Printers & Multi-functions Archives - Page 3 of 3

November 27, 2020January 13, 2023

Printing: How to Reduce IT Related Printing Costs in Your Business

In the modern, tech-driven workplace, your IT department is among the most important for the future success of your business.

However, it’s no secret that this division is also one of the costliest to maintain. Therefore, the last thing you want is for their time to be wasted on small, but everyday tasks like ensuring the continued functioning of your printers and multi-function devices.

So, today we’re going to be exploring how you can reduce the IT-related printing expenditure in your business, through a few simple but effective steps. By implementing these, your IT staff will be able to focus on important areas such as securing your organisation’s online presence against hackers, researching the latest business improvement trends and bringing your improving your processes to streamline output.

IT departments are usually among the most costly to run, so you don’t want your personnel constantly caught up with printer issues.

IT-related printing costs: The facts

If you think that your printers aren’t costing your IT department significantly, and on a regular basis, prepare to think again. Here are some stats to show why this area is an absolute priority when it comes to cutting spending in your business:

30% of office workers say that printing issues are their biggest IT frustration (SOS Office Equipment): You know what this means – these employees will be making regular calls to your IT helpdesk to help them resolve whatever issue is impacting their work
23% of communications to IT help desks are printer related (ImageOne) – That’s right, nearly a quarter of all the calls your IT personnel deal with on a given day will relate to printer issues, preventing them from dealing with more pressing or complex issues. Ultimately, dealing with the problems themselves, takes up as much as 15% of their time (LaserResource). Think about what else they could achieve if this wasn’t the case
The average company spends 1-3% of its revenue on printing (Milner) – With so much money already going towards printing, the last thing you need from a financial standpoint is operating issues adding to this. However, given that 90% of businesses don’t track their printing costs (Buyer’s Laboratory), there’s a good chance that excess costs are going unnoticed

From this it’s clear that a little streamlining and modernising of your printer setup could go a long way to reducing the reducing IT-related costs in your organisation. But where to start?

Reducing IT-related printing costs tip 1: Staff training

An easy way to reduce the printer burden on your IT staff, and free them up to tackle more important tasks, is to ensure that all your staff are fully trained on how to properly use all of the devices required in the everyday functioning of your business, including printers.

This may seem basic, but you’d be surprised at how far a simple training session can go, especially if you’ve recently updated your printer fleet with new devices that could be unfamiliar to your personnel.

Dealing with printer issues accounts for 15% of your IT help desk staff’s time.

Another good preventative method is to engage with your employees on the most common problems they encounter when printing. From this consultation, you could draw up a FAQ document to which they can refer before feeling the need to log a ticket with your IT help desk. In the future, it’s likely you will see artificial intelligence (AI) taking a larger hand in providing this type of support role, as simple printer questions are perfect for natural language processing, and means that your IT staff can concentrate their efforts on tasks that machines aren’t yet equipped to complete.

Reducing IT-related printing costs tip 2: Easier-to-use printers

Not all printers were created equal, especially when it comes to intuitiveness. You’ll be benefiting both your employees and your IT staff if you invest in devices that are easy to use from the get go. Factors to look out for include:

A touch screen interface – In the past, frustrated printer users would simply be left staring at flashing lights and unhelpful buttons when something went wrong. However, the beauty of a touch screen is that it can usually give the operator an idea of why the desired print job isn’t happening, and suggest what actions they need to take. By the same token, touch screen menus tend to be much more logical to navigate, eliminating the tedious guess work from what should be a simple task
Easy to use – Similarly, if your staff are constantly requiring the help of your IT experts to complete simple jobs like replacing toner in your printer, this is another red flag that you might want to update the device itself.
Security – You should be confident that if you need security oversight over printing in your business, that your printer is up to the task of providing it. If not, expect your IT staff to waste heaps of valuable time clearing people for printer use, or preventing unintended security breaches from unknowing employees

Reducing IT-related printing costs tip 3: Be ready for wireless printers

With office trends such as activity based working and Agile methodologies ruling supreme in many offices, wireless printing is a game-changer for staff who don’t want to have to carry their device over to the printer each time they want a hard copy of a document.

However, this supposed time-saver can turn into a real headache for IT employees who can find themselves running the gauntlet of WiFi errors should your office be ill prepared for welcoming wireless printers.

