In recent years, technology has transformed all aspects of our everyday lives. Modern technology has placed information at our fingertips, eased our means of communication, and improved our efficiency and productivity. In addition, technological advances have led to seismic changes in several industries – completely changing the way traditional industries operate and reshaping several jobs and functions of organizations.
The impact of technology on modern offices is no different. While technology has facilitated improvements in the core processes of organizations, it has also significantly reduced the effort and cost involved with running the non-core functions of modern offices.
Some of the non-core areas of modern offices where technology has played a key role can be classified under the umbrella of Office Automation – with key services being Enterprise Communication, Enterprise Print Solutions and Document Management.
Enterprise Communication: Tele-commuting will be a common phenomenon in the near future. With connectivity getting better thanks to proliferation of high quality broadband services, connectivity led virtual office solutions are going to be vital. This apart, modern organizations are spread across multiple geographies but have the need for cross-functional teams to collaborate regularly and instantly on global projects. Modern communication platforms such as Video-Conferencing and Telepresence systems, integrated with Audio-Visual communication systems are key to improving collaboration and efficiencies across geographically diverse teams.
Enterprise Print Solutions: Studies reveal the biggest headache of CIOs to be data security. And random printing accentuates this worry. Secure printing, digital shredding of unclaimed prints, controlled access to printers etc., will come as big relief. This apart there are concerns around spiraling print cost & green environment that need to be addressed. What better way than Managed Print Services to alleviate these worries. Till recently, print services were a key responsibility for the Administrative functions of offices. While not a core function of businesses, Print Services are still essential to the smooth running of office operations, and also contribute significantly to office administration costs. Recent technological and service advancements have helped transform the office print services function from a core Admin process to an outsourced Managed Services model under the purview of the IT department. Through this model, both hardware and services costs associated with Print services can be variabilized. In addition, as mentioned earlier, advanced print analytics help significantly drive down operating costs.
Document Management: Any business creates a large volume of process documentation and paper trail, which have to be carefully stored and archived for Knowledge Management and Audit requirements. Modern Document Management Solutions can significantly help in improving the management, and driving down the cost associated with the creation and maintenance of physical records of business operations.
The full benefits of Office Automation solutions was realized by India’s central banking institution when it completely transformed the way its decision makers and key employees collaborated on decisions on national policy by implementing AV & VC solutions in its branches across 30 cities in India. Prior to the implementation, the organization required its employees to frequently travel for policy review meetings and to conduct due-diligence on policy change decisions. As a result, the time and cost involved with the decision-making was high, and decision-making was less nimble. However, after the implementation of AV & VC solutions across its offices, the requirement of travel for communication between employees was negated, and the organization was enabled to take quicker decisions on matters of national importance.
This was just one instance of an organization fully leveraging the benefits of Office Automation solutions. There are several more cases where Office Automation technology has helped make organizations more efficient and equipped them to devote their resources to the core processes in the organization.