February 8th, 2010
Fed employees throw out millions of pages every day
Check it out: The Washington Times reports that a full third of the printing performed by U.S. government employees is instantly tossed out or recycled.
Raise your hand if you recall the tale of the $400 hammers, toilet seats, and ashtrays that were pressed into service during ‘80s. Though not really true (something to do with erroneous auditing methods), the story is permanently etched on ol’ Doc’s hard drive (as it is on the psyche of just about anyone who was reading newsprint in 1984). Point is, when it comes to government waste, this ain’t news.
I’m sorry–I should be giving Federal workers a break–look what they’ve been through these past years. With the economy in tatters, the real question should be, “Why don’t we just dye ALL the paper pink?”
But I digress. It is high time government (Hey, President Barack Obama) takes the lead from businesses that have their printing costs under control. How do they do it? Duplex printing is only part of the story. The businesses that aren’t bleeding cash at the printer tend to give their people decent collaboration tools and make sure they know how to use them.
Listen up, Feds: If you want to reduce your printing costs, get your users asking these kinds of questions before they click ‘Print’:
- Is it vital that I have a hard copy of this right now?
- Have I run the electronic file by my colleagues first?
- Does the item I am about to print have to be “perfect”?
Look, I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it IS a start. After all, change comes slow in Washington.
February 5th, 2010
8 Things to Know About Using ECM for Regulatory Compliance
I’m here to talk some more about that fun little acronym I know you all are so fond of: ECM. Enterprise Content Management can be a great tool to meet the compliance requirements of your business, but like all things, you need to understand it to do it right. I’m here to save you from plummeting head-first into some common pitfalls when it comes to ECM and regulation.
Image: Portprotector.com
Thanks to AIIM, you can be eight steps ahead! This list will give you the lowdown on what you need to know before using ECM for regulatory compliance in your business:
- Regulations are complex and can’t be ignored. One of the challenges of being regulated is understanding exactly which regulations apply to your business. You may face “horizontal” reporting regulations, such as those contained in Sarbanes-Oxley that apply to all publicly-held companies. Or, you may be subject to vertical market specific regulations such as HIPAA in health care or the FDA’s 21 CFR 11 rules. Or, you may face a raft of regulations from different governments and agencies. One thing is for sure, you can’t pretend these regulations don’t exist or hope they go away. Non-compliance may present a very real legal and financial risk to your organization.
- While enterprise content management (ECM) systems can help, they are only one part of the compliance solution. Any good ECM application can help you track and control document revisions, but keep in mind, they are only as effective as your underlying business processes. Don’t implement ECM software with the expectation that it will magically solve your compliance problems; you have some hard work to do around standardizing and codifying your processes for document management.
- ECM system vendors can’t certify their products for regulatory compliance. A product itself is not compliant, rather it is the entire operating environment that must be compliant. This takes into account the unique contributions and actions of people, processes and technology present at your location. Again, your ECM software is only one piece of the compliance solution that will also include scrutiny of your business processes, training programs, standard operating procedures, etc.
- Proper records management policies, retention schedules and document classes will keep the system from getting bogged down. Even in a regulated industry, not every document in your ECM repository is subject to regulation and compliance. There are plenty of document types that would not be examined in an audit and that could be excluded from compliance-oriented processes. Examining types of documents and structuring classes, hierarchies and policies accordingly at the outset will save you a lot of extra work and system burden down the road. Adhering to stated retention schedules for archiving documents will also keep the system running smoothly.
- Understand the requirements behind electronic signatures. Many people confuse electronic signatures with encrypted signatures. Although documents can be cryptographically signed for security purposes, this is not required in most compliance scenarios, whereas electronic signatures are. An electronic signature assigns a clear identity to someone who has altered a document along with a timestamp and recorded reason for the alteration. This can occur in the form of authentication at the time the document is changed so that the action can be clearly recorded in an audit trail.
- Audit trails must be…auditable. Your ECM must provide not only the ability to create an audit trail but an easy way to access it! If you are ever the subject of an audit, you may need to produce reports on hundreds or thousands of document transactions. Make sure you can easily access and produce the document history and that it clearly shows the information needed during an audit.
