Mobile Worker Downtime Ends as Tablets, Smartphones Rise

by officePROhub.com on 10/10/2011 - 05:01 pm

Tags: Cloud Computing, Phones, Virtual Office

Downtime is essentially a thing of the past, thanks to the rise of mobile technologies. And business centers can play a role in helping mobile workers remain more productive while they are out of the office.

A quick review of the statistics demonstrates the opportunity. According to a recent iPass Mobile Workforce report, 91 percent of mobile workers use their personal downtime to check their smartphones. And nearly 30 percent of mobile workers check their smartphone every six to 12 minutes during downtime. (Yes, every six to 12 minutes.)

The report also found that 61 percent of mobile workers sleep with their smartphone—43 percent within arm’s reach. This intimate relationship with the smartphone has led to 38 percent of mobile workers waking up to check their smartphone during the night and 35 percent checking e-mail first thing in the morning—even before getting dressed or eating breakfast.

“Mobile employees are taking advantage of being connected 24/7 to help them be more productive at home and work—working an average of 240 hours more a year,” says Steven Wastie, senior vice president marketing and product management at iPass. “While for some this is not without relationship costs, the majority of mobile workers are highly responsive, and ready to be engaged outside of traditional office hours. Mobile technology helps their companies stay competitive in a fast-paced and challenging business environment.”

Here are some additional insights from the mobile worker survey:

• 94 percent of mobile workers have a smartphone.
• 41 percent of mobile workers have a tablet
• 34 percent of mobile workers intend to purchase a tablet in the next six months
• 87 percent of mobile workers that own tablets use their tablets for at least some work
• 11 percent of mobile workers wake up every night to check e-mail

Here’s the deal: Mobile workers need to do more than check e-mail. They also need a quiet place to review, print and fax documents. They need to hold meetings and participate in video conferences. And, at times, they need to shut themselves away in a quiet office that’s equipped with modern technology.

Business centers have an opportunity to develop products, services—and marketing messages—for mobile workers actively looking for ways to be more productive with the mobile devices in their pockets and purses.

What could your business center to do cater to this growing market?  

Study: Half of U.S. Information Workers Split Time Between Office, Home and Remote Locations

by officePROhub.com on 10/10/2011 - 05:10 pm

Tags: Cloud Computing, Phones, Virtual Office

Half of U.S. information workers officially divide their workplace time between the traditional office, the home office, and other remote locations. So says a new report from market research firm Forrester Research. What does this mean for your business center?

Let’s first take a look at the findings, then we’ll apply it to the office business center industry at large. According to Forrester’s second quarter 2011 U.S. Workforce Technology And Engagement Online Survey, which questioned nearly 5,000 workers, shines a bight light on today’s increasingly mobile and distributed workforce.

For example, the report reveals that information workers are untethered from the office as they rise in rank. Fifty-three percent of individual workers are office-bound, but that number dips to 35 percent among managers and supervisors, and plummets to just 10 percent among directors and executives.

“Looking out five years, Forrester sees three technology ‘trains’ impacting the future of workforce productivity, innovation, and advocacy,” says Matt Brown, vice president and practice leader at Forrester Research. “All three of these trains have left the station: enterprise mobility, enterprise social, and cloud services for business.”

Here are some additional noteworthy findings from the survey:

BlackBerry still has the largest installed base of smartphones for work—but Android and Apple devices combined lead the workplace. While 42 percent of workers use RIM BlackBerry, IT departments are supporting more devices, and Apple and Android are starting to cut into RIM’s enterprise dominance: 26 percent of workers now use Android smartphones, and 22 percent use iPhones.

“We expect a tsunami of mobile user demand for access to portals, productivity tools, and back-end transactional and reporting systems as these devices make it into the hands of the broader workforce,” Brown sys.

Gen Y (age 18-31) is almost twice as likely as Baby Boomers (age 56-66) to use social tools—but adoption of Enterprise 2.0 technologies is still nascent. Only one in six Gen Y professionals uses social tools. Despite significant and ongoing investment in enterprise social technologies, their roughly seven-year lifespan within enterprises has yielded a maximum of 12 percent adoption within the overall workforce. This market has failed to displace traditional collaboration technologies like email as a preferred way to communicate at work, according to forester.

