PRINT.IT
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installed, it pretty much works. The
channel partner doesn’t have to
send people out to fix problems or
adjust things to make it work.
A third advantage, as I’ve already
mentioned, is integration of mobile
as a standard part of our product.
We’re the highest rated ISV solution
by Buyers Lab that includes both
mobile and office printing in one
complete solution. Other solutions
on the market require add-on
products that are from another
vendor most of the time. That adds
a lot more complexity, especially in
understanding where a problem lies
if something goes wrong.
PrintIT:
What are some of the
stand-out features of the new
version of FollowMe?
EC:
One thing we’ve added recently
is the ability to integrate branch
offices without the need for
additional server architecture to
enable follow me printing. We’ve
had a lot of requests from retail
and healthcare organisations both
to keep a lot of IT infrastructure,
like servers, out of the initial
cost and to reduce the amount
of data going across the network
by keeping it all in the branch.
Information is being pushed out
to more and more remote workers
and there’s always the chance
of a security breach. Having this
solution in place all the way out to
branch offices is critical for being
able to manage data across a
whole organisation.
Another thing we’ve introduced
is data loss prevention (DLP). In
the Quocirca MPS report that has
just come out, it states that 61%
of enterprises with over 1,000
employees have had a paper
security breach. It’s very easy
for someone to print a load of
documents, e.g. information on
the company’s clients, put them in
a briefcase and take them to their
new employer. It’s very difficult to
detect this kind of data breach.
Over the last five years we’ve
been creating bespoke solutions to
help customers tackle this issue,
but we’re now opening this up so
that we can track activity across
not just one vendor’s products but
across all OEM brands. Now, when
employees print from their tablet
or PC, we can monitor what they
are doing and discover if they are
printing information that shouldn’t
be printed, such as credit card
numbers, health numbers, national
ID numbers or whatever. Then we
can either prevent it from being
printed or alert an administrator
and have it audited. Most DLP
solutions for printing are vendor-
specific, but ours is multi-vendor.
PrintIT:
How do you think print
management software will evolve
in the future?
EC:
When you look at the Gartner
hype cycle around print, there are
not many new things that stand
out. One that does is print server
consolidation. This has been on
Gartner’s hype cycle for a number
of years and, over time, what is
meant by it has evolved. The most
recent meaning is similar to what
we’ve introduced with FollowMe
version of 6.2 i.e. removing print
servers from locations where they
are not needed and creating direct
printing support, with print tracking,
follow me printing and security for
branch offices.
Then, from a technology
perspective, we have looked at how
we can make this as flexible as
possible, because mid-market and
enterprise customers have very
different ideas about how to deploy
an IT infrastructure. What we have
tried to do is come up with not just
one way to provide branch office
printing but 6 or 7 depending on
the customer’s requirements.
PrintIT:
You obviously sell through
VARs. What other routes to
market do you employ?
EC:
We do some direct sales
but it is limited to very specific
accounts that have requested us
to go direct. We probably do less
than 15% of our business direct.
We also have relationships with
OEMs who resell our solution as
part of their portfolio. They have
their own solutions as well, so they
are partners and competitors at
the same time. We have strategic
relationships with 13 of them and
have just introduced an embedded
product for Brother, which is
actually a very good solution for a
branch office.
To find out more about FollowMe
Q-Server version 6.2, please call
Ringdale on 0800 214503 or visit
Q&A
When
employees
print from
their tablet
or PC, we
can monitor
what they are
doing and
discover if they
are printing
information
that shouldn’t
be printed
...continued