- Consistency and automation are your friends. One of the very purposes of regulation is to ensure consistent and repeatable activities that conform to a set of standards. And there’s no better way to achieve consistency than through automation. Your ECM system can aid you via workflow automation, especially around review and approval processes. Automated workflow reduces the risk for error by ensuring each step of the process occurs in order and receives the appropriate oversight. Tie back to point 2 – once you’ve identified and standardized your business processes, you can carve them in stone with automated workflow.
- Don’t think higher cost means better compliance. Because of the way compliance is determined, a more expensive solution isn’t necessarily going to be better than a less expensive one. It’s all about functionality and how the system supports your individual circumstances. Especially for smaller businesses, a large expensive system is not an option and may in fact be more of a hindrance to compliance than a solution that is more affordable, and more easily implemented. Don’t be afraid to look at open source products in addition to proprietary systems. You may find you can achieve compliance with far less cost and headache than you thought.
February 3rd, 2010
An Easy Way to Protect Your Intellectual Property
One question I get on a regular basis is from companies wondering how to get the maximum exposure for their white papers and other material but not loose complete control over their intellectual property. In this free-wheeling time, if you place too many restrictions on your Web-based material, no one will quote from it or pick it up in various blogs and other sites (which is often the point).
So Doc is a big fan of the nonprofit Creative Commons folks, who provide an open and cost-free way to establish copyright and clearly define what others can do with your material.
Creative Commons is dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. They provide free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry so that others can share it, remix it, use it commercially, or any combination thereof.
The following describes each of the six main licenses offered when you choose to publish your work with a Creative Commons license. They items are listed starting with the most accommodating license type you can choose and ending with the most restrictive license type you can choose:
- Attribution. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work—even commercially—as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered in terms of what others can do with your work licensed under Attribution.
- Attribution Share Alike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial reasons as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.
- Attribution No Derivatives. This license allows for redistribution—both commercial and noncommercial—as long as it is passed along unchanged and whole, with credit to you.
- Attribution Non-Commercial. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially. And although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
- Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download and redistribute your work just as the by-nc-nd license, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.
- Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives. This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, allowing redistribution. This license is often called the free advertising license, because it allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
Doc thinks that you should consider a Creative Commons license for much of your work—perhaps even your entire Web site. It says to the world that you are willing to share your content freely as long as it is shown certain respect and credit.
February 1st, 2010
How document management can help you survive this downturn
You need a reminder that the economy is in the dumps right now as much as a paraglider needs a tornado. But the fact remains, the flow of currency is partially paralyzed, and that means skittish companies are cutting budgets and scrutinizing the management of IT expenses, kind of like they did in ‘02 post dot-com bubble bust.
The difference now is that it’s harder to find fat to trim, and cuts may actually come in the form of an upfront investment that may entail a change in business process and culture to yield a more cost-effective organization. But before you go geek out with some books on ITIL, first consider hidden or overlooked costs that may be just under your nose.
First, audit your hardware environment. Find and remove unused equipment and do away with unnecessary software licenses. This can cut 1 percent to 2 percent of the annual operating budget, says this article.
Next, analyze the inefficiencies in your printing environment. According to Gartner, active management of office printing can lead to a 10 percent to 30 percent reduction in recurring spending on document output. You do believe Gartner, don’t you? This may mean upgrading your printer fleet, which can reduce cost-per-page, maintenance, and energy consumption.
Finally, take the good idea of a document management solution; and put it in your pipe; and smoke it. In a recent article to resellers, Gregory J. Schloemer, president of DocuWare Corporation, makes a strong case for DMS that includes how it plays a roll in “limiting legal exposure in the event of a reduction in personnel.” Layoffs may or may not be under consideration at your company, but it is prudent advice. He writes:
“By using document management to automate business processes (workflow), internal procedures are optimized so that productivity, accuracy, and quality are improved. One example is that incoming invoices can be automatically routed for approval, along with all supporting documents, ensuring prompt payment in order to secure cash discounts. Managing and automating business processes, accounting processes in particular, significantly increases control, keeps an eye on waste, and is a key factor for both internal and external auditors, regardless of size.
“Compliance with internal procedures, along with the retention of critical information, limits legal exposure. A good example is in the human resources department. Document management facilitates the necessary documentation for hiring and terminating personnel, allowing the required documentation for compliance with the various state, federal, and compliance agencies to be readily available.”