Finally, the use of tablets in the enterprise is exploding. Eleven percent of information workers are using tablets to do their jobs. “Despite a tablet market that’s barely a year old, this is astounding growth,” Brown says.

So what does this mean for your business center? You need to cater more to the mobile worker. With the proliferation of sophisticated mobile devices—and the proliferation of software to help you do more with those devices—traditional office space is not as necessary as it once was. Mobile workers need a landing spot with Wi-Fi and copy center functions. Business centers that can provide this safe haven for mobile workers will find a new revenue stream in the years ahead.

Australia Post upgrades its parcel operation

by officePROhub.com on 10/10/2011 - 09:24 pm

Tag: Parcel Delivery

• From: The Australian
• October 11, 2011 12:00AM

 

AUSTRALIA Post is upgrading its parcel delivery service to cope with a surge of internet purchases, opening 24-hour parcel collection and flat-rate delivery for domestic shipping.

The postal carrier will trial extended hours for parcel pick-up at 100 post offices across the country from next year, while electronic parcel lockers also would be trialled to allow customers to collect deliveries at any time of the day or night.

"E-commerce is now the new core of our business," Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour said.

Parcel deliveries by Australia Post increased by 10.9 per cent during the past year, including a 57 per cent increase in parcels sent from overseas, as online shoppers took advantage of the stronger Australian dollar to buy cheaply from offshore websites.

However, many shoppers were not at home to receive parcels and were unable to visit post offices during normal hours to pick them up, Mr Fahour said.While the new service would result in more parcels being picked up rather than delivered to households, Mr Fahour said the changes would not result in any job cuts. "This is about growing jobs and adding services," he said.

Australia Post is also introducing parcel tracking for international deliveries and self-serve machines at post offices for sending domestic parcels and paying bills.

Mr Fahour said the changes would not address the inefficiencies that the Productivity Commission has said make it uneconomic to collect GST and import duty on purchases made from websites overseas, which at present are tax-free for sales below $1000.

"The international gateways are a smaller part of our business . . . our business is focused on Australian retailers going online to support Australian consumers," he said.

In its submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the future of the retail sector, Australia Post said it was losing money on the delivery of packages from overseas, as agreements with foreign postal services did not provide sufficient payment to cover their costs.

Mr Fahour said Australia Post would negotiate for higher payments from foreign postal services, but in the meantime was providing simpler shipping options to boost sales for domestic online retailers, on whose parcels it did make a profit.

"The more Australians buy from Australian retailers, the better off we are as a country and the better off we are at Australia Post," he said

Ricoh unveils space-saving A4 multi-functional printers for offices and workgroups

by officePROhub.com on 10/18/2011 - 06:05 am

Tags: Copiers, Printers

Oct 17, 2011 Amstelveen, The Netherlands – Ricoh Europe (Netherlands) B.V. today launched its first series of high-speed A4 black and white multi-functional printers – the Aficio SP 5200S/SP 5210SF/SP 5210SR. Compact and easy to operate, these 4-in-1 devices copy, print, scan and fax, offering high productivity to businesses.

“Busy offices need fast, affordable and versatile devices,” says Linda van der Graaf, Senior Product Manager at Ricoh Europe. “That’s why we designed the SP 5200S/SP 5210SF and SP 5210SR. With their compact footprint, our space-efficient and reliable A4 black and white multi-functional printers offer exceptional performance with low Total Cost of Ownership. Because they can be expanded by adding extra paper trays, they are an ideal investment for businesses requiring extra flexibility.”

The standard model offers 550-sheet capacity – ideal for the small office environment. Larger workgroups can extend the printers with three further paper trays to 2300-sheet capacity. The SP 5210SF also has a built-in fax as standard, while the SP 5210SR has an internal finishing feature, for making booklets.

