As the Government injects £37 million into ground-breaking new research for solving the productivity puzzle, we spoke to our partners Brother UK to find out the top five ways in which IT leads can help to save time and ground efficiencies via their print estate.
In August, the Government unveiled a £37 million plan to open a new UK Productivity Institute in Manchester, in a bid to strengthen recovery post-Covid, level up wages and improve living standards across the country.
It’s the latest in a line of efforts from government, academics and businesses to crack the productivity puzzle: how can we ground efficiencies that help workers to focus on more productive tasks?
Research from Brother UK has revealed that almost all IT decision makers see technology as essential in improving productivity, and 84 per cent now view it as their priority focus. Read the full research results here – Solving the productivity puzzle.
We spoke to Sara Diggle, head of SMB laser & scanner business unit at Brother UK, to discuss how a piece to the puzzle lies in firms’ print estates.
Having complete oversight of networks, using faster performing devices, embracing mobile print and staying print secure are each simple ways businesses can save time, and money.
1) Get complete oversight of your print network
Now more than ever, gaining complete oversight of systems and networks can feel like an impossible task for IT leads. This is especially true with the emergence of the ‘hybrid workforce’ post-lockdown, as employees continue to mix working between the home and office.
But having oversight of print estates is simple. With solutions such as Brother’s proprietary BRAdmin platform IT leaders are able to monitor and manage printers wherever they are. This means support teams can stay in one place, with employees not having to wait around for issues to be resolved. It’s a great time-saver for IT and office managers juggling the needs of a decentralised workforce.
2) Stay secure and prevent lost time
When replacing, upgrading or expanding print estates, speak to your supplier about the level of security devices offer. Even a minor security breach can seriously impact productivity, and older, cheaper models are often an easy back door through which criminals can access a business’s IT network.
Brother’s suite of print solutions are loaded with state-of-the-art security features that help users protect systems against cyberattacks and data misuse – boasting features like automatic intrusion detection software, end-to-end encryption and PIN and ID-card-protecting printing.
3) Consider if slow printers are sapping productivity
Old devices could be costing businesses more than they think, as employees queue to collect documents slowly released from legacy hardware, creating knock-on effects for lost time.
Flagship SMB laser printers for business, like Brother’s high-performance MFC-L9570CDW, are combining fast and reliable printing with high yield toners and impressive paper-handling features to ensure that they work more quickly for longer.
4) Use enterprise platforms to maximise workflow efficiency
Creating seamless end-to-end workflows really helps to improve employee productivity, and platforms like Microsoft SharePoint and Google G Suite have come into their own as businesses adapted to lockdown life.
Brother’s SMB print and scan solutions are compatible with a wide range of enterprise platforms – whether on-premise or cloud based – including SAP, Citrix, Kofax ControlSuite, Papercut and SafeQ6, allowing integration with an almost endless list of popular cloud software. This is helping lots of tasks, from barcoding to CRM, to be easily integrated with print systems.
Making the day go faster
Ultimately, a fresh look at print estates can help to unlock lots of opportunities to save employees time, helping staff to carry out tasks that bit quicker. These bits of saved time add up through working weeks and whole teams to give companies a big productivity boost.
Read more about how you can boost productivity your organisation in Brother’s Guide to Improving Your Print Productivity.
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