Remote working, virtual offices, mobile employees – we operate in a moving, morphing business landscape. “We’ve been in this constant evolution of how people are working. It’s not necessarily the nine-to-five role anymore,” says Josh Justice, president of app solutions provider JustTech.
Workplace flexibility offers an inspiring picture, until it comes time to handle a document. How do mobile workers bridge the gap between their virtual workplaces and the physical office to safely and consistently manage business documents? Think about it. Account applications, signed contracts, project quotes, claims forms, receipts, payments – any number of documents might need to be handled and processed from somewhere beyond the physical office. How do you get these pieces of your business into your digital workflow? And how do you pull documents out of the cloud or other repository to use on location with a client or a service? Can you manage mobile documents safely, reliably, and affordably?
“We have a lot more mobile workers and people doing work at home. Having access to repositories they use on a regular basis only makes their work easier and more efficient with apps,” Justice says.
Mobile Printing Apps Remove Document Workflow Roadblocks
“As a solutions provider, the issues we see with mobile workers are the ability to print in different offices or other environments, and to easily scan with their workflows in different environments, as well,” he explains. “There are a number of really cool mobile print apps. The easiest is Print@PrintByXerox, where you don’t have to be on the network to use it.” Apps like this bring the added benefit of not requiring IT to manage guests on the network. If you can email, you can print remotely. It’s gotten that simple.
He explains that users simply open their mobile phone or tablet, then send an email to Print@PrintByXerox.com with documents they wish to print. They’re immediately emailed back a passcode. They open the app on any multifunction printer, type in that code, and the documents are immediately printed out. “There are other good mobile apps, but this one is really the easiest to use with the least setup, and that’s what we’re talking about with apps. IT managers love this app,” he adds.
While mobile printing has made strides as a tool, it’s not seen as much progress as policy. “80% of our customers are looking for mobile print solutions, but only about 10 or 15% really have any kind of mobile printing policy in place,” observes Justice. A mobile printing policy is essential for safe, reliable, affordable document management.
Scanning Apps Simplify Mobile Document Management
Scanning pairs well with mobile printing to cover the bi-directional document management needs of off-site employees. Printing pulls information out of the digital realm and delivers it to employees. Scanning workflow provides the remote on-ramp to the digital workplace where business happens.
Mobile workers do have concerns about these new tools and techniques. “They don’t want to have to learn a new process every time they need to scan documents and re-enter all the workflow,” Justice explains. “With the Mobile Link App, your smartphone controls the workflow for your scanned documents. You build your workflow into your smartphone, so a document could be scanned here; it could be printed here; it could be scanned to email, scanned to this repository, however you want this document routed. Then you name that workflow, and when you go up to any multifunction printer that has the Mobile Link App, you immediately do that workflow. Users don’t have to re-type it every single time. It makes it faster and more efficient to scan in documents.”
Apps like these take the advantages of our phones and our personal devices and bring that level of personalization to workflows integrated with multifunction printers, our “workplace assistants.” “We learn how to do all the apps on our phones, and that’s where the control is,” Justice says.
How to Use Apps to Build a Digital Workplace
Do apps have a place in your business workflow? Find more ideas in this on-demand webinar, “Six Ways Apps Help Build Your Digital Workplace,” featuring Josh Justice and Xerox apps expert, Paul Miller.