Preventing this unnecessary drain on time and resources ultimately comes down to a balancing act between your printer and your office’s WiFi capabilities. If your device is old and slow, chances are your employees will experience delays or problems when trying to print wirelessly. Equally, if your building has notorious WiFi blackout areas, you aren’t giving your printer a fair chance at delivering on expectations. In the latter case, changing internet provider, or installing additional WiFi extenders can help solve recurring connectivity problems.

Wireless printers are the way of the future, but can cause problems for your IT department if they’re not well connected.

Reducing IT-related printing costs tip 4: Employ predictive analytics

Predictive analytics refers to the use of a combination of machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data mining and statistics modelling to take current data sets, and use them to formulate predictions. This technique has potential for a wide variety of implementations in a business context, with maintenance scheduling being one of the most common.

Put simply, predictive analytics allows you to forecast when maintenance is likely to be required for a given asset, allowing you to take action before a major malfunction happens. It also means that if a device, such as a printer, is not operating properly, even if it’s not obviously broken, proactive steps can be taken to remedy this. Clearly, from an IT point of view, this is preferable in terms of time and resources to waiting for a major mishap to occur.

Predictive analytics can help IT departments cut costs on printer maintenance.

You can also cut costs on the shipping and storage of spare parts for your printers, as predictive analytics can give you a clearer idea of when you’re likely to need them, replacing the need to have heaps of parts stocked just in case.

Reducing IT-related printing costs tip 5: Investigate managed print services

What is a managed print service?

Managed print services and Toner Management Program are all about optimising office workflows while reducing the costs of printing at every step.

Usually, managed print services are offered by printing experts, such as Brother, and usually take care of all aspects of your operational printing needs – from printers to copiers, scanners and faxers.

Generally speaking, there are four essential components to a managed print service:

An assessment – The first thing an external provider will do is assess the status quo. What devices do you have in your fleet, how are they being used and what problems tend to crop up from an employee standpoint?
Replacement – Based off this assessment, and in consultation with you or your IT department, the provider will likely make recommendations on what you could replace in order to improve your setup and decrease costs. This could be one or two devices, or a more holistic overhaul to bring your office into line with modern standards. Note, the alterations recommended could even be as small as replacing a few parts in your devices
Servicing – Crucially from your IT department’s perspective, a managed print service will also control the servicing of your fleet. This will free up a lot of time that would be otherwise wasted on frustrating but necessary maintenance on printers and other devices
Tracking – As mentioned, very few organisations actively track metrics around their printers, copiers and scanners. Not only will a managed print service look at usage patterns and suggest ways in which to improve your processes, it will also look at where your costs are coming from and what you actions you can take to reduce them now and in the future

How can a managed print service help you reduce IT costs?

Reducing time spent on printers – The essence of a managed print service is that it allows you and your staff to concentrate on running and improving the business, while the external provider manages the nitty gritty of your printer fleet. While it’s unlikely they will be on hand to respond to individual employee queries or problems, with their expertise behind you, you know you’re setting yourself up for the best chance of success
Uncovering hidden costs – While you may be able to identify that your printers are costing your IT department more than they should (in both time and money), it’s not always easy to determine why. The expertise and objectivity that comes with external oversight can help you establish where your unnecessary spending is happening, and what you can do to counter it
Access to the latest technology – While your IT department is likely keen to keep your operation at the cutting edge of technology, it’s no secret that this comes at a significant cost. However, a good managed print service partner will often be able to offer programs whereby you can access the latest products from their range, without the steep upfront costs. Usually, this operates on a regular payment plan, which allows you to accurately forecast your costs as you move forwards.

How Brother can help

Brother has helped businesses of all sizes through our managed print service and toner management program. We take a personal yet strategic approach to our service, which aims to reduce costs, emphasise sustainability and ensure security at all stages of the process.

From finding the most logical locations for your devices to optimising your printers once they’re installed, our expert team will be with you from start to finish to provide assessments, advice and feedback on your printing practices. This means your employees can focus on business tasks, while we cover the maintenance and management of your fleet.

What’s more, our solutions are designed with scalability in mind, meaning we can help you adapt and grow your fleet as your business changes. For more information on how we can help your business improve and cut costs, get in touch with our team today.

This article has been republished from Brother Australia with minor changes.

