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All kinds of unexpected circumstances, from system outages and supply chain disruptions to global crises, can trigger a business continuity plan. Even before Covid-19 changed the office work environment, many were already looking at how they could expand their business continuity plan with a work-from-home policy. This is to meet the needs and expectations of employees.
A 2019 survey by the International Workplace Group found that 61 percent of companies worldwide were already allowing their staff to work from home to some extent. However, the sudden and long duration of the pandemic has taken many people by surprise, making the need for a clear and easy-to-activate plan crystal clear.
It is logical that some components of workplaces are easier to take to an external environment than others. Laptops and telephones are simple, printers a little less simple. However, the sudden switch to remote working does not mean that employees suddenly no longer need to print documents. Logistics companies, the supply chain, and highly regulated industries that work with products in the real (rather than virtual) world all need physical documents.
When planning to lead a business through a crisis, printing and scanning infrastructure is not at the top of the list of things to consider. Yet this infrastructure can be vital to business operations.
Cloud printing
An effective cloud-based printing solution allows users to print and manage their documents from almost anywhere. The cloud ensures that it is not necessary to first find or select a printer. The print job can be executed regardless of the user's location. Once the user is at a device, the print job can be printed by him or her. For simplicity, the printing system should be able to receive print jobs via email.
The main advantage of this is that any printer with secure print release can print documents securely at the user's convenience. In the current situation this could mean when there is no one in the office, or when social distancing guidelines can be observed. This also reduces paper use, as users only print what they need. Furthermore, it saves time and prevents prying eyes from being cast on documents left on a device. This improves safety.
By moving the printing infrastructure to the cloud, mobile printing is also possible. Remote working does not necessarily mean working from home, but can (especially after the pandemic) also mean working from a café, at the airport or abroad on a business trip. Mobile printing can work just as well as printing from a desktop. It can be part of a stable and proven printing infrastructure that is ready for any unexpected situation that triggers your business continuity plan.
The best suppliers will have SLAs to ensure users can print in the same way across all their mobile devices.
Remote support
It seems obvious, but when a business continuity plan is triggered by a disaster, global crisis or other event, on-site service is often simply impossible. This means that a service and support package that can be delivered without physical contact is essential.
Local language support over the phone is a good start. Using live streaming on their smartphone, employees can safely show a support agent what their problem is in real time. However, support that really makes a difference goes unnoticed or fixes an error before it causes a problem. The best cloud-based printing solutions allow IT to monitor printer usage remotely. Reporting can be done down to user level, regardless of where the print job comes from. Monitoring such underlying trends ensures better decision-making across the entire printing infrastructure and workflow. When controls are required, quotas can be assigned per user or group to limit color printing or overall output activity.
Back to the office
When it comes to the (partial) return to the office, companies would do well to first assess the status of their current equipment. Actually just like with other parts of a network. This is a sensible precaution to ensure that those who need access to the printers can use them normally. If a business environment has changed for the long term, a company with a cloud-based infrastructure will be able to make data-driven decisions. This saves costs and allows the company to better prepare for further automation and digital transformation.
The recent pandemic has highlighted the need for a strong IT infrastructure that can perform as well remotely as it does on-site. With a print infrastructure, this means moving to the cloud, gaining remote insight and using flexible options to manage output. Printing is an aspect that has often been left out of key digital transformation investments in the past. For organizations that cannot work fully virtually, investing in innovation as part of a broader continuity plan will help them respond more resiliently to future disruptions.
Source: Computable