He then serves up a few more benefits of DMS:
“By eliminating much of the human factor, processing times speed up, accuracy is improved and documents are no longer lost or misfiled. Retention cycles are easily managed regardless of document type or format. Streamlining business processes increases productivity, which allows employees to accomplish more in the same amount of time. Secure access is limited to only authorized individuals.”
And lastly, adds this caveat, which I definitely agree with and couldn’t say it better, myself:
“It can only be win-win if a document management system is easy to install, to maintain, to train on, and to use. It should be scalable, offer powerful features even in its base edition, while allowing for mobility or Web access to documents keeping all employees, even remote users, connected. It should also offer high security to help meet compliance needs. Local support and a worldwide presence also insure technology for the future. In bad times as well as good, efficiency in business processes improves the bottom line.”
January 29th, 2010
Now, if only your spouse came certified
Promises. We all make them, break them, and sometimes actually keep them. Except me. I never promise. Just deliver. Coz I am the DOC.
So when I drive down to my local Best Buy to pick up advertised gadgetry and marriage-saving appliances–like a dishwasher–I’d like to think that what the manufacturer says about their wares has more credibility than an online dating site power-user. But at some point, we’ve all taken that trip to the land of suck. You buy it, take it home, and before you know it, features quietly underwhelm or don’t work, or it simply breaks too soon, leaving you digging up the warranty card.
Savvy shopaholics avoid this scenario in a variety of ways, but in particular, look to third-party certifications such as Energy Star or endorsements, like CNET’s Editors’ Choice award. Such things could potentially derail a trip to post-purchase un-euphoria.
And for IT pros like you, such certifications for gear to equip your office can help you sleep better at night knowing that someone other than you also thinks where best to spend your company’s money.
There are many types of product certifications used in the IT industry; some are major institutions covering a lot of ground (ISO) and others more specific, like WHQL for Windows.
One that you should be familiar with is the Common Criteria certification; not to be confused with Creative Commons, which is completely unrelated, but maybe more common.
Common Criteria a key security standard that applies to products in all sorts of tech categories. Now for the good part, so bear with me. The role of Common Criteria is to, “provide assurance that the process of specification, implementation and evaluation of a computer security product has been conducted in a rigorous and standard manner.” It resolves the conceptual and technical differences between the standards from the European, US and Canadian criteria (ITSEC, TCSEC and CTCPEC respectively). Did you commit that quote to memory? Good.
You should know that products with the certification have undergone and passed a rigorous independent third-party testing, giving you assurance that the product meets the requirements for certification, kind of like your buddy giving you the scoop on a potential blind-date.
Note that vendors are quick to make news of any products that gain approval, so it’s a big deal.
So before you go Twitter, check out the Common Criteria portal for info you can use to impress your company’s purchase committee at the next budget meeting.
January 27th, 2010
How to scrap paper to cut costs
Hey, remember when everyone was talking about the paperless office being just around the corner? Those were the same folks who thought we’d be in flying cars by now. Personally, my mini-van not only doesn’t fly, but barely works. So, the myth of the paperless office won’t need any busting anytime soon, but the economic situation is forcing cost-conscious organizations to scrutinize their paper usage.
Credit: "Florian" via Flickr
In addition to saving money, cutting the amount of paper you consume translates into less impact on the environment, which is the mantra in today’s eco-conscious world. By the way – that means you really should be reading this on the screen and not printing it up for your commute…or what have you;) While many leading MFP and digital copier vendors are meeting these market demands with cheaper and more efficient equipment, there are several things you can do to cut paper usage. Here are three simple ideas from BNET:
- Get a duplexing printer –The oldest trick in the book is printing on both sides of a sheet of paper, which effectively halves your overall output. But actually doing so is a hassle (which side goes up? which end goes in first?) unless you have a duplexing printer.
- Print to PDF –Instead of printing and faxing (or mailing) a document, “print” a PDF and e-mail it instead. In the past we’ve explored many ways to turn documents into PDFs; check ‘em out if you’re not sure how to proceed. Then check out Unclutterer’s clever tip on another type of document you should always print to PDF.
- Sign documents electronically –When a document needs your signature it usually means printing it out, signing it, and then returning it to sender. To save paper, start by digitizing your signature, then adding it to your PDFs. Alternately, check out EchoSign, which takes the hassle out of signing documents digitally.
