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Corporations, companies and other entities with large, geographically and technologically distributed print networks face daunting control and authorization issues. What are each department's usage patterns? Where are backup printers located? Should primary printers go offline? Is there a way to track the costs of printing within the organization? These are the questions facing IT managers and strategists as they begin to analyze the true costs of printing. 'Data' has always been an invaluable component of the Enterprise sector and much depends on how fast it is converted into usable information.

There is another concern that enterprises face in the current business scenario-is the crucially important information managed and delivered to the end user, as it should be? Most often than not, the answer is 'no'. The missing piece in the business sector is a seamless process of output management, which will cure all complexities in a distributed environment. As today's IT environments continue to grow in both scope and complexity, you are being asked to do more with less. You need to continually meet IT demand. You need to optimize IT efficiency. You need to simplify management. And you need to accomplish it all-quickly and cost-effectively.

All because most of the printers in an enterprise are taken as 'dumb' output devices and seldom come with any Operating Platform. Let us clarify...like any PC would not be bought without an operating platform-Windows or otherwise. The same would hold true for any printer as well. There is a need for an Operating Platform, so that the device can intelligently connect with the rest of the devices and business architecture.

Managing Costs
Also, since substantial investments are required to manage printers, CIOs might think of the option of outsourcing, which is not cheaper in any sense. The location of outsourced printers is another factor that can affect the future of this concept. A customer would like to have a printing service center close to his establishment. The most lucrative aspect of outsourcing printing is the absence of capital cost, since the printers are never purchased. There also exists zero product obsolescence as the IT asset ownership is with the outsourcing partner. But data security is a big issue. A company wouldn't want to make its confidential documents available to outsiders. Hence the enterprise in-house printing model is adopted in most developed countries where volume is high.

Output Management is the concept that CIOs need to adopt in order to bring down print expenditure. Cluster printing, document accounting, job accounting, production tools, wireless printing technologies and various print management solutions are meant to increase control over vital enterprise activities such as printing, reprinting, output archiving, automated output distribution and forms handling. Cluster printing can prove to be invaluable to a business environment, for eg, they combine resources and increase productivity. It leads to a greater RoI.

Adoption of output management within a global office infrastructure leads to the following benefits:

• Workflow enhancement across all platforms.

• Convergence capabilities

• Usage of controlled and monitored color outputs

• Total control on all/selective user/groups in terms of printing outputs.

• Speed, functionality and printer driver features.

Output management would ensure that vital information, which flows through these sources is free from any technical snags or complications. As we all agree, any amount of delay will instantly have an adverse affect on time management. Delay and business benefits are directly related-the greater the delay, higher is the damage caused to business benefits. Converged co-ordination and a synchronized output management is the obvious need of the hour.

As told to Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in

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