 | Steve Finley is the General Manager of Business Systems, Inc. He has been with BSI for 28 years and is available to assist in any IT, Software or Workflow projects you may be considering. You may contact him at (316) 262-2478 or come by and visit their Show Room and Technology Lab at 222 W. Murdock, Wichita, KS 67203, Monday thru Friday. |
Business
2005-01-01 08:51:00
Another acronym... what’s a MFP?
ANSWER: MFP is short for multifunction peripheral, a single device that serves several functions, such as printing, scanning, faxing, or photocopying. These devices are becoming a popular option for business users large and small. Why buy a MFP over individual stand alone devices? Cost is usually the major reason as they're less expensive than buying three or four separate devices. Money will also be saved because they let you manage fewer consumables, reducing your total cost of ownership, storage requirements, and service interruptions. Another savings is in the area of service contracts as you can have one contract and one point of contact instead of one for each stand alone device thru multiple service organizations. I believe the real savings comes in the form of increased productivity thru more efficient processing of information, especially when these functions are incorporated into your business critical applications and workflow. Being able to scan a document with the choices of sending it across the network, out by email, or copying multiple sets in color that are then bound into finished booklets by the MFP can be a tremendous asset to any business. Incoming faxes can be routed to folders on the network, desktop or stored at the MFP device and viewed or printed as needed. Documents can be printed and stored at the device until a password is entered for those confidential documents you don't want lying in the output tray. Compliance of many of the regulations today such a HIPPA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's are forcing many businesses to look at ways to securely protect confidential information and store documents in a manner they can be retrieved later for audits and such.Some common misconceptions of MFP's are:• If the device fails, you may lose all of its functions at the same time.• You can only do one operation at a time. For example, you can't print a document and receive a fax simultaneously.• You can't prioritize the operations; it's always going to print a large report when I need an urgent fax or copy.Today's MFP's have addressed most if not all of these issues, most are true multi-tasking devices with great flexibility to set priorities based on the needs of the business, as well as the ability to interface with other devices on the network. If you haven't taken a recent look, you owe it to yourself to check out how today's technology in MFP's could bring startling improvements in productivity and efficiency to your business. Not to mention the hardware and supply savings.
