Published on the 04/05/2016 | Written by Newsdesk
As a mature offering, Managed Print Services has proven its value for organisations across the spectrum – but are New Zealand’s businesses taking full control of their content from end to end?…
That’s a question posed by Fuji Xerox, which noted that Next Generation Managed Print Services (MPS) goes beyond document management to incorporate the full digital information lifecycle. It formally launched the next-gen service, which is targeted at helping its clients digitally transform paper-based processes, at a function in Auckland.
“Today, MPS is just one component of how information is created and shared across the organisation. There are onramps and offramps between digital and physical – printed – information through that lifecycle; by managing the process from end-to-end with automated workflows, optimised print environments and digital repositories, content management allows for further gains in efficiency and performance,” said Cameron Mount, Global Services GM at Fuji Xerox New Zealand.
Market intelligence company IDC, said Fuji Xerox, estimates that cost savings of up to 30 percent can be gained with MPS; Cameron says there is more to gain in efficiency, performance and ease of information access with a complete content management approach.
He noted that forward-looking organisations like AUT and Trustpower have approached content management within the context of digital transformation. AUT has started the process by moving to MPS, benefiting from a reduction in print costs of over $600,000 per year; meanwhile, Trustpower has moved beyond MPS to eliminate paper-based processes with customer onboarding, and digital workflow-driven case management.
Speaking at the launch event, Trustpower strategic initiatives manager Alice Thomson revealed that the elimination of paper from its processes has come as almost a side-effect of a broader initiative within the Tauranga-headquartered company. “We’ve moved into new offices and adopted a new ‘activity based’ work style. Part of that has involved ‘paper chasers’, who have gone through the organisation, identified paper processes and looked at how these can be improved, not to get rid of paper necessarily, but to enable people to work better.”
The upshot, she explained, is that the removal of volumes of printed material has made people more efficient; it has also reduced costs, although, again, she noted that this was not a primary motivator for the initiative.
With the formal launch of its Next Generation MPS, Mount said Fuji Xerox is ready to help more local companies to, like Trustpower, move beyond the optimisation of print environments. “Further value is to be found in the delivery of services that support effective enterprise content management throughout the information lifecycle,” he explained.
These customisable services are applicable to businesses of any size and support optimised document-related work processes with enhanced security in mobile and cloud environments.
Mount noted that enterprise content management today must encompass all aspects of the information lifecycle. “Whether that content is electronic or printed, managing it smoothly through its lifecycle means the ability to improve efficiency and the execution of business processes in a wide range of industries. Doing so depends on digitisation, consolidation and optimisation of print environments, and the introduction of electronic workflows.”
The company unveiled a service roadmap which segments document-related processes into three stages—assess and optimise, secure and integrate, as well as automate and simplify—to enhance clients’ document-related workflows for smoother communication.
In each stage, the services using new tools can be implemented according to the maturity of the client’s office environment.
While MPS enjoys substantial recognition particularly in developed markets like New Zealand, Mount said digital transformation goes further. “MPS has proven its value, but there is more work to be done. That’s what Fuji Xerox has worked to deliver with the Next Generation services; these services acknowledge an increasingly digitised world, but one which is still just as dependent on printed output. As mobile and cloud technologies are increasingly leveraged to accelerate key business processes, Next Generation MPS addresses takes cognizance of these technologies for improved workflow optimisation and the ability to manage content better across the entire organisation.”