Smart MFPs to play “key role” in offices

January 20, 2016

An IDC study commissioned by OKI found many business would “like to digitise documents” through utilising smart MFPs.

The whitepaper, commissioned by the OEM and undertaken by the market analysts, found that “only a third of European companies plan for a digital world”, though many would like to digitise their documents to “reduce physical storage space”. The so-called “key role” of smart MFPs in such an environment includes the ability to scan to email, a “specified folder” or the cloud.

Jacqui Hendriks, IDC’s Head of European Managed Print Services and Document Solutions, compiled the whitepaper, Are your business processes stifling your market opportunity? Cost-efficient print and document management through smart MFPs, with most European companies found to already be “using a combination of paper-based and digital documents”. Building on prior IDC research, it found digitisation was wanted for space-saving purposes, with smart MFPs offering that option.

The analysts added that “one of the key benefits of business process automation is in providing the ability to archive documents in one place”, and “by providing access to scanning functionality, users can digitise information for searchable access and scan direct to a specific destination, eliminating the need for a paper trail and moving towards building a digital footprint”. Smart MFP functions would meet needs of 66 percent of companies surveyed, who wanted document archived in one location, and multiple file formats could also be saved and archived through the system.

IDC also found that document processes “are contributing to a substantial loss in employee productivity each year”, with smart MFPs offering “customisable transformation tools” and unlocking “substantial workflow benefits”, including “automating many time-consuming manual tasks”.

Graham Lowes, Marketing Director for OKI Systems UK, commented: “As a workplace technology, smart MFPs have come a long way in a very short space of time. This is in direct response to market demand for digitisation and streamlined document workflow set out in this latest IDC whitepaper, paving the way for a future of fewer filing cabinets and increased document digitisation.”

The Recycler reported yesterday that the global MFP market can expect 2.15 percent annual growth between 2016 and 2020.