To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://hardware.silicon.com/servers/0,39024647,39372790,00.htm

Doing away with printer headaches
Quocirca's Straight Talking: M2M to the rescue

By Louella Fernandes

Published: Wednesday 07 January 2009

The benefits of remote service platforms for the enterprise are manifold. Automated meter reading eliminates the manual processes involved in collecting and reporting meter reads as well as eliminating estimated meter reads. Accurate meter reading also can help companies understand which devices are over and under-utilised, which can support consolidation efforts when determining how best to optimise the overall print environment and reduce total cost of ownership.

Automated meter reading also increases invoice accuracy, particularly when systems are linked to CRM, ERP and service management systems. Evatic's service management system, for instance, supports a number of manufacturer's platforms, meaning it generates new supplies orders and creates service calls. For some devices, such as those from Sharp, the Evatic integration enables customers to also automatically create service requests and order consumables such as toner supplies by detecting the requirement directly from the device.

Such proactive and automated management ensures customers have the right supplies at the right time and eliminates the need to maintain an expensive toner supply inventory.

Finally, proactive maintenance alerts automatically deliver diagnostic data to the supplier, enabling support organisations to troubleshoot problems and restore equipment. Through proactive fault detection and notification, service visits may be shorter or replaced by remote diagnostics where these capabilities are available.

Many suppliers of document output devices rely on their channel partners to deliver service excellence, and in a market characterised by shrinking margins it is even more important that these partners have the tools to offer them recurring revenue opportunities from both supplies and service.

For the enterprise, remote monitoring services provide a way to reduce the costs associated with unplanned printer downtime, as well as improve efficiencies around supplies management.

However to fully exploit the benefits of remote monitoring it should be part of a wider managed print services solution. This would assess current print costs, develop a plan to optimise the environment which should be then continually managed and monitored to ensure cost savings and productivity benefits continue to be gained as business needs change.

A leading user-facing analyst house known for its focus on the big picture, Quocirca is made up of a team of experts in technology and its business implications. The team includes Clive Longbottom, Bob Tarzey, Rob Bamforth, Louella Fernandes, Fran Howarth and Simon Perry. Their series of columns for silicon.com seeks to demystify the latest jargon and business thinking. For a full summary of the consultancy's activities, see www.quocirca.com.