you. You make the rules, you decide who has access to which machines and functions. And it reports back to you - monitoring every copy, fax, print and scan made by every user and department. It's the ultimate control freak."
The intelligent system automatically controls all print jobs in the network and automatically routes them to the most suitable system, according to your print policy. For example, desktop printers may be convenient for employees, but the cost per page of these machines is high. SmartPrint will automatically send print jobs above a volume limit - determined by you - to a high-volume machine in order to save costs. You decide who is allowed to print in colour and who is not allowed to print at all, thereby taking careless printing decisions out of human hands and creating a system that is optimised for less waste and better efficiency.
But most surprising of all is the unexpected elegance with which SmartPrint operates. Constantly checking the status of all systems, it senses malfunctions and low paper or toner supply levels and immediately reroutes print jobs to better-performing machines, sending a message to the user on e-mail or pop-up message letting them know at which machine they may collect the product.
Beyond this, SmartPrint also boasts some very un-machine-like qualities and intuitive features, such as Follow-Me Printing.
As Ajen explains: "We've all needed to print out sensitive or confidential documents at the office from time to time. You don't need to click print and rush to the machine any longer. Follow-Me Printing is a feature that lets a user swipe a card, or enter a code in any machine in the system to receive their printouts securely. And it's just one of the innovations that make this the system of the future."
Like all good managers, SmartPrint doesn't get in the way of productivity. Rather, it helps the team make good decisions and run more smoothly. And that's better than science fiction any day of the week.
For more information on SmartPrint, contact PanSolutions.
Customer support centre
Tel: (086) 11 77 777
E-mail: info@pansolutions.co.za
www.pansolutions.co.za
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