The Datamax Thinking Blog

uniFLOW is a powerful print and document management solution that helps businesses secure their printing, control costs, and streamline workflows—all while reducing IT burdens. 

If your small or medium-sized business (SMB) is struggling with unsecured printing, high print costs (and printing volumes), or inefficient workflows, you're not alone. Many companies overlook how much time, money, and security risk is tied to unmanaged printing. Unmanaged print devices can become a lot like herding cats.

From hybrid and remote work environments to various cloud printing risks, insufficient monitoring, and simple lack of device-level security, there are many reasons why print environments fail to keep up with today’s fast-paced secure protocols.

In your observations of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, how often (if at all) have you considered your print devices? 

It’s no surprise that secure printing remains a big deal for organizations to consider in 2024. Dubbed time and again as “just another endpoint device on your network” by those preaching the security protocols message, it's important to remember:  Your copier or Multi-Function Printer (MFP) processes any number of sensitive documents every single day (all potentially vulnerable to attack. Among them:

A proficient IT administrator derives satisfaction from automating tasks to enhance productivity, responsiveness ... and positivity.

In today's hypersonic-paced IT world, it's no surprise that the typical IT department is juggling a ridiculous number of tasks. From managing help ticket requests to tackling long-term projects to addressing ever-present security risks, it seems never-ending.

In the end, uniFLOW Online provides a flexible and secure print and scan infrastructure for the future of work.

The COVID-era predictions are coming to fruition: Work from Home is here to stay.

According to Forbes, as of 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% work a hybrid model. As administrators know, the ever-shifting "workplace" can make managing print even trickier.  uniFLOW Online simplifies printing and scanning for employees, whether they're at the office or at home. The user experience is similar no matter where they're printing to, making it easy to switch between work environments.

The following provides a closer look at the security capabilities of Canon's imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX devices and how incorporating your print environment into a Zero Trust strategy can foster trust between the end user students/faculty, the device, and the associated data.

If and when someone approaches a multi-function printer on your campus, have you considered an ideology of "Never trust, always verify"? 

The adoption of zero-trust security frameworks is increasing as a recommended approach to addressing cybersecurity risks, and with good reason. The Pandemic brought many changes, but among them, the sudden shift to remote work (and virtual learning environments)  in 2020 brought to light the need for more comprehensive security.

Under the right circumstances, with a relevant solution, and with the right partner, you can set your own turnaround times, control volume to meet current demand, and potentially save on costs along the way.

Your mission is what really matters.

Membership retention, fundraising, volunteerism, and ongoing outreach: These are all elements of delivering on your vision for your congregation and the community at large. The materials produced to help support that mission – flyers, banners, graphics, etc. – go a long way in communicating the heart and soul of it.

Superintendents, campus IT, and administrative teams must work together to maximize budgets while managing printing proactively to deliver a secure, accessible print environment for everyone on campus. This is where a Print Management solution becomes a valuable asset.

Mark Twain has this funny quote about a teacher’s first day back in the classroom.

“Describing her first day back in grade school after a long absence, a teacher said, ‘It was like trying to hold 35 corks underwater at the same time.’” IT administrators on campus might often feel the same.

How capable are you in controlling both users and devices, i.e. how well do you curb wasteful printing habits?

Printability is a common term in the realm of business. It’s simply the capability of a document to be printed to whatever desired format, style, or quality.

Print Ability? That calls for a deeper discussion. Print Ability is a term we’ve coined here to ask, simply, how smart and capable are you with handling your organization’s print behavior? Call it Print Management 101.

A print security vulnerability could be something as ubiquitous as a user hitting "Print," forgetting, and the job (with sensitive information) ending up in the wrong hands, or as malicious as an intentional data breach. 

All great stories eventually come to end.

Whether that ending is unexpected, shocking, or largely ambiguous, it provides some level of resolution. It’s in our DNA as readers and as humans to expect a beginning, middle, and end to any story. Without this simple, basic narrative structure in place, we’re left feeling anxious, restless, frustrated even.

When it comes to security, MFPs should be treated just like any other endpoint on the network.

So, it's time to finally upgrade your copier(s) or MFP(s). How seriously have you considered security?

Although speeds, feeds, and cost of ownership are still relevant elements of pre-sale discovery and dialog, a heads-up sales consultant will also proactively introduce MFP Control and Security to the conversation. They know, when it comes to security, MFPs should be treated just like any other endpoint on the network.