Able to handle paper weights of 52-220gsm, these products offer print speeds of 45/50 pages per minute, colour scanning, paper and money-saving duplex printing, and consistently superb quality reproduction.

Copy, scan or fax functions can be used even when other jobs are being printed, and standard USB print connection makes printing quick and easy. Optional security tools keep data safe and prevent unauthorised printing. Another useful feature is full @Remote which provides real-time remote support for performance monitoring and diagnosis management.

As well as being Energy Star compliant, both printers have additional environmentally responsible features including duplex printing and all-in-one toners, resulting in less waste and lower energy consumption.

The SP 5200S/SP 5210SF/SP 5210SR are the latest additions to Ricoh’s advanced range of digital office equipment. Ricoh currently manufactures one of the most extensive line-ups of printers, copiers, faxes and multifunctional devices, as well as advanced software solutions.

Toshiba Unveils New Mobile Print Solution From Drivve

by officePROhub.com on 10/18/2011 - 06:12 am

Tags: Cloud Computing, Printers

Oct 17, 2011 IRVINE, Calif. – Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (http://copiers.toshiba.com), today announced Drivve Print Mobility Manager—a driverless print solution for users of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and laptops that allows for greater business productivity and convenience. With no need for drivers, users can simply send their documents to print through the Mobility Manager by e-mail, uploading them to the Web or directly from their web-enabled mobile device using a Drivve Print app. Documents can be printed directly to a device or when integrated with virtually any pull printing solution routed to any device with the appropriate user credentials for secure release.

“We're proud to be able to add the Drivve Print solution to our portfolio,” said Joseph Contreras, director, Product and Solutions Marketing, Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. “Recent statistics show that more than 20 percent of information workers spend three hours a day using smartphones for work. Drivve Print provides the flexibility needed to conduct business and print anytime, anywhere without being tied to the office printer.”

Because security is a critical feature of any mobile printing solution Mobility Manager verifies user credentials before processing any print request, so users can submit documents from within or outside the company network or physical location with absolute peace of mind that they are secure. Mobility Manager also checks all documents for viruses and prevents unregistered users from accessing the system. This is imperative in the effort to avoid threats from e-mail spam.

Drivve Print Mobility Manager will be available through Toshiba Business Solutions offices as well as independent Toshiba dealers. For more information about Toshiba’s document delivery solutions, please visit http://copiers.toshiba.com/usa/software/document-delivery/index.html.>

About Drivve

Drivve is an innovative, award-winning developer of software solutions and services that streamline and improve document intensive business processes. Drivve helps its customers realize tangible costs savings by optimizing the entire document lifecycle, from image capture and processing, to document management and workflow, to print and output management and everything in between, including the re-purposing of business information and corporate know-how. Drivve is a market leader in the field of mobility solutions and Cloud-based services, delivered through a best-in-class user experience, based on excellence in design. With operations across North America and Europe, Drivve markets, sells and supports its products and services through a global network of distributors and resellers. For more information, please visit www.drivve.com.

The Business Value of "Green" Document Management Solutions

by officePROhub.com on 10/21/2011 - 01:15 am

Tags: Copiers, Printers, software and programs

Not long ago, sustainability efforts were thought to be little more than a nice gesture on the part of an organization hoping to impress current and potential customers. However, in today's business environment, "being green" has become an essential element for driving new and current business opportunities. As part of the desired effect to gain the associated business benefits of being more environmentally sensitive, more companies are making it a high priority to kick off "green IT" strategies, including an examination of all elements of their IT infrastructure.

Often times, hardcopy is an overlooked item of a company's "green IT" strategy. It shouldn't be. The costs of using paper/toner/ink supplies and machine energy consumption associated with printers/copiers/multifunction devices are considerable. Any effort to better manage these hardcopy equipment assets will have a substantial bottom-line impact.

