Document Imaging Blog

Ricoh, IKON and Document Imaging

Ricoh’s announcement this week that they will be acquiring IKON is big news in the office equipment industry and certainly is spurning lots of questions about the impact on MFP manufacturers, their sales channels, and customers. Let’s take a look at what this means for users of document imaging software:

1) This is the third acquisition of a large office equipment dealer. First, Xerox purchased Global Imaging Systems. Then, in April, Konica Minolta purchased Danka. And now, Ricoh purchased IKON. And many smaller office equipment dealers have been purchased by a variety of MFP manufacturers. We are certainly seeing a trend here.

2) There is likely to be more consolidation in the MFP industry because margins are shrinking and there are simply too many players.

3) If you are a customer of document imaging software that is used in conjunction with office equipment, it is more important than ever to invest in software that supports multiple platforms (vendors) so that you are protected from these events.

We have often talked on this blog of the importance of using document imaging software that works across multiple brands and types of scanning devices. This trend of acquisitions is another proof point for that message. As we noted in our blog post following the Danka acquisition, platform agnostic software is required if you want to make sure that you are not locked into a particular brand of MFP.

If you have any questions or comments about this acquisition, or its impact on you, please post a comment.

Protecting Security at Your Document Hub

Document imaging makes it possible to integrate paper documents with existing workflow processes and business applications, e.g. e-mail, fax, and electronic document management systems. But before introducing paper into electronic-based processes, you want to be sure that document imaging is safe and document integration secure.

Whenever shared office scanners and MFPs connect to a computer network, security is a primary concern. To help companies understand some of the security concerns, Ed Schmid, eCopy’s CEO, put together the following tips on security at MFPs for Business Week’s Tip of the Day.

a. User Authentication. MFPs can be set to require network passwords, a basic level of access control that prevents non-employees from using the MFP and ensures asset control.

b. Permissions Authentication. Require users to enter passwords to gain access to specific business applications from the MFP, just as if they were entering from a PC.

c. Document Encryption. Applying document encryption at the MFP helps safeguard confidential information before it is transmitted across the network.

d. Delete Temporary Files. Most MFPs automatically keep a record of files that have recently been scanned. If these temporary files are left on the MFP, sensitive information can be accessed by unauthorized users. Set up your device to delete these files automatically.

e. Activity Tracking. MFPs can be set up to create audit trails that can identify who sent what document, where, and at what time.

For the full Business Week article, click here.  Or, for more in depth information, download the white paper “Addressing Document Security Issues”.

Food for thought...

A colleague sent me this photo and note this week, which I thought would be fun to post to the blog to hopefully spur some conversation:

"Am I the only one who thinks there's something wrong with this picture?  Isn't it ironic that as readily as we accept that knowledge workers still use manila envelopes to send a piece of paper to a co-worker downstairs, we accept the fact that technology has evolved to a point where 500,000 times more computing power than what was needed to put Apollo astronauts into outerspace orbit can now be housed in a device that is less than 1 inch thick and 3 pounds in weight? It seems to me that the efficiencies, cost savings and the reduction of risk through eliminating the movement of billions of pages of paper between departments is lower hanging fruit than the mobility gained by eliminating less than one half of one inch from a laptop computer?"

In that light, here are some questions for CEOs, CFOs and CIOs to ponder...

• How much did your company spend on upgrading laptop computers last year?
• How many reams of paper and how much did you spend on ink for your copiers last year?
• How many interoffice envelopes did you buy last year?
• On average how many hops do important business documents make and how much time do they spend in an interoffice envelope before they're archived?
• Once its archived, are you confident you'll be able to locate it again, and if so, in a timely manner?
• If the information in the document is important enough to be hand delivered, don't you think that your business might benefit by securing and accelerating this process?"

Now remind yourself...How much did your company spend on upgrading laptop computers last year...and what was the benefit to your company?