With the advent of technology in our lives, apps are becoming more prevalent in our day-to-day existence. You may have an app to deposit your check or to listen to your music or to chat with a friend. With apps becoming the norm, it is more and more likely that you use an app for work. Maybe you use a slack channel to stay in touch with your team, you might use dropbox to send in your expense report from your phone while you’re on the road. Apps make our lives easier and make us more efficient every day. With security at the forefront of our minds, keeping your data secure on your network is imperative in today’s workplace. Apps can help secure your workforce with a few taps on a screen; maybe your fingerprint is all you need to login or you tap your ID badge to enter the building in the morning.
Apps in the workplace are the next logical step in the evolution of technology in the workplace. So, where can you find the apps that you need to get work done today? Look no farther than your nearest copier machine. The apps available today can help you scan to the cloud, translate documents to another language or convert a pdf to a word document. It used to be your printer was just a way to generate output, but now your printer can be the main onramp of data to your network. You want to be able to get documents on and off of your network every day. Apps can allow you to share files electronically between two doctors’ offices without using a fax line.
It’s time to expect more from your printer. Most printers now support Airprint as a standard feature. When you are looking for a new printer for your office, make sure you find one that has apps that can help you use the machine as a workplace assistant. You want to be able to access the cloud and see all of your files, you want to be able to run wirelessly and have an app gallery that has many apps from which you can choose. The easiest way to do this is from your cell phone or tablet. Make sure your device will support both Android and Apple products with no extra software needed. Apps can enable you to work more efficiently by allowing you to manipulate documents right on your device. Some apps can help to keep you more organized and keep your documents online so you don’t have to carry paper home from work. Instead of scanning to your email and then spending time grabbing the file you need and organizing it, you can scan right to your Google Drive, Dropbox or Office 365. With the right app and authentication you can see your file structure and scan to your final destination.
Technology has to be easy to use for us to adopt it into our lives, so make sure you select a printer with a user interface that has large, easy-to-press buttons and doesn’t make you search through many menus to find the features you need. With a little thought about what would help make your team more efficient, your workplace assistant can help you go a long way in productivity. QCBN
By Tracey Arvieux
Tracey Arvieux is the owner of Smart Document Solutions, a Xerox-authorized sales agent.