The Datamax Thinking Blog

Educating, collaborating, and sparking ideas for maximizing the technology that matters.


Cut Paper Costs and 3 Other Common Business Challenges Solved

blog_image_common_business_challenges.jpg

To remain competitive businesses need to harness technology to solve their everyday challenges.

Though technology won’t solve ALL of your business problems, you might be surprised by the amount of heavy lifting it can do for you – this is especially true in a document-intensive industries, such as legal. And, with all the time you’ll gain with the help of technology, you can concentrate on one of those other tasks you’ve been juggling.

Here’s a list of common business challenges – and potential solutions to those challenges – that can make a difference in your office.

Mobile Security and Document Access

Challenge: Today, the majority of us rely heavily on our smartphone – you might even be reading this blog from yours right now. Though this isn’t a bad thing, it does make it a bit trickier for businesses to ensure sensitive information is secure (stolen and lost devices being one of the top concerns). Employees also want to work on the go, providing access to documents in your repository via mobile devices improves productivity, but comes with some additional business risk.

Solution: Data encryption or data wiping will provide security for mobile devices. That way, if you or anyone else accidentally leave your phone sitting on a table at Starbucks or is stolen, the sensitive business data won’t be readable or accessible. For mobile access, many document management providers (such as Laserfiche) provide apps for secure access to business documents. And that’s much more secure than employee’s using personal Dropbox or Box accounts to access documents.

Paper Documents

Challenge: There are a few challenges businesses experience when it comes to paper documents. With the sea of paperwork, documents are hard to locate – they’re often lost at the bottom of a pile on a co-workers desk (or your own desk), filing is extremely time consuming, keeping them updated is difficult – so is finding the most up-to-date version. Paper documents are a time suck.

Solution: Document management will help you steal a ton of time back by allowing you to do your job more efficiently. It will also assist in your office’s transition into becoming (for the most part) paperless. So, instead of flipping through paperwork in search for a specific page from a client’s file you can type in a search on your computer and, since the electronic files have been indexed, the document will be at your fingertips almost immediately.

Customer Satisfaction and Security

Challenge: A lot of businesses need to share and receive documents within and outside their organization. The problem occurs when the information the documents contain is confidential and needs to be secured and sent/received as quickly as possible. A law firm, for example, works with attorneys and other professionals irrespective of location. Thus, having the ability to maintain document integrity, track client information, and have easy access to retrieve them later is a huge part of keeping and delivering excellent client service.

Solution: A multifunction copier paired with document capture software (such as eCopy or Laserfiche) can address these challenges (and then some – but we won’t get into that today) by allowing you to scan all business or – in the case of the law firm – client documents, index, save, and securely send via fax or email. And, they’re easy to retrieve the next time you need them.

Cutting Costs

Challenge: Identifying certain costs within a business can seem impossible – the cost of printing for example. Law firms revolve around documents – copying, scanning, and printing them. Tracking print costs for opportunities to cut paper costs can be difficult.

Solution: Managed print services (MPS) is your best solution for cutting printing costs – no more toner or ink cartridges gathering dust in a closet because the machine it’s for is no longer in the office and you bought too much. Print tracking software will monitor number of documents printed and copied and deliver reports that detail number of documents by person, department, and client.

Want more information on how technology can solve business challenges? Let’s talk – we’d love to tell you more.

 ›› Explore articles about print management

Topics: Print Management Security Legal Tips and Tools