OpenText Fax & Document Distribution Group

By Todd Curtis of ProcessFlows

I suppose the real question is “How secure are the documents sent or received on the fax machine in the corner of your department?”

Todd Curtis, Public Sector Sales Manager from ProcessFlows, an OpenText UK Distributor answers:

Unfortunately, the answer is not secure at all.

The vast majority of Public Sector organisations I visit have this in common; they are all wasting approximately £50,000 annually on phone line connections and consumables for fax devices that lack  integration with  business systems, offer no document security, and waste paper.

Think about it–anyone in your organisation can send documents from a fax machine–without any authority or proof of sender.

Fax security should be a major concern for any Public Sector organisation.

Safe Havens, a locked room with a dedicated fax machine, are deployed throughout the National Health Service (NHS)  These are secure up to a point, but that room could be used for other services.

OpenText RightFax would provide 100′s of fax Safe Havens within your organisation at a reduced cost, compared to your current fleet of fax machines.

Xerox was the first photocopier company in the UK to integrate their Multi Function Printers (MFPs) into RightFax. This meant an organisation with this combined solution could remove all the costs associated with fax machines (fax toners, fax maintenance, phone line rentals). The combination of MFPs and RightFax not only improves document security, it also provides a reduction in carbon and paper wastage as well as greater staff efficiency.

All public spending is under scrutiny.  I urge you to find a project with a quicker ROI, that can be implemented with minimal internal resource and delivers all of the following benefits:

• Improved document security
• Reduced costs
• Improved staff efficiencies
• Decreased carbon emissions

Integrating your photocopiers with RightFax and removing your fax machines will do all this.

Do you

• Use standalone fax machines?
• Work in the Public Sector?
• Want to improve document security, reduce costs and improve staff efficiency?

ProcessFlows serves as UK Distributor, Support Centre and Authorized Training Partner for OpenText RightFax and OpenText Alchemy. For more information on ProcessFlows, contact tcurtis@processflows.co.uk.

Imagine, you just started a new job and your first task is to locate ten years of accounting records from your department. At this point, you are convinced this task falls under the category of cruel and unusual punishment – records are missing, older records are off-site and no sane method of categorizing or indexing can be detected. For an organization undergoing an audit, this can be a painful lesson in compliance and best practice in which no one escapes.

If your organization happens to be a law firm, you are forced to play by a different set of “retention” rules – some documents must be kept for a few years whereas documents related to wills and estates may need to be kept for more than 100 years. Legal firms are often asked to produce financial and billing information long after a case is closed. This equates to an unfathomable amount of paper that must be filed, stored, and easily accessed by legal staff.

To meet this challenge in a cost effective manner and still remain compliant, ProcessFlows, a Platinum OpenText Distributor, worked with Castle Document Management to provide a no nonsense document management solution for a high profile legal customer.

Discover how ProcessFlows and Castle DM addressed a UK law firm’s need to save money, improve accessibility and reduce storage issues using OpenText Alchemy. Read more.

The recession has hit countries and organizations across the globe for some time now. Each organization has created their own paths and strategies in dealing with these challenging times in an effort to sustain and grow their business; as well as maintain and motivate their employees.

In the 14^th Annual Global CEO survey report published by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Dennis M Nally, Chairman of Pricewaterhouse Coopers International, opened his foreword with the phrase “Confidence is back”. The report talked about how CEOs have applied cost discipline and patient optimism, setting their targets on immediate growth in recovering regions. CEOs in the survey also identified three focal points to drive change internationally: innovation, talent and a shared agenda with the government (you may wish to read more about this report here: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/download.jhtml).

So let’s bring this a little closer to home. What does this mean for us in the fax solutions marketplace? Frost & Sullivan estimates that, in 2010, the enterprise fax marketplace represents approximately $372m in revenues and is expected to grow to $591m globally by 2017. Which begs the question, what would our 3 focal points be to growing our business?

Here’s my take :

1. 1. Innovation

The Oxford Dictionary defines innovation as “a new method, idea, product”. While a new product could and would draw attention, it would also take considerable effort and time. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we shouldn’t focus on bringing out new products; that should be part of a longer-term roadmap and strategy. But innovation could also mean evolving our existing product range and making it work more efficiently, addressing different aspects of business needs or introducing adjustments to cater to a new market segment.

1. 2. Marketing the products

Aligned with innovation is also how we sell and market the product. This needs to remain in synch with how customers buy. Taking into account cultural and regional nuances will help to put a fresh perspective on how the product and its technologies can help customers address their needs differently. Alternatively, offering prospective customers new ways of capitalizing a tried and proven technology is also important. Also, leveraging social media platforms to encourage ‘getting to know the product through end users’ could translate into a more compelling dialogue with a potential customer. Forming new alliances/partnerships with vendors supporting cloud computing could open new business opportunities is important too.

1. 3. Shared agenda with our customers

The role of selling has changed over time and has impacted the wealth and depth of information easily available online today. Some prospective customers may already have sufficient knowledge of the product and competitive alternatives prior to meeting with you. When we share a common agenda with our customers, we connect ourselves to their environment and needs. This means we can take their knowledge of our product and put it in perspective by addressing it to their requirements. Customers are buying what they need not what we can or want to sell them.

What would your 3 focal points be?

Regardless of industry or size, gaining control of documents is critical to every organization. Ever-expanding government regulations require effective and auditable control systems for all documents and communications – both paper and electronic. Competitive pressures require that organizations become more efficient and responsive in order to survive and thrive. And in today’s economy, many organizations are forced to produce greater results with fewer resources.

Organizations around the globe are facing similar challenges – increase the bottom line, support compliance efforts and accelerate business processes, while at the same time contributing to a greener workplace.

When looking at ways to accomplish this, a solution that addresses the whole information lifecycle may best meet compliance, efficiency, and cost-savings goals, thereby providing the greatest value.

Cost Savings Benefits from Fax Servers and Document Management Servers

A strong focus on cost savings means businesses are looking for ways to cutback. Organizations looking to qualify each and every technology investment will discover that the implementation of a complete end-to-end document solution delivers a transparent and quantifiable return on investment. Did you know the fax machine sitting next to your desk could be costing your company $10,000 over its lifetime? It’s a fact. Consider the cost of paper and other related expenses for that machine. Now multiply that by the number of fax machines scattered throughout your organization. When you add it all up the amount of money could be staggering. Unfortunately, many companies do not realize that each time someone feeds paper into a manual fax machine; they’re also feeding into higher overhead costs. Replacing fax machines with a network fax server enables users to electronically send, receive, track, and manage fax documents directly from desktop, email, and back-office applications. It’s fast; it’s efficient; and depending on your usage, it could add hundreds of thousands – even millions of dollars – to your bottom line.

A document management solution represents significant cost savings for the organization. Eliminating the need for paper-based processing, file storage, printing and distribution dramatically reduces costs in these areas. In addition, a document management solution further lowers costs by reducing the time and resources needed for discovery, audits, litigation and compliance.

By providing immediate access to documents, organizations significantly reduce the time and resources to complete business processes. And in today’s economic climate, that’s a must.

For more information on document strategies, we have published a new white paper available here.

Additional information on the solutions from Open Text Fax & Document Distribution Group is available here: http://FaxSolutions.OpenText.com