So What Really Is Business Process Automation?

You may start to hear the term "Business Process Automation" circulating - So what is it exactly?

Gartner defines it as "the automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies." 

Really, the goal of most business software is to take tedious processes and convert them into a push-button workflow that takes the manual out of manual labor. Because logging into a website to approve some invoices instead of Jim chasing after you every afternoon for a signature sounds a little easier... on everyone. 

So you have a lot of paper, I mean a lot of paper, and some days sorting and organizing that paper has the potential to turn your brain to mush. But what if we could implement a process that begins with a few steps at the copier and ends
in a nice convenient digital file cabinet that contains all the business process workflow for each document?

For instance, your job is to take your stack of paper, review each sheet, sort them into the appropriate stacks, have each of the four managers approve their stack in a timely (and I stress timely) fashion, then be able to track down those invoices, new hire packets or expense reports (whatever makes up your "stack of paper") at any given moment.  You might have a tear running down your cheek right now as you imagine yourself in the file room with drawers of file cabinets ripped open and you sprawled out on the floor going through yellow folder after yellow folder (who decided on that shade of yellow anyway?) looking for that one page, only to be interrupted 50 times for things that are possibly more important but that must take a back seat until you can find that one... wait... there it is!

If this sounds familiar, I think we can help...well I know we can help. Business Process Automation isn't just a new trendy term, it is in fact real and we know all about it.  So wipe those tears away and let us know when you are ready to make it a reality. We are here waiting!

Join us in Vancouver, Washington at the Hilton on October 15, 2015 to learn more from our experts! Register now at www.ctx-xerox.com/tech.html

The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) World

Recently, it was reported that over 90 million iPads will be purchased in 2012 –   just a few more than the 40 million purchased in 2011.  Additionally, Amazon reported that a week before Christmas, they were selling over 1 million Kindles a week – thanks in no small part to the Kindle Fire, a $199.00 tablet that does 80-90% of what an iPad can do, for less than a fourth of the price. 

It’s not at all going out on a limb to say that new tablet technology has revolutionized how we think about accessing information. As a consumer product, tablets are amazing: grabbing email, streaming videos, playing games, reading books, browsing the web – there really hasn’t been anything like it since the World Wide Web. 

But what about as an ENTERPRISE device? The Gartner Group estimates over 80% of business will support a workforce that uses tablets by 2013.

You may say, or your corporate IT may say, that “we don’t support these devices”. That’s all well and good, but as you may already know, your knowledge workers don’t really care about your IT rules.

In fact, if John Smith in Accounting already has your corporate wireless internet password and an Outlook Web Access address, that Kindle Fire that Santa delivered to him on Christmas Day is a fully functioning “enterprise device” on your network on January 3^rd – with or without your permission or approval. 

These devices are coming. If you were debating whether or not to buy iPads for your employees last year and never got around to making a decision, you are now left with a stark reality: in the coming months, your network will be exposed to and connected to multiple tablet devices from multiple manufactures, all with different interfaces and apps. 

There’s really not much you can do about it. 

The days of a static, one-size-fits-all policy applied to company-owned assets are over. You are living in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) world.

It’s a scary proposition, made even more frightening if you don’t have the right technology partner to assist you in traversing this new digital minefield.  

Here at the Northwest Group (QBSI,CTX, Pinnell), we’re developing multiple mobile and cloud based technologies that will support the onslaught of BYOD.

For example, the Xerox Mobile Print application allows tablet users (any make or model) to print to any Xerox device on their network. Your best customer walks in with a copy of the latest contract on their iPad and they want to review it? No problem. Have them email it to cloud@yourcompanyname.com and let them pick it up at the Xerox device by the reception desk. No fuss, no muss. 

Additionally, by utilizing DocuShare, Xerox’s content management system, customers can take old, paper-based forms and easily convert them to fillable e-forms capable of being brought up on a tablet or a smartphone. Imagine filling out your vacation request form, time-card or adding a new baby to your healthcare plan by simply accessing an App on your Android, iPad, iPhone, Kindle or other mobile device. 

Cloud-printing? Mobile App development? Tablet computing? This doesn’t sound like a “copier company”, does it? 

The fact is, by all accounts, we are in the middle of a sea of devices – devices that our IT departments don’t purchase, don’t control and don’t support. But there they are, connected to our networks, accessing our email, our files shares, our documents – and it’s only going to get worse. 

At the same time, business are moving more and more applications off enterprise servers and off to the cloud.  And what better way to access cloud services than through a Mobile Device? 

So whether it’s something as simple as printing from an iPad or as complex as teaming with Cisco to help develop, deliver and support a “borderless network” cloud service to clients, Xerox is leading the pack with innovative new ideas and new product offerings.

So, we’re not just your neighborhood copier vendor anymore.

The commercials say Xerox is “ready for real business”.

At the Northwest Group (QBSI,CTX, Pinnell) we’re eager to be your real business partners. 

- Derek, QBSI: Solutions Specialist