By Carol Zierhoffer, chief information officer, Xerox
CIOs today aren’t just grappling with how to make the latest technology work. They’re looking to change business outcomes. To transform and simplify business processes using technology that removes unnecessary steps, improves workflows, and delivers better experiences.
Advancements in technology will continue to evolve as we enable knowledge workers to be more productive in this interconnected, mobile world we live in. But with those advances comes an unintended by-product – complexity. Part of my focus as a CIO, as well as our overall strategy at Xerox, is to simplify that complexity.
Today’s launch of ConnectKey is a great example of how Xerox can help tame that complexity and simplify the way work gets done.
Sixteen Xerox MFPs are now ConnectKey-enabled so users can scan and upload documents to cloud-based repositories, print securely and easily from any mobile device, and send business-critical documents directly into a workflow process. These features simplify how work gets done by bringing information to the workers’ fingertips – whether they sit in the enterprise or are part of a mobile workforce.
We’re helping IT departments large and small meet the workforce expectation that technology should do more. ConnectKey MFPs are easier to use, easier to install, and easier to support. IT professionals can manage ConnectKey MFPs as a central part of the IT network, providing technical support as they do for desktops – via remote management – and protected by embedded security.
Our key differentiator is security – a major concern for CIOs everywhere. ConnectKey-enabled MFPs are protected with McAfee’s “whitelisting” that stops malware before it penetrates the operating system. This is an industry-first. We also added an extra layer of security with Cisco’s TrustSec, which protects data paths to and from the devices. Now MFPs are trusted citizens on the network.
Standardization is key to driving efficiency so CIOs can make room for innovation. ConnectKey’s software ecosystem and technology make that possible.
Congrats on the update to the ConnectKey platform so that users can scan and upload documents to cloud-based repositories. I am a big user of cloud based solutions and I am always happy to hear when large corporations take important steps to implement cloud solutions into the workplace. However, I am not too sure about the claim that you can easily from any mobile device. The iPhone just makes it so hard to print from any printer, even the ones that are approved by Apple. How are you overcoming the print from iPhone challenge?
Xerox’ s ConnectKey devices support AirPrint directly. Since AirPrint only works with iOS devices, using it as your primary mobile print solution is best suited when most users have iOS devices and need simple document printing, such as email body text.
As you mentioned, even with AirPrint printing can sometimes be difficult. iOS devices are limited in what they can process when making a document print ready as they try to convert or render the document into PDF format. When you need print content fidelity for business documents, you need something more than AirPrint.
Xerox’s new Mobile Print Cloud addresses the need for print content fidelity. Users can send documents from their mobile devices (iOS and Android) to a service running in the cloud. The service takes their document and converts it into a format that is best suited to the target network printer.
Companies can buy credits for job processing similar to the way people buy cell phone minutes. Companies can start a free 30 day / 30 job trial directly from http://www.xerox.com.