Want to go hardcore? Ok, how about adopting a scanning strategy and eliminate paper from business processes altogether? You up to the challenge or do you just talk the talk?
There are many ways to get you there. An article on ZDNet, lays the groundwork for merging electronic processes and manual paper-based processes into one efficient workflow. It covers five considerations to keep in mind if you do decide to go for it, such as document types, office environment, and user experience, to name a few. We’ll leave at that for now.
So these are just a few of the diverse methods you can use to trim the amount of printing you do and paper you consume. We’ll look at more later, so think of this as a part one of many.
January 25th, 2010
Overcoming users' printer frustrations
Frustration is a fact of life, but we have a choice on how to deal with it. Unluckily for some, that means blowing a fuse no matter what; and luckily for others, letting rationality and coping mechanisms take over.
The famous and parodied fax machine mugging scene in the cult classic Office Space (Credit: Steve McCutchen)
The printer fleet in your office, the underappreciated utilitarian workhorses of tech gear, needn’t be a source of agony for end users, and it’s a surprise that it is.
Before I go any further, I know what you’re thinking. Frustration goes hand in hand with some of these complex feature-laden devices making them non-intuitive. Plus display gibberish like, “PC LOAD LETTER” can only fuel fires.
Still, IT or office managers can do more to educate end users on how to use document tools, rather than leaving it up to the office geek or a busy administrative assistant to step in during times of crisis.
Think about it. How many jobs have you had that provided a quick and dirty orientation for the fax/copy/print devices when you came on board? Maybe something like zilch? Ok, then at least Include easy-to-find manual excerpts or tips on the company’s intranet? Maybe a few, or still nada?
Today’s thinking is that if you do white collar work then proficiency with all the gear around you is supposedly second nature, but it isn’t. So take some time to explain useful stuff like to how to set up a default printer, find them on the network, find and change a toner cartridge, set the right paper settings, etc.
Hooking up your team with general printing tips and tricks every now and then could keep usage smart and efficient, and costs down. And if you do all that, you’ll drastically decrease the chances of someone needlessly going ballistic over office equipment.
January 21st, 2010
Data Privacy: What Part of Your Network Is Vulnerable, and What Can You Do About It?
Doc thinks networked environments are both a boon and a burden to organizations. They greatly improve productivity and reduce cost by allowing customers, vendors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to share and access information in real time. But increased access to sensitive information makes networks vulnerable to malicious activity and misuse. There have been numerous high-profile data security breaches and losses, prompting a rise in government regulations surrounding data privacy.
The combination of increasingly complex and connected networks, more sophisticated hacking tools, and a myriad of data-privacy regulations makes it challenging for organizations of all sizes to maximize data security. For a great, free look at network security (with a heavy emphasis on print management), check out a white paper from my friends at Ricoh.
Here’s just an overview of what this terrific white paper covers. And did I mention it’s free?
This paper examines the vulnerable areas of a network and new document-management technologies to shore them up as well as how to choose the most appropriate security services provider for your organization.
You have two major areas of concern in a distributed workflow environment: electronic and paper. Electronic vulnerabilities encompass any data that can be compromised when a user transmits from a device over a local IP network, the Internet, or a private intranet. All elements of your network are vulnerable, including servers, client computers, operating systems, firewalls, routers, switches and hubs, wireless access points, network services, and applications. Paper vulnerabilities arise when printed information is output from a device and could be retrieved or viewed by unauthorized individuals.
Protecting data has become a legal requirement, not just an ethical one. Several data-privacy regulations have been created that make data owners legally responsible for protecting sensitive personal information from inappropriate use. The types of information covered under these regulations include customer lists, financial results, non-public personal information, credit card numbers, purchase and sales records, access codes, health records, education records, corporate intellectual property, and confidential government information.
January 19th, 2010
Driving While Printing. Printing While You Fly. And Web Printing.
Okay. So I have racked my pea-brain to come up with the list of features and benefits to consider when thinking of mobile printing, or MP (Okay, I made that up, so don’t go looking it up). Mobile printing — small-M, small-P — has its benefits. Your employees or customers should have the freedom to print docs (not me), emails and Web content in full-color from Internet enabled laptops, cell phones and handheld devices. And they should not have to download drivers or install additional software. Let me try to break down the features and their benefits to think about, so when you talk to your boss, you’ll seem much smarter.
iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberry, etc.
