Digital Technology
Multifunction products (MFPs) converge print/copy/scan/fax functionality into a single networked device. Blurring the once rigid lines between printers and copiers, MFPs create the opportunity for unified management of the printing and imaging environment. What’s more, like a virtual Swiss Army knife MFPs provide access to a handy assortment of advanced document distribution and management capabilities that can be deployed to increase productivity and reduce costs.

MFPs let you capture, share and store documents digitally, which can lead to significant document handling savings and help you comply with the new regulatory requirements created by legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

• A company spends an average of $8,200 per person per year on file management activities (searching, verification, organization, back-up, security).5

• An average filing cabinet takes up approximately 11.25 square feet of office space. In 2003, office space in New York City went for $38.50 per square foot, making the real estate costs associated with a single cabinet $411.53.6

• To effectively comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act organizations must control the way they process, distribute, retain and access key financial information and supporting information in day-to-day operations. MFPs optimize the processing of sensitive financial information, the storage and archiving of financial
information and related content (including supporting documents and internal and external communications), the access and retrieval of archived information, and the disposition of information in accordance with sound records management practices. continue reading...

Compete to win.

In a global economy the competition never sleeps, so it’s not enough to simply keep pace with change—you have to discover innovative ways to turn that change to competitive advantage. For IT and facilities managers the challenge is especially daunting. Not only must you enable the day-to-day functioning of critical business processes, you must be on the lookout for proven technologies that can produce a decisive business advantage, as well.

Converging technologies increase productivity and reduce costs.

Convergence is the latest trend in the information technology revolution. At its best, convergence produces enhanced capabilities at a lower cost by combining proven technologies. Multi-function products—MFPs—are a case in point.

Combining printing, copying, faxing, scanning and digital sending (scan to e-mail, folder, etc.) in a single device, HP MFPs give information workers network access solutions like a full-featured universal print driver. In short, MFPs are a valuable addition to any imaging and printing strategy designed to deliver more for less.

While their value is unquestionable, it is important that IT and FM work together to develop a coordinated output strategy to achieve optimum cost savings and productivity boosts. Plus you should also keep in mind not all MFPs are created equal. continue reading...

There’s more to running an efficient and cost-effective printing and imaging environment than just buying new devices. A well planned, strategic approach to managing printing and imaging can reduce costs and increase productivity through the entire
lifecycle of the devices in your state or local government agency. HP Total Print Management (TPM) can help by bringing together balanced deployment, optimized utilization and industry-leading networked technology to optimize operations.
Think about it: Evaluate your current needs, resources and costs.

Act on it: Plan strategic improvements and put them into place.

Work with it: Manage your optimized environment on an ongoing basis.

Get help with it: Learn more about how Hewlett-Packard can help.

Think about it
You can’t begin to reduce costs or increase productivity until you know how much time and money your
organization is currently devoting to meeting printing and imaging needs. That’s why the first step in a strategic
approach to management is a thorough assessment of your needs, existing resources and present costs. The questionnaire on the next page, while by no means exhaustive, can serve as a starting point for helping you establish a solid foundation for planning. continue reading...

Through the 1990s innovation and creative pricing models fueled the acquisition of office technology – especially printers and copiers. A booming economy and healthy corporate bottom lines provided little incentive for IT administrators or facilities managers to invest in efficient and effective devices to meet user needs. Consequently, the population of printers and copiers grew — reducing utilization rates and increasing service and support costs. According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, imaging and printing vendors report the average utilization rate for most office equipment is somewhere between 2% and 6%1 — not a very good return on the technology investment.

Over the last few years a more competitive business climate has forced organizations to look for areas where costs can be cut without jeopardizing efficiency. The hardcopy environment is a logical candidate for change. IDC reports enterprises spend 1% to 5% of their annual revenues on document production, distribution, storage, retrieval and repurposing.2 To put that in context, documents could cost a business with annual revenues of $10 million as much as half a million each year. It would be money well spent if that investment actually yielded business value, but unfortunately the research also suggests organizations could be spending their dollars much more carefully and achieve cost savings of 13% to 40% and increase productivity through effective fleet management. continue reading...

The IT security climate has changed. While in the past the challenge has been to convince customers of the need for security, the current need is to show how a product’s security capabilities complement a customer’s existing security environment.

Security measures have evolved through the years, from firewalls that kept intruders out, to sophisticated virus throttling systems that detect viruses before they take hold and prevent them from spreading. Attacks now often originate from inside the network, for example: employees take advantage of access, wireless networks are improperly secured, and unaware users introduce viruses or worms to the secure network.

As attacks increase in sophistication, hardening the internal network’s security—from clients and servers to the imaging and printing infrastructure—becomes critical. Further, regulatory requirements, including Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Insurance Portability Protection Act, are mandating protection accountability. continue reading...

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? In this age of multimedia and mass communication, it often seems so. Recent research supports the idea that visual communication can be more powerful than verbal communication, suggesting in many instances that people learn and retain information that is presented to them visually much better than that which is only provided verbally. These are welcome findings to anyone whose work involves using visual presentations to persuade or instruct others. Even more welcome is the news that today, presenters have more resources than ever available to them for creating and displaying the most visually rich programs possible.

Communicating Effectively In The Visual Age
Visual communication is everywhere today, from electronic media like Web pages and television screens to environmental contexts such as road signs and retail displays. As the National Education Association has pointed out, ”Western civilization has become more dependent than ever on visual culture, visual artifacts, and visual communication as a mode of discourse and a means of developing a social and cultural identity.” 1 That’s an interesting observation, but what’s even more intriguing is that there is evidence to suggest that people not only communicate visually more than ever, they also communicate better when they communicate visually. This is an important revelation to those who create presentations for work or education and who want to make those presentations as compelling and effective as possible. This paper is designed to help presenters make the most of this information by describing the evidence for the power of visual communication, identifying the key components of effective visual presentations and discussing the technologies that make it possible to use these components to craft more successful presentations. continue reading...