Xerox Named Leader in Gartner’s 2015 Magic Quadrant for Eighth Consecutive Year

Xerox has been positioned by Gartner, Inc., in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2015 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print and Content Services Worldwide1 for the eighth consecutive year. In this report, Gartner examines the expanding role of managed print services (MPS) along with managed content services (MCS), which is tightly coupled with MPS and focuses on communications inside of an organization. In the new report, Gartner positioned Xerox as furthest for completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Xerox’s Next Generation MPS offering has three main stages—assess and optimize; secure and integrate; automate and simplify—which are designed to bridge the paper and digital worlds so customers can print more cost effectively, conveniently and securely.

“How content is used, shared and saved in today’s mobile centric work environment is a driving force behind implementing a successful MPS and MCS approach,” said Joseph Hanania, senior vice president, Global Document Outsourcing, Large Enterprise Operations, Xerox. “We believe our leadership position in this Gartner Magic Quadrant is validation that our strategy is helping our customers streamline and optimize their paper-based business processes to improve employee productivity and help meet sustainability goals.”

Recent examples of Xerox’s three-pronged MPS strategy include:
Assess and Optimize: The Xerox Print Awareness Tool—a patented system that encourages workers to be more environmentally responsible—uses gamification technology to help enterprises reduce their carbon footprint and motivate employees to do their part.
Secure and Integrate: Analytics are driving smarter print decisions, and Xerox is helping counsel businesses on how to optimize their print environments with the Xerox Secure Print Manager Suite with User Analytics, which provides an analysis of who is printing what, when, how much and where.
Automate and Simplify: Xerox continues to bolster its industry and cross-industry offerings, recently announcing Workflow Automation solutions for the insurance industry and HR departments, two areas of business with data-intensive workflows to help customers avoid document management bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Additionally, new releases of office and personal productivity solutions with Xerox Digital Alternatives and Xerox DocuShare 7.0 improve efficiency by automating document processing, helping deconstruct everyday office procedures to alleviate employees of the time-consuming, manual processes like sharing, annotating, storing and securing documents and data.

In 2015, Xerox was also named as the worldwide MPS market leader for the sixth consecutive year by Quocirca Ltd.2, and as a leader in the IDC MarketScape U.S. Managed Workflow Services Vendor Assessment.3

About Xerox
Xerox applies expertise in imaging, business process, analytics, automation and user-centric insights to engineer the flow of work to provide greater productivity, efficiency and personalization. It conducts business in 180 countries, with more than 130,000 employees that create meaningful innovations and provide business process services, printing equipment, software and solutions that make a real difference for its clients—and their customers.

About the Magic Quadrant
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

1 Gartner, “Magic Quadrant for Managed Print and Content Services Worldwide,” By Ken Weilersten and Tomoko Mitani, December 2015

2 Quocirca: “Managed Print Services Landscape, 2015,” By Louella Fernandes, Quocirca Ltd., July 2015

3 IDC MarketScape: “U.S. Managed Workflow Services Hardcopy 2015 Vendor Assessment,” By Holly Muscolino and Terry Frazier, November 30, 2015

When it Comes to Service Excellence, Do You Practice What You Preach?

 

Channel partners preach the need for higher value services to their customers on a regular basis. The mantra includes the need for services that eliminate inefficient manual processes and drive service excellence; services that include enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems, business process optimization solutions, and more.

But what about the channel partners themselves? Are you practicing what you preach, or do you remain mired down in the same inefficient processes you warn your customers against?

The same solutions that can help customers improve efficiencies in their workplace can offer a vastly improved workflow in the average channel partner. From improving routine business processes within your four walls to enabling your service technicians to be more proactive and efficient, channel partners can find people and processes becoming faster and more efficient. And of course, embracing the old adage “we eat our own dog food” is a powerful sales tool in terms of both education and customer buy-in.