The original article can be seen here:

https://empowers.brother.com.au/2019/11/21/how-to-reduce-it-related-printing-costs-in-your-business/

November 15, 2020January 13, 2023

Why The Paperless Office Still Needs A Printing Solution

The paperless office. Along side terms such as digital transformation and agile these three words are everywhere when it comes to what businesses are told they should strive towards.

And for good reason. Not only does going paperless have positive impacts on the environment, it can save your business a lot of money and improve security by keeping important documents in password-locked cloud storage.

However, if you think that the paperless office of the future means you can do away with your trusty company printer, prepare to think again. In this article, we’ll take a look at how and why printers will continue to play an important role in paperless offices to help you avoid jumping the gun and getting rid of this vital piece of kit.

printing-solution-01 — Despite what you might think, printers still have an important role in the paperless offices of the future.

Why printers are still important in the paperless office

1. Because ‘going paperless’ doesn’t happen over night

While it may seem impossible to imagine your business without technology, for years physical documentation was the only option we had, and the processes and systems that built up around this fact have become deeply entrenched. As a result, going paperless is a journey, not a destination.

For many businesses, going paperless doesn’t mean the total elimination of paper.

If you were to rid your office of printers as part of a drive to encourage paperlessness, you’d soon find staff running into roadblocks because they rely on printers more than even they realise. Encouraging staff to be more economical with their printing, and ensuring that your printer setup isn’t in excess of what you require are both solid moves, but entirely removing printers from your office, as paperless as you may want it to be, is likely going to be counter productive in the short term.

In fact, for the moment, many businesses admit that going paperless doesn’t mean eliminating paper entirely – and for as long as paper persists, your printers will need to too.

printing-solution-02 — *Some workers still prefer to work with printed documents as opposed to cloud-based files.*

2. Some staff prefer physical documents

In the same way that some readers will never prefer kindles over the real deal, some staff simply work better when handling physical documents as opposed to doing everything digitally. While you can promote economical printing among your staff, those who prefer to have paper in hand for certain tasks may be taken aback if that option is removed entirely.

Top tip: Encourage discussions among the different teams within your businesses as to what types of documentation you all believe need to remain printable. While this can allow wiggle room for those staff who do prefer physical documents, setting expectations in this way can help you accommodate different work practices while still moving to an overall more paperless environment.

printing-solution-03 — *Printers can fit easily into modern practices such as agile working.*

3. Printers can fit with modern work practices

While the rise of trends such as remote working may seem to add fuel to the fire that printers are a thing of the past, recent trends show that they are in fact easily adaptable to modern working practices.

Take agile, for example. As businesses start to focus more on the pod-based teams that feature prominently in agile methodologies, we’ve seen a shift in printers too. Instead of huge devices situated centrally for office-wide use, printers have migrated to the teams where they’re most needed. Generally speaking, this means fewer, smaller devices that sit within pods, and are used for their specific tasks.

Printers are easily adaptable to modern business such as remote working or agile structures.

Similarly, in the era of bring your own device (BYOD), mobile printing offers a solution that means staff don’t need to worry about where they are are or what device they are printing from. Employees simply need to connect to their nearest printer, press the button and their documents will be ready for use, either by themselves or their team in the office.

Brother has years of experience in helping businesses to achieve their productivity and sustainability goals through devices that meet their objectives. Whether you’re looking at decreasing paper consumption in your organisation, or are seeking technology to suit your new agile environment, Brother’s team of experts is on hand to help you make the right decisions.

For more information on what we’ve discussed today, or to for specific advice on products, get in touch with our team.

This article has been republished from Brother Australia. The original article can be seen here: https://empowers.brother.com.au/2019/09/12/why-the-paperless-office-still-needs-a-printing-solution/

October 23, 2020January 13, 2023

Cyber security while working from home

Working from home, while already on the rise among businesses of all kinds, has found an essential role as an everyday policy for companies weathering the COVID crisis. If you’re an employee of an office that has gone remote for the time being, or even permanently, you need to think about what this means for your technology use. In a traditional workplace, your devices are protected by company resources and the efforts of the IT department. At home, more of this responsibility falls upon you – what can you do to defend your connected devices and prevent intrusions by cyber attackers?

What are the fundamentals of WFH cyber security?

The general concepts behind cyber security have not changed in the era of pervasive remote work. Unfortunately for companies of all types and sizes, cyber criminals have not halted their activities in the face of the pandemic. In fact, there have been a wave of new phishing schemes in which cyber attackers pose as health authorities sending out news bulletins.

