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Cloud-based digital technology is transforming the landscape for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) by creating opportunities to compete on a level playing field. With gains in efficiency, agility, and productivity cloud-based solutions are enabling companies to better serve their customers and provide a more flexible work environment for their employees.
However, despite these advantages, many SMBs still rely heavily on printed documents, which can be costly and pose security risks. A recent study found that 59% of employees printed more or the same amount at home as they did in the office¹.
As we move towards a future where on-site and remote printing is essential to work, SMBs may face new challenges including increased expenses and security risks. Without proper controls in place, the chances of unnecessary printing and wasted resources like paper and consumables will also increase. Furthermore, if administrators fail to use strong passwords or keep their firmware up-to-date, their printers – and by extension, their entire network – may become vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
A secure and scalable cloud-based solution can help businesses overcome these challenges and keep their operations safe and efficient. uniFLOW Online is a secure, flexible cloud-based print and scan management solution that meets the evolving needs of SMBs. This subscription-based SaaS solution is developed on the Microsoft Azure platform. With uniFLOW Online, you can easily print and scan documents from one platform, whether you are in the office or working from home. All you need is an internet connection.
The compliance and sustainability of an organisation depends on having a rock-solid data security procedure. The confidentiality of stakeholders, including clients and employees, must also be protected. This means that you cannot take the chance of having your data stored in a country with laws and governance systems that are different from those in New Zealand. With Australian Privacy Law providing comparable safeguards to that of New Zealand’s Privacy Act, this gives businesses comfort – knowing that their data is stored, and remains within the Oceania region.
Within a competitive and challenging economy, every saving – big or small – counts. uniFLOW Online offers comprehensive usage reports – by user, team, and organisation – so that costs for printing, copying, faxing, and scanning can be allocated in real-time to projects, thus enabling customers to recover costs. Furthermore, analysis of print usage, including graphs, on uniFLOW Online’s user-friendly portal, provides insights into individual behaviours that can be modified to reduce waste and costs.
Costs can be further reduced by eliminating print servers. The physical space required for print servers is freed for income-generating use. With less need to maintain and upgrade physical infrastructure, and the costs associated with sending print jobs via VPN eliminated, further savings can be made. And, with your entire print and scan environment managed from the cloud, your IT administrators will have more time for proactive tasks.
In today's mobile workplace, ensuring the confidentiality of documents sent to your organisation's multi-functional devices (MFDs) from various locations and devices is critical. UniFLOW Online offers fast and secure encryption, enabling your mobile workforce to upload documents for printing, scanning and finishing from anywhere and any device, including Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. With support for over 40 document and image file types, uniFLOW Online provides a comprehensive solution for your printing needs.
You can rest easy knowing that your security is assured with multiple layers of protection that require you to identify yourself before accessing your devices or releasing documents from your print queue. However, despite these multiple layers, uniFLOW Online offers a seamless experience that enhances productivity and collaboration by facilitating fast and secure scanning, printing and sharing of files.
With uniFLOW Online, you can expand your print and scan environment with minimal effort or maintenance. Its modular, scalable design is hosted on an advanced Microsoft Azure platform, making it an efficient and reliable option for organisations. You can print from and scan directly to popular cloud services like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Google Drive with enhanced image quality, compression, and document security. Additionally, various print submission options and integrations with third-party print services ensure a user-friendly and flexible work environment. Guest printing is also made simple with the establishment of a secure print email address and password.
IT administrators can personalise uniFLOW Online print and scan environments to manage user access, enhance security and control costs. Print submission pathways, network setups, and more can be configured for individuals and teams according to their location and device. Device-function restrictions or Function Level Login can also be set to control device access for departments, teams, or even individual users.
Coupled with real-time data usage and analytical reports, these options for configuration improve business continuity, security, and compliance.
According to Microsoft, 96% of security decision-makers believe a Zero Trust environment is critical to their business's success². Additionally, 76% have already adopted Zero Trust security measures³. Zero Trust environment means that the solution is designed to operate securely even in a network architecture where no user or device is automatically trusted by default.
By operating in a Zero Trust environment, uniFLOW Online provides an added layer of security for organisations to safeguard their printing and scanning processes from potential security threats, unauthorised access, and data breaches.
According to a survey by Quocirca in 2022, 80% of organisations are moving to cloud services for their print and scan applications as part of their sustainability strategy⁴.
uniFLOW Online can help reduce paper waste with print rules, tracking and optimising print resources, and implementing print policies for energy-efficient printer usage. This reduces the amount of paper used, encourages staff to print appropriately and makes better use of the printers.
Additionally, uniFLOW Online's cloud-based technology eliminates the need for on-premises print servers, reducing energy consumption and hardware costs while streamlining print management. To maintain data availability and durability, Azure Storage accounts in every uniFLOW Online deployment are set up for Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS). Data is stored in the primary Azure region of the uniFLOW Online deployment and is copied three times using Locally Redundant Storage (LRS). LRS provides at least 99.9% durability for objects during a given year⁵.
Thousands of organisations worldwide rely on this cloud-based platform to seamlessly manage their print and scan environments.
And its exceptional capabilities have been recognised with five coveted Buyers Lab (BLI) awards in a row, including the 2023 BLI Pick Award for Outstanding Cloud Output Management⁶.
Presented by Keypoint Intelligence, the industry’s most trusted resource for unbiased information, the BLI awards recognise manufacturers and products that performed above their peers in exhaustive lab tests.
The impact of recent global events on small and mid-sized businesses cannot be underestimated. Organisations must now re-consider the way they manage their workforces and work processes to rebuild and successfully compete. With an increasingly mobile workforce, they must ensure information flows to enable collaboration. However, they must also be cognisant of the need to maintain the most stringent standards of security to protect data. All at a time when the costs of business continue to rise.
Public cloud-based services give small to mid-sized businesses affordable, flexible and scalable tools to manage constantly changing environments. Cloud-based print and scan solutions enable employees to collaborate, share, print and scan efficiently and securely.
Want to find out more about how uniFLOW Online can transform your print and scan environment? Visit canon.co.nz/uniflow-online or talk to a Canon expert today.
¹ https://quocirca.com/content/quocirca-cloud-print-services-2022-market-landscape/
² https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2021/07/28/zero-trust-adoption-report-how-does-your-organization-compare/
³ https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWGWha
⁴ https://quocirca.com/content/quocirca-cloud-print-services-2022-market-landscape/
⁵ https://www.uniflowonline.com/en/trust-center/reliability/
⁶ https://www.canon.co.nz/other-products/uniflow-online
When not secured or used correctly, multifunction printers can be vulnerable to cyber security threats and may compromise the security of sensitive data.
When not secured or used correctly, multifunction printers can be vulnerable to cyber security threats and may compromise the security of sensitive data.
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Chances are you’ve thought about this especially if you want the right printer for your business.
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