Improve Internal Processes

Although it seems counterintuitive, even businesses whose roots are deeply mired in print and paper should be embracing a simpler, paperless workflow. Automate, simplify, and optimize are words being emphasized to customers, and they can help streamline workflow inside your business as well. For example, automating human resources functions can greatly streamline processes; when an employee is hired, automated account management can set a number of processes into motion such as passwords, paperwork, and web-based forms that automatically feed new-hire information into the system. These are processes that would have otherwise been manual, labor-intensive and time consuming. Additionally, cross-training employees and ensuring they are educated across a number of internal systems can improve process efficiencies.

Focus on Customer Service

Focusing on customer service seems like it would be a no-brainer when it comes to improving service excellence, but the “how” of that customer service is something that might be evaluated, with technology creating ever-improving methods. For instance, an automated survey can be sent after every service call; these surveys can be processed and the results analyzed to create improved service based on real customer needs.

Employees themselves must be considered as well when refining customer service. Millennials in the workforce may be a big deal or they may not, depending on who you talk to. But the reality is that a generation of workers who have grown up with different and more pervasive technology than those who came before them are often handling customers; their needs and methods must be addressed. A desire to constantly wear headphones? Perhaps not compatible with a position where phone calls must be answered on the first ring. A desire for multiple screens or devices? Possibly an even more efficient workflow than existed before.

Focus on Security

Often, multiple screens and devices come in the form of an employee’s personal device — the dreaded Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This raises another issue: security. This is a concern that must be addressed by every channel partner when it comes to customers; it is a powerful sales tool in the channel partner’s arsenal, and one that should be embraced internally as well. With increased threats and awareness of vulnerabilities, there is more at stake than ever when it comes to protecting data and sensitive customer information. Is your customer data secure? Full utilization of security capabilities throughout all internal devices as well as implementation of best practices around those capabilities — card or PIN authentication and device encryption, for example — are prime examples of practicing what you preach.

Other security measures can include practices such as a single sign-in solution, which prevents employees from needing to create, remember, and potentially write down passwords for the channel partner’s many disparate systems. Automation of the employee authentication process is another solid security measure in which control over employee access to different systems is based on individual information input into the central database. In this type of automated process an employee is automatically assigned a certain level of access to internal systems based on criteria such as job function or security clearance level.

Get Control Over Mobile

The remote and mobile employee trend is also one of today’s most common stumbling blocks to efficiency. This is a particular concern for channel partners with both sales and service employees frequently outside the confines of the office. Field service technicians are a particular concern to channel partners, and precise tracking and management of those technicians is key to improved efficiencies.

Additionally, while remote monitoring should be standard for devices in the field, without proper utilization of the gathered data efficiency can only be improved so far. This is optimization in its truest form; gathering data, performing analytics and using the results to optimize business processes for maximum efficiency and cost savings for your business.

Talk is cheap, the saying goes, but the truth of the matter is, talking the talk without walking the walk can be expensive. The channel partner that truly adopts the same practices it promotes to its customers is the one that will reap the rewards — in buy-in from its employees that leads to better understanding of the solutions being used and sold; in an environment with exemplary security standards; in maximized use of customer data that optimizes sales and service; and in improved efficiencies within your business.

 

 

 

taken from an original article by Amy Weiss

Securing Your Clients’ Printers From Drone Attack

If you think being nestled in your high-rise office many stories above the madding crowd will keep your wireless printers and confidential documents safe, you may need to rethink your skyscraper-centric security strategy.

In October, researchers in Singapore showed how hackers armed with a cell phone and a garden-variety drone — the kind every kid is hoping to get this Christmas — can steal documents from Wi-Fi printers located 30 floors above the street.

Time for channel partners to raise their game

In this era of heightened security concerns and increasing regulatory compliance issues, print-specialist partners need to raise their game to protect their clients’ systems, data, and sensitive documents.

Maybe the most frightening thing about the drone hack of the wireless printers is that it isn’t terribly complicated or difficult to pull off. The researchers from iTrust, a research center at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, used a custom app on a Samsung smartphone to scan for open Wi-Fi printers, identify devices and owners by SSID, and establish a bogus access point that mimics the printer and tricks computers on the network into submitting documents to it.

