As Microsoft and other software developers continue to develop and promote their product lines for cloud environments, those of us who depend on their applications for our businesses will be forced to deal with the “as a Service” model. Keeping our data secure is one of the critical concerns. The following article provides food for thought on multifactor authentication. read the full article
Multi-factor Authentication
As Microsoft and other software developers continue to develop and promote their product lines for cloud environments, those of us who depend on their applications for our businesses will be forced to deal with the “as a Service” model. Keeping our data secure is one of the critical concerns. The following article provides food for thought on multifactor authentication. read the full article
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Choosing a Scanner As you consider the move to an electronic document management system, selecting an appropriate scanner becomes an important consideration. While there are lots of options, they aren’t all created equal. There are some key capabilities that should be taken into consideration as you select the right scanner for your needs. Flatbed vs Sheet fed In most business applications, the goal is to eliminate the handling and storage of all that paper. When it comes to scanning volumes of paper, a sheet fed scanner is the only way to go. Most sheet fed scanners are capable of handling mixed document sizes, so you don’t have to worry about sorting and separating documents before scanning. While there may be occasions that require scanning something that won’t go through a sheet feeder, the vast majority of business scanning will be paper documents. To accommodate both, there are scanners which feature both flatbed and sheet fed scan options. Most of the multi-function printer/scanner/copier systems will provide both features. Since many of these are also network capable, they are also easily shared with a workgroup. In working with the INTERAC Document Management System, Intersoft recommends sheet fed scanners, particularly for the personnel who are processing accounts payable invoices, or payroll. Shared vs Personal The hours saved through productivity gains should be the primary consideration in determining who should have a personal desktop scanner. With the nominal cost for personal scanners, in most cases, they will quickly pay for themselves in labor hours saved. With an integrated document management system, the most efficient workflows may necessitate a personal desktop scanner. For example: When processing incoming accounts payable invoices, it may be easiest to scan them as they are being entered into accounts payable. It would not make sense to get up and go to a shared scanner across the office between each entry. In this scenario, having a scanner on the desktop greatly improves efficiency. Anytime scanning is part of the routine data entry process, a personal desktop scanner will be the right choice. A shared network scanner may be the perfect solution for those on the team that only occasionally need to scan a document, or for scanning large batches of documents all at once. This feature may already available in your existing copy machine. If so, there is no reason not to take advantage of it. Stand-alone vs Multi-function While it may sound attractive to have all the functions of a printer/scanner/copier/fax machine combined, when it needs to reside on your desktop, size matters. Considering the workflow scenario outlined above, having a dedicated small form factor desktop scanner may prove advantageous. For the person having to scan lots of documents, day after day, the extra size and features of the multi-function units may just get in the way. For the same reason, you may decide against a flatbed scanner for high volume scan users. Before investing in hardware, consider the workflow requirements of each user and select the appropriate scanner options to meet their needs. Additional Resources: While a Terminal Server is an excellent solution for workgroup computing, the advent of document imaging systems and the need to scan documents to applications on the server has made “remote scanning software” a critical piece of the system. The Challenge: Because desktop scanners are typically attached to the local PC, they aren’t seen by the server operating system. This means that applications, like the document management system, running on the server can’t see these desktop scanners. All it takes to overcome this challenge is a small piece of software to enable the server to access these scanners. The Solution: With a remote scanning application, users can use the scanners on their desks with their Terminal Server applications, just as if they were connected to the server. Network attached multi-function copier/printer/scanner/fax machines will certainly provide scanning capabilities to a workgroup, but they don’t provide the convenience and efficiency that comes with having the scanner on the user’s desktop. The time lost in walking back and forth to the scanner, or waiting your turn, can easily be eliminated by having low cost desktop scanners available to each user. This is particularly important for the personnel responsible for the bulk of the scanning volume. Additional Resources: If you utilize technology, change is a given, so isn’t it better to embrace it and look for opportunities to improve your performance rather than getting stuck in a rut and missing out on all the enhancements that are coming your way? What are those things you keep saying “I wish my system could do….”? Are you sure it doesn’t already have the capability? A common challenge facing software developers is getting users to adopt and use new enhancements. It is so easy to get comfortable doing things “the way we have always done them” that we ignore new options that would be easier and more efficient. Why are we so resistant to change, even when we know it would be good for us? Software producers are always adapting to user needs, adding new features and options to make their systems more user friendly, and effective. As users, we would all do well to spend a little time learning about these enhancements to see what they could do to improve our utilization of the system. With today’s technology, there is no reason to get stuck in a rut, doing things the way we have always done them. There are a variety of easy ways to learn what we need to know and keep up to date with the software tools we utilize.
If your software vendors aren’t valued partners to your organization you need to reevaluate. Why not take full advantage of the resources offered to assure that your entire team is getting the most out of your investment in the software tools at your disposal? If you aren’t getting what you need from your accounting and management software, Intersoft Systems welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate what this sort of partnership can do for your organization. |
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