The World Economic Forum indicated that since workers are “distracted and vulnerable,” the chances of a social engineering attack slipping in under a company’s defences are greater than ever. Furthermore, the WEF stated that “heightened dependency on personal devices and home networks” has weakened organisations’ ability to fight off hacking. This raises the question of how best to safeguard your data when using everyday devices for work purposes.

What can you do to protect your devices?

While the devices you have access to in your home office may not always be purpose-built for business use, that doesn’t mean they are wholly lacking in security features. Making sure your PC, smart devices, printers, scanners and network access points are well protected is a relatively straightforward process. The following action items can guide you through and assist you as you turn your home into a suitable workplace.

Identify IoT hardware in your home and access the settings

The internet of things is a tech-world term for an increasingly common subset of technology: Items that are not PCs or smart devices, but can send and receive data. These range from smart thermostats and doorbells to internet-connected printers, scanners and copiers. In your home, you likely have plenty of these devices connected to your WiFi network. To be sure attackers aren’t slipping in through weak protection on these devices, you should actively check their security settings rather than settling for the defaults.

Password-protect all your devices

One specific device setting that deserves your attention is the password. When a printer, multifunction device or other technology tool leaves the factory, it is protected by a default password. These passwords are not as easy to crack as strong ones you select yourself, so you should log into your device by typing its IP address into your web browser on a PC, then log into the administrator control panel and pick a new password. Rather than simply typing in an easy-to-remember phrase or reusing a password from other devices or accounts, it’s important to select a novel, hard-to-crack choice. A password manager app can help with this process.

Update firmware on all your connected devices

IoT devices contain protective features designed to keep criminals from using common exploits to take them over. If you don’t keep these machines’ firmware up to date, however, they may not be safeguarded against the latest threats. You should determine how your device of choice updates its firmware, for example through an automatic downloader tool, then ensure the process is going smoothly. Having the latest firmware is an understated but effective way to keep many threats out of your network.

Secure confidential documents with passwords

Working from home can mean dealing with secure company documents on a daily basis. If you have sensitive information stored in a format such as a PDF document, you should ask yourself what would happen if the file was compromised. Secure document management can mean adding extra layers of protection, such as setting up passwords for your most sensitive content. As with your devices, you should not reuse passwords – a password manager app can help you here, as well.

Implement firewalls and use a static IP address

When you work from an office, there is typically a firewall in place to prevent unauthorized access to the network and its devices. You should extend this good practice to your home office, to ensure remote working does not significantly weaken the protection around your company’s files and programs. You can contact your internet service provider to learn about firewall features and the process of using a static (rather than a dynamic) IP address, which will help you log into secure corporate networks from afar. Treating your home router with the same kind of cautious security features as corporate networks is a valuable anti-intrusion safeguard.

How should you set up your home office?

If it looks like remote work is a medium- or long-term solution for your company, or if there will be more permanent opportunities to work from home in the future, you should consider your current hardware and software setup. Do you have professional-quality technology in your home which will allow you to uphold professional standards? Remember that your customers’ expectations will remain elevated, and your ability to meet those requirements hinges on your IT configuration.

Seeking out a new, professional-grade printer, scanner or multi-function device is an essential part of equipping your home office. You need to balance high-quality printing and scanning features with networking that supports high-quality security. Sacrificing either the quality of your work or the integrity of your network is unacceptable, which means your device of choice must suit both objectives equally well. You also need to pick hardware that fits other requirements, such as the amount of free space: While a stand-up device might be ideal for the company headquarters, an efficient desktop model could be perfect for you to use at home.

Every work-from-home environment is unique. Maybe you have kids at home, perhaps you’re dealing with limited space or restrictions on your internet service. Picking a perfect printer is the process of matching your needs with a high-quality device.

This article has been republished from Brother Australia with minor changes.

The original article can be seen here:

https://empowers.brother.com.au/2020/06/05/look-after-cyber-security-while-working-from-home/

October 9, 2020January 13, 2023

Common Home Learning Challenges And How To Overcome Them

Home learning is a concept that has never had to carry as much weight as it does today. With the COVID-19 pandemic confining people around the world to their homes, school districts have embraced remote classes and distance learning en masse. Unsurprisingly, considering how new learning at home is to many families, there have been some distinct challenges to overcome.