Any computer inside the attack zone will opt to connect to the fake printer over the real one, the researchers claim. The intercepted document gets shipped to the attacker’s Dropbox account via the smartphone connection. Adding insult to injury, the document is then sent to the office’s real printer so the victim gets their hard copy and can’t tell they’ve been hacked.

Because the smartphone needs to be in Wi-Fi range to make the hack work, researchers simply attached the mobile device to a drone and flew it up alongside the building until it found sufficient signal to connect. The effective range of the hack is about 30 meters.

Watch how the attack works

“In Singapore … there are many skyscrapers, and it would be very difficult to get to the 30th floor with your notebook [if there is no] physical access,” Yuval Elovici, head of iTrust, told Wired magazine. “A drone can do it easily. This is the main point of the research, closing the physical gap with [a] drone in order to launch the attack or scan easily all the organization [for vulnerable devices].”

Watching the print job disappear into the cloud — and into the hands of the attackers — as a result of the Singapore drone attack is sobering, for sure. By way of reminder, here are five print security features and protocols partners need to be using to protect their customers across their entire print ecosystem:

Five print security features that can protect your clients’ entire print ecosystem

Access Controls

At their simplest, Multifunction Printer (MFP) access controls include provisions that require users to input a PIN to initiate a print job, and then re-enter it at the device to take physical custody of the output. Other capabilities partners should consider include role-based access controls for administrators to assign permissions to work groups based on function and need; and Microsoft Active Directory integration so an organization’s larger accounts database can be layered.

Network Security Features

Managed print services providers should restrict addresses to certain devices based on IP address, creating a basic defense against most outside attackers. Basic network authentication such as the 802.1x standard is also needed before network traffic is allowed to travel to or from an MFP to keep rogue devices off the network.

Encryption

While it may seem extreme, diligent provisioning of print infrastructure, particularly in sensitive or highly regulated industries, should include the ability to encrypt all of the data traveling to and from MFPs, as well as the data at rest within those devices. Look for support for Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) and Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security for encrypting customers’ scans, prints, copies, and data accessed via the Web.

Image Overwriting and Hard-Disk Management

Because the onboard hard drives in many MFPs store reams of sensitive data, managing the risk and vulnerability associated with them should be high on the lists of prudent print partners. Look for devices that offer at least three-pass image overwriting either standard or as an optional add-on to keep sensitive information from prying eyes. Also, be sure the hard drive is in a separate, locked enclosure within the MFP to thwart theft, and look for hard-drive removal kits to keep the storage media secure during equipment repairs and decommissioning.

Segregate Faxes

One sneaky way hackers gain access to corporate networks is by taking advantage of the backdoor created when fax telephone line connections are integrated with network connectivity. While it may seem old-school, this hack works around traditional firewall protections and presents a serious vulnerability. Partners should look for MFPs that certifiably provide complete separation of fax lines and network connections.

In this age, when 30 million printers and MFPs are deployed, and many are connected to the network, it’s time to take the security of these devices seriously. And now that we know the attacks can come from anywhere, even thin air, print-services partners need to ensure that they’re ready for anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Article by IT Connect & Expand

International business leaders speak out on carbon offsetting

Nine businesses, including Aviva, Sky, Fuji Xerox and DPD, have joined the UN’s Christiana Figueres to speak out about the benefits of offsetting carbon emissions, at this week’s climate negotiations in Paris.

In a video released today, the companies explain why offset strategies are good business sense, the challenges and opportunities their approach has created, and why they believe it has made a difference. Companies throughout the world, including Microsoft, Jaguar Land Rover and Marks and Spencer have adopted carbon-offset approaches to enable them to go beyond the reduction targets they could achieve through internal change.

“We believe that now, more than ever, offsetting has a crucial role to play both for business success and for global greenhouse gas reduction targets,” explains Sophy Greenhalgh, Programme Director of the International Carbon Reduction Offset Alliance (ICROA) which produced the video. “We hope that by hearing about the business benefits of offsetting, others will be inspired to follow their leadership.