Mobile plus handheld printing. You should be able to forward any email from PDAs or Internet-enabled cell phones – with or without attachments – to a printer’s email address.
Driverless Web-based printing ability. Users should be able to surf to a printer’s URL using any browser, and upload a file or enter an URL of what’s to be printed. After submitting each request, the service automatically replies to an email address with a secure release code. At the keypad attached to the printer, the user then enters the code to release their print job.
Simple installation. Find a turnkey system that can be self-configuring and ready to print from anywhere in minutes. Internet Access is all that one should need.
Totally embedded. All printer hardware enhancements should be preconfigured; all software should be pre-loaded; no additional support should be required. That means no external appliances and no way for users to accidentally change system settings or access other jobs.
Strong data encryption. All print jobs should be encrypted and transferred using 128-bit secure SSL communications.
Secure mobile printing. After printing, every job should be automatically erased from printer memory so you don’t have to worry about unauthorized reprinting.
Flexibility. You should be able use the mobile printing solution as a free client convenience to hold on to customers — or as a fee-based printing service to increase revenues, if you are a super capitalist.
Customizable interfaces. The solution should incorporate logos and colors on the Web page to reflect your business identity and present printing as a value-added service exclusive to your establishment.
Add links and custom messages. You should be able to customize the user interface to add links to other websites, add new printers or insert new screens for additional services, print job options and job confirmation/approval steps.
Support for 3rd party billing systems. The mobile printing solution provider should be partnering with the likes of Printer On and Web Pay Services (WPS) to enable hosted billing solutions so that the system can count the number of pages, calculate the job cost, and initiate a credit card billing sequence.
January 15th, 2010
T to the C to the O: Know your costs
So we’ve talked about ECM and MPS and DMS, but today let’s discuss three other letters I’ve gotten to know and love: TCO. Well, it’s not that I love total cost of ownership exactly. Rather, I like to help people determine, manage, and reduce their total cost of ownership.
For people like us, TCO usually comes into the picture when we’re looking at devices such as printers and fax machines. The folks over at Printing & Imaging Innovations tell me that an important TCO consideration for printers is energy consumption, and that replacing a lot of desktop inkjet printers with fewer workgroup inkjet or laser printers can go a long way. Some other solutions they recommend to reduce TCO include installing a multifunction product (see my 10 things to look for in an all-in-one printer post for more on this exciting topic) and reducing unnecessary color costs.
Be on the lookout for output and device management solutions that can lower TCO in your workplace. These cost-cutting strategies could help your business:
- Know the total cost of ownership of networked devices
- Handle chargebacks to recover costs and increase accuracy of client billing
- Automate meter reading
- Track device usage and output and implement sophisticated device reporting features
- Manage all reporting from a central location
- Use monitoring and reporting features to determine optimal device positioning within your workspace
- Improve document cost allocation by users, departments or clients
- Increase uptime by matching the number and type of devices to the appropriate workload.
Oh, the possibilities! Technology is a beautiful thing.
(Source: Ricoh)
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Doc's Biography
ZDNet and TechRepublic introduce Doc (The DocuMentor), sponsored by RICOH. Doc will educate you about Document Management.
Doc was born to a Russian ballerina and a German engineer, who some believe was running covert operations for shadowy corporate interests. At MIT, Doc made a name for himself by transforming a large printer into a robot that hunts and eats Roombas.
Professionally, he's reportedly seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone. Doc's mastery of document management leaves no stone unturned; and he has vast knowledge regarding sustainability, security, regulatory compliance, networking, and IT services.
Related Links
- New White paper: Managed Print Services and Beyond: How You Can Cut Costs and Go Green While Increasing Employee Productivity
- Learn how document management systems can help reduce the tide of paper that is swamping our offices
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Recent Entries
- Fed employees throw out millions of pages every day
- 8 Things to Know About Using ECM for Regulatory Compliance
- An Easy Way to Protect Your Intellectual Property
- How document management can help you survive this downturn
- Now, if only your spouse came certified
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- To learn more about this mysterious figure check out his blog on ZDNet. You’ll be glad you did.
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