The DSI Way

SECURITY! SECURITY! SECURITY!!!

Whether you are a small mom or pop retail operation, a large, international corporation, or an organization with enhanced needs to protect information from clients or members, SECURITY is a top concern. It’s hard to believe that when the cloud started years ago, there was a cavalier approach to storing valuable data. With each announcement of new hacks, concerns mount, and additional measures are created to counter unauthorized viewing. Today, most of us are aware of security measures that can be added to computers. We know not to open certain emails, and we are cognizant about when and where to post (or not to post) critical personal or business information, including credit card numbers.

Information exists in many places inside a business. Computer information can be secured in a variety of ways from Windows directory access to sophisticated software packages. Copiers can limit users to only be able to scan to themselves. This helps limit ways electronic data can leave the business. There is even software out there which can read every scanned or copied page and create alerts to management, if needed. Most copiers have some type of disk overwrite standard. Make sure it is enabled. Some copiers have optional removable hard drives which can be locked up when not in use.

There are other things you might not have considered. When replacing your new computers, what happens to the old ones? More importantly, what happens to the INFORMATION on the old ones? There are a couple of options other than the hammer. Hard drive punches make holes in the computer’s hard drive, which makes it just about impossible to forensically recover information that existed on that computer. Some of our clients are now using degaussers, which use a powerful magnet to wipe clean hard drives, diskettes, reels, cassettes, and cartridge tapes. When exposed to the powerful magnetic field of a degausser, the magnetic data on a tape or hard disk is erased. Because degaussing is the guaranteed form of hard drive erasure, it serves as the standard method of data destruction.
What about paper? We are all familiar with shredding. Businesses have the option of hiring outside companies to shred onsite with some even providing a certificate of destruction. Many of our companies prefer to keep the shredding activities in house with the comfort of knowing that whatever documents they have never leave the office. Shredders to accommodate in house use can be as simple as a desktop variety or as complex as ones with conveyer belts. One customer even had to re-wire his shredding room to provide enough voltage for its support.

Whatever defenses you take to keep confidential the records of your business and its clients, make the process comprehensive. Most of all, instill a corporate philosophy of protecting the rights of your company and its customers.

Are you Getting the Most from your Copier?

If you are not taking advantage of their many functions, you could be wasting a lot of money and time. Although you might still be using the term, “copier,” today machines which provide you with copies are better known as MFD’s (multi-function devices) or MFP’s (multi-function printers). The reason is that today’s machines do a lot more than copy. Today’s copiers can enhance workflow performance, reduce expenses, and even build in security and confidentiality measures.

Today’s copiers no longer restrict their uses to individual computers or even the four walls of your office. With AirPrint technology devices on a network can have the same advantages as someone working at a desktop computer. Whether using a smart device or a desktop, you can determine if you want your document to be printed in grayscale or color, one or two sided or even stapled. To give smart technology users more flexibility, an app provides more control of options and simplifies the procedure. ICloud printing makes “follow me printing” or mobile printing possible. This technology is perfect when you might be visiting another site, such as a convention center or hotel. Your document is printed via an email attachment and a release code provided by the host site. Not only does the system provide you with added security for the printing, but it allows guests to print without accessing the host’s network.

You can also control your copier costs through several options available in multi-functional devices. Many copiers have built-in settings that can be configurated to print grayscale unless overridden. If you are leasing your copier, this setting can reduce your by printing costs as color can cost much more than grayscale. Devices can also track who printed what. We find that even when individual users are not charged for their copies, tallies at the end of a designated period of time help to build awareness and tend to reduce costs.

Other advantages may not even involve a hard copy. Scanning capabilities permit optical character recognition to make even pdf files text-searchable. Some machines also scan directly into Word or Excel formats. Even faxes have changed. The ability to electronically receive and send faxes builds added security without tell-tale paper copies littering the work room. The machines can also be configured to send certain faxes to specific folders on your computer or to email to your inbox as a pdf.

Are You Ready for the Information Mobility Age?

For many off site workers conducting business is a struggle because their companies are not in the information mobility age. Think of how often you send at work-related email from your smart phone. How frequently are you in another location from your office and need files left behind? You are not alone. Almost half of the workforce does work outside the office.

A recent study noted a significant gap between those companies needing to access documents from mobile devices—some 80%–and those which have fully enabled such access—less than 20%. Companies surveyed which had fully embraced the information mobility saw increases in revenue (77%), business process workflow effectiveness (72%), and profitability (68%). They also saw a marked effect on operational costs (62%), new customer acquisition (70%) and customer retention (68%). One of our customers was able to double the size of his business, which is international in scope, without adding a single employee. The national study was conducted by the International Data Corporation in 2015.

Whether your company is a trucking line needing to send updates to the home office, a multi-national organization needing staff to access highly confidential medical records, or a smaller company wanting to build a more efficient system, the combination of the right multi-function copier and appropriate software can take your company into the information mobility age. This transition when designed appropriately can adhere to regulatory standards and retention requirements. In addition, cloud based networking provides a safe haven should a physical disaster strike the office.

Your multi function device documents can be electronically scanned, emailed or printed from one desk to the next whether adjacent in space or across the nation. From a person’s mobile device, one can not only send an email but attach the appropriate document. To take this process to the next level is archiving documents. Document management type services should mirror what you would normally have in your filing cabinets by category. The biggest difference is that you don’t have to rummage through lots of paper files to locate an essential document. Instead, a person can quickly search for a tag that would bring up the appropriate file.

Cloud based services also give added security and enhance institutional knowledge. Although paper file cabinets can indeed be physically locked, access to electronic documents can be restricted to as few or as many persons as needed. With searchable data bases, your organization avoids the risk of not finding something when a crucial employee leaves. Think of how often a secretary had her own filing system, or an IT person had the sole key to your enterprise system—in their heads.

To fully position your company in the information mobility age, the process must go across the entire company—not just one department at a time. Success also requires investment in the right technologies that enable search and collaboration tools, that integrate workflows across departments and that efficiently incorporate scanning and printing. The conversion also requires strong senior management support as well as a vendor who understands the particular needs of your company and your industry.

Organizations which were able to offer a full range of support for mobile apps saw an average increase in productivity of 13%. Where will your company be?