This year’s global climate change negotiations in Paris have been unusual in recognising the role that business must play in meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets. Businesses are making a range of pledges and using carbon finance to offset emissions delivers an immediate response and can bridge the gap between internal reductions and meeting meaningful commitments.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for action now to ensure a secure, stable climate for the future. She also identifies offsetting as a vital part of the solution set to meet global emission reduction goals in the video.

“Offsetting is a valid way to reduce global carbon emissions quickly and cost effectively,” says Figueres.

Recent research from Carbon Disclosure Project Data shows that business who offset also take the lead in reducing their carbon emissions with the typical offset buyer cutting almost 17% of their scope 1 direct emissions compared to non offset buyers who reduced emissions by less than 5% in the same year.

By supporting carbon-offset projects, businesses are investing in the local environment and communities, delivering positive impacts beyond the carbon reduction. While these ‘co-benefits’ vary by project, a market representative average was recently calculated by Imperial College London University at $664 for every tonne of carbon offset.

Global 3D printing market hits 500K units milestone

Market Research Company CONTEXT has just released some very promising news for the global 3D printing industry: though it’s been a year of ups and downs for some of the biggest industry names, over half a million 3D printers have been shipped globally between the 1980’s and mid-2015, with the millionth unit on track to ship by 2017. Passing the 500K unit mark is a major milestone for 3D printer manufacturers, resellers, and users worldwide, and with recent industry shakeups, the market is primed for new entrants to lead the way.

A more in-depth look at this news reveals quite a bit of insight into the history of the 3D printing industry itself. Whereas the rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing industry began in earnest in the 1980’s, back then the market consisted almost exclusively of professional and industrial systems that carried a weighted average selling price of over $100,000, which obviously deterred mainstream consumers from even beginning to consider entering the market. Beginning in 2007 and peaking in 2014 however, several major 3D printing technology patents expired, allowing the low-cost personal/desktop 3D printer market to significantly expand, and directly leading to the 500K unit milestone we’ve reached today.

In fact, according to CONTEXT, a remarkable proportion—85%—of the half million 3D printers shipped to date carried a global weighted average price of just $1,451, clearly indicating that they belong to the personal/desktop 3D printer category, rather than the industrial bracket. On average, these personal/desktop 3D printers are priced below $3,500.

While this uptick in global shipments is great for personal and industrial 3D printer manufacturers alike, the global industry will most likely need to rely on new entrants to the market for future growth.

“This year has been challenging especially in the long standing Industrial/Professional market. Through the first half of this year, there have been 1% fewer printers shipped in this high-end sector than in the first half of last year, a stark contrast to the shipment growth of 29% seen from 2013 to 2014,” explained Chris Connery, VP for Global Analysis at CONTEXT. “Even the fast growing Personal/Desktop 3D Printing sector, which saw phenomenal 61% year-on-year growth in the first half of this year, is showing some weakness with preliminary indications highlighting that Q3’15 shipments might be below those of Q3’14.”

Indeed, 2015 has seen two of the biggest industry names, Stratasys and 3D Systems, come face to face with major challenges. Stratasys announced a $938M loss in their third quarter and laid off many employees in their Makerbot division. Meanwhile, 3D Systems saw shares drop 7 per cent after parting ways with long-time president and CEO Avi Reichental. Still, both companies continue to predict future growth, and just today, each posted big stock gains, with 3D Systems (DDD) up by 5.8% and Stratasys (SSYS) up 5.1%.

Only time will tell how these long-time players will fare, but in the immediate future, it seems as though new entrants from the 2D printing market are primed to shake things up. Canon, Ricoh and Hewlett Packard have all recently announced their entry to the 3D printing market, and technological innovations at all levels are keeping consumer interest levels high.

So what’s the big takeaway? Though both the industrial/professional segment and personal/desktop 3D printing segments were weak in Q3 2015, new entrants from the traditional printing market could signify a major changing of the guard. All stats and figures taken into consideration, CONTEXT predicts that the global 3D printing industry is right on track to ship its millionth unit by 2017, with upwards of 1M units being shipped every year from 2019 onwards—not that we ever doubted that would be the case.