If your kids are learning at home, you’ve likely already encountered some of these issues, or will soon. Fortunately, none of the difficulties associated with distance learning are insurmountable. With the right combination of technology, focus and attitude, your family can make it through this crisis without the kids missing out on key parts of their education.

3 challenges of home learning

The following are three of the common issues that students, parents and teachers across Australia have had to grapple with through the first few months of mass home learning. By taking a few sensible steps, you can minimise the impact of these trends and turn your family’s schooling experience into a success.

1. Home learning and work from home go together

If you had whole days’ worth of free time to supervise your kids in their studies, home learning would be a much easier process. There is a chance, however, that all the adults in the home may be working at their jobs, contributing remotely. Parents sharing their experiences with ABC News reported mixed results matching their kids’ schedules with their own. In some school districts, there is a need for supervision, which has caused the parents’ work schedules to shift – this has led to the unpleasant experience of working until 2 a.m. or on weekends.

The challenges are greatest among parents of primary school-aged children, with many respondents telling ABC they have students under the age of 10 who require constant supervision or would be too disruptive of their parents’ work to allow both to occur side by side. The challenges and stress associated with keeping these young ones on task can be relieved or compounded by communication. When communication is lax or overbearing, the result may be greater worries.

Resolving the issue

For parents trying to work from home while their kids are present and learning, collaboration with schools is one of the main ways to improve conditions. As ABC News explained, since kids are not truly being home schooled, parents are within their rights to communicate with teachers about difficulties. Parents who are only able to perform their own work when their children aren’t learning can ensure their home offices are stocked with efficiency-building technology and their time-management strategies enable them to get a good night’s sleep.

2. Time management is tough

There are unique difficulties in cases when kids have flexible schedules and can hand in assignments when they’re ready instead of at the exact end of a school day. While this level of scheduling freedom helps families avoid the struggles of clashing work and school time, keeping students motivated in the absence of classrooms and teachers is a new challenge, one that may become worse over time. Queensland University of Technology professor Rebecca English told The Guardian afternoons can be especially challenging, with students sometimes losing steam and focus after lunchtime.

Amanda Dawkins, principal of Five Dock public school added that parents should be realistic in what they expect kids to accomplish at a sitting. Adults have to remember that students are not likely to sit down for six consecutive hours working. Getting them to do smaller blocks of work can suffice, and parents should not criticize themselves too harshly if their children become restless and have to stop.

Resolving the issue

One of the keys to time management is not being too harsh, English told The Guardian. When parents and their kids join together to work on the schedule for the day, the students get a sense of agency. Just having hard limits laid out for them could cause kids to become restless. Parents demonstrate trust in their young ones when they work with them rather than against them on a home learning schedule, and the results may be accordingly better.

3. Technology is necessary

One of the major issues associated with distance learning is that it is managed digitally. If families don’t have all the technology tools they need, and if schools are unable to provide them, it can be hard to meet requirements. A Victoria parent told The Age her family is having tech-related distance learning problems because they are presently staying in a temporary apartment, with little room and no printer.

It’s important for Government, Schools and Families to collaborate, to close the technology gap a little. For instance, The Age described solutions such as dedicated web portals and customised videos for students. Sometimes, families will find they don’t have enough devices for everyone in the household to get their work done simultaneously.

Resolving the issue

A home office well-stocked with affordable technology tools such as multi-function printers and scanners can help students keep handing in their work without missing a beat. Easy connectivity between these devices and computers or tablets is an important feature, because being slowed down by tough-to-use tech is not a good way for either children or parents to spend their days at home.

Succeeding in the home learning age

The current situation, with distance learning en masse and in-person courses for kids who cannot stay at home, is a compromise to deal with an unprecedented situation. You and your family can make it through this time, as there are ways to address all of the issues rising to the surface through the first few months of social distancing.

With the right attitude toward setting a schedule, support from the schools and access to effective technology, you can combine a work-from-home model with the new educational needs of your family. Until restrictions are relaxed, becoming familiar with distance learning is essential. Whether your family is currently working from home, learning from home or both, Brother has a range of award winning multi-function printers and scanners that can help you make work a little easier, visit our website to find out more.

This article has been republished from Brother Australia with minor changes.

The original article can be seen here: https://empowers.brother.com.au/2020/05/22/common-home-learning-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them/