Three watchwords in today's output market

Cost-savings, efficiency and security are the three most important considerations in today's output environment. It's safe to say that in the present economic climate, businesses are watching costs very closely, but few people are as aware of the need to integrate efficiency and security into cost-saving strategies in order to truly optimise document output.

Efficiency results in improved workflow in the office, which means people spend less time looking for information and less time operating a multifunctional device; while it may be difficult to put a figure to the savings incurred in this instance, there is no doubt that time saved is money saved. That's something most decision-makers will agree on.

In South Africa in particular, security in the output environment remains less of a consideration than it is globally. Scant recognition of the need for security is a considerable weakness in the document output strategy of any organisation. Look at is this way: companies spend a fortune on protecting their hard drives, setting up firewalls and creating secure server rooms; when it comes to putting that information on paper, however, security grinds to a halt.

One easy solution to this problem is to secure printing by requiring users to release print jobs at the machine. This is a valuable function in multi-user environments where it can also ensure that printouts are not lost or picked up in error by someone else. Again, the impact here on costs and efficiency is self-evident.

Another solution is user authentication. This can significantly reduce costs and bump up efficiency in the office environment. User authentication, whether on the network or at the device, grants people specific output rights, which have a direct influence on costs. Can they print in colour, for example, or do they have permission to print in black-and-white only? How many pages per month are they permitted to print before administrator intervention is required to extend that limit? What types of documents do they have permission to print? By providing answers to these questions, user authentication can be used to strictly control costs.

For example, you may have a small-scale printer with an output cost of 20c per page located in a more convenient spot than a bigger machine, which has output costs of only 8c. Here, costs can be reduced simply by moving equipment around. In many instances, equipment relocation is the first step after the audit to reduce expenditure and increase efficiencies and security, without requiring the organisation to buy new machines.