IDC believes that "green" document management tools such as Nuance's PaperPort, OmniPage, and PDF Converter, as well as new products added to its portfolio as a result of its eCopy acquisition, are a simple way to move toward a more "green" hardcopy environment while achieving important cost and efficiency objectives. To support this assessment, IDC interviewed six current Nuance customers in North America. These customers have been using Nuance solutions for between six months and two years and have achieved significant benefits since implementing the technology. IDC's ROI research reveals that the implementation of such tools has helped these customers realize the following results:

Download Full Whitepaper: The Business Value of "Green" Document Management Solutions

First Océ ColorStream 3500 in Australia

by officePROhub.com on 10/21/2011 - 02:05 am

Tags: Copiers, Printers

On-Demand acquires high-speed Océ inkjet color production printer

Oct 20, 2011 Venlo, The Netherlands – Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, today announced that On-Demand, one of Australia’s largest digital print companies, will expand its production capabilities and broaden its publishing services with the purchase of the first Océ ColorStream® 3500 high speed inkjet printer installed in Melbourne.

Ideal switch between full-color mode and B&W
“We are very proud to deliver the Océ ColorStream 3500 to the first publishing customer in Australia,” says Sebastian Landesberger, Executive Vice President, Océ Production Printing Systems. “The special capabilities of the system make it ideal for companies like On-Demand that want to expand their business beyond their existing services. With the Océ ColorStream 3500 On-Demand, a long standing Océ customer, will broaden its services beyond publishing into the transactional and transpromotional business and offer additional values and versatility to clients through high-speed color printing.”

“Our publishing services have been outgrowing our current capabilities and high-speed full-color inkjet will boost them considerably. At the same time, we have a large variable data clientele and the Océ ColorStream 3500 will enable us to expand these services into full-color transactional printing. The production capability of the Océ ColorStream 3500 is set to bring a number of printing jobs back onshore from overseas. It will shatter the cost/price nexus that has seen so much Australian work printed internationally.” says Bruce Peddlesden, owner of On-Demand. “On-Demand has been looking at the possibilities of inkjet for more than six months and was impressed by the Océ ColorStream 3500 when we saw it during Océ’s Open House in Poing, Germany. The system’s flexibility, with its ability to switch between full-color mode and B&W within extremely short time are ideal for our needs.”

Early production start in October
The new press will be delivered to On-Demand in early October and is expected to be in production at Port Melbourne premises before the end of that month. It will complement an already impressive array of digital equipment, including a fleet of five Océ VarioPrint® 6250 B&W perfecting presses and reaffirm On-Demand’s pole position as the pacesetter for the digital industry. The new printer will be seamlessly connected to the existing infrastructure at On-Demand using the company's Océ PRISMA® software Including the Océ PRISMAprepare prepress software.

“Océ has been the mainstay of our B&W operations and we have enjoyed a good, lasting relationship with them. The next few years are going to be very interesting. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Peddlesden.

The Océ ColorStream 3500 for high-quality inkjet printing
The Océ ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system was unveiled at Canon Expo in Tokyo in November 2010. The high-speed, high-quality full-color inkjet printer runs at 1,010 A4 impressions per minute and simplifies the transition from monochrome to full color or even five or six colors. It offers productivity and flexibility for high-speed color and monochrome production of transaction, TransPromo, direct mail, book and manual applications. Industry-leading reliability, print quality and media range are testaments to Océ DigiDot® multilevel dot modulation technology.

Enhanced usability and productivity is made possible by a combination of unique features:

• * HeadSafe technology helps prevent nozzle clogging and minimizes lengthy purging processes. The ability to transition between monochrome-only and full-color printing promotes higher uptime and productivity levels.
• * Using passive RFID technology, the Océ InkSafe® feature monitors both the proper placement of the ink containers in the press and the ink’s shelf-life.
• * The Océ ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system provides consistent high-quality printing during the ramp-up acceleration, full-production speed, and the ramp-down deceleration phases. Utilizing the entire production time decreases turn-around time and minimizes waste.

The Océ ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system provides a modular offering in various single and twin configurations. A full-color Océ ColorStream 3500 system can be set up as a monochrome-only system when needed. The production and media flexibility contributes to a future-proof solution that simplifies the transition of applications and business models to more sophisticated documents with variable personalization and smarter communication in color.