The Datamax Thinking Blog

You have a lot of options on the market when you make a technology purchase. The best solution for your business isn't determined solely by the price, the feature set, or how fast the vendor gets it to your doorstep.

Every year, I learn more about copiers, document management, workflow, and, increasingly, managed IT topics.

I do my best to pass on what I learn to you.

Here are the 11 most popular posts in 2017. They cover a range of topics:

• Why you should update old equipment (while I didn’t get into it, this goes for most office technology – not just your copiers!)
• HIPAA compliance issues
• The value of PDF and automated Bates Stamping for law firms
• And some thoughts on costs

Read on for insights into those topics – and more – to get yourself ready for 2018! 

Security isn’t always top of mind, especially when it comes to your employees. Make sure you and your employees aren’t doing any of these six things.

We’ve all had that “kick yourself” moment after something you had a second thought about tragically comes to fruition. We know it could have been prevented, and it was just plain stupid not to have taken the simple steps needed to prevent the mistake.

We take a lot for granted as humans, especially when it comes to securing our data. In fact, did you know that in your office right now it’s likely that 40% of your employees have their passwords stored on their devices in a Word document? Almost half! Not so secure right? 

Despite all the cyber security threats you hear about in the news, the simple fact is that the people within your business are far more of a threat than any software application that you are using. If you’ve ever had second thoughts about your company’s cybersecurity, take a few minutes to check yourself and make sure that you are NOT doing any of the following:

While it’s annoying to hear “it depends” when you ask us how much a copier is, it’s also the truth. Here’s why.

One of the most common questions (if not THE most common question) every copier dealership is asked is some variation of “How much is a copy machine going to cost me?”

Our sales team is asked that all the time.

The answer is (really!): it depends.

I’ll explain why.

Research shows that law firms love Canon copiers.

You see a lot of natural combinations out there. Chocolate and peanut butter, steak and eggs, and wine and cheese are a few classic pairings. What doesn't fall so easily into place are the services that support a major business investment, such as your production printer and your digital copier.  

The pre-sales process goes smoothly, but you often find yourself left hanging after you sign on the dotted line. At Datamax, we put a lot of resources into the after-sales support process. Our technical support team works together with the top manufacturers, such as Canon, to learn everything they need to know for high-quality support. Our dedication to after-sales support has earned us recognition from Canon's Association of Technical Service Professionals (ATSP). 

Without change management, you won't get the most out of your new technology.

People don't even want to change their coffee order at the café in the morning, let alone the technology they've used every day for years. You want to improve productivity through new technology, such as a new customer relationship management system or digital copiers, but don't let yourself get distracted by the shiny data sheet in front of you.

You need to consider the people who are going to use these solutions on a daily basis. They don't care about the technical specifications of what you're bringing in, and they're going to dig their heels in if you don't have a plan ahead of time.

The modern Bates Stamping system has firmware upgrades and robust publishing features, which streamlines this process for your law office.

Previously, when you wanted to conduct Bates Stamping for legal documents, you had to download software or find room in the budget for an expensive piece of equipment. However, thanks to multifunctional copiers, this process is now much easier. 

Instead of struggling with difficult applications or investing a large part of your budget into a single purpose device, you can do Bates Stamping with the push of a button on your digital copier. This functionality is the kind of thing the legal industry dreams of.

When firms in the legal industry understand that they should focus on law and let experts handle legal IT, they save time and reduce expenses in the long run.

Do you feel you're not getting the most out of your technology spending? Or that your legal IT departments are not helping you meet your business goals?

First, rethink your strategy, and your mindset.

When it comes to technology, there are a few key things that firms in the legal industry do in order to improve their business processes:

• Be smart. Select only technology that supports your business objectives.
• Your IT infrastructure must retain its critical pieces: copiers and print output.
• Hire professionals to manage your IT so you can focus on work that brings your firm revenue: practicing law, acquiring new clients, and retaining current ones.
• Remove distractions. Don't try to handle copier repairs in-house, as this only slows down your work.

Here's an overview of how law firms are spending on IT, from the InsideLegal/ILTA Technology Purchasing Survey (click here to read the complete survey).

The goal of MEAP (Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform) is to better leverage imageRunner Advance devices to improve document access and integration tasks for law firms of all sizes.

In any law practice, the billable hour is sacred. To maximize those hours you need an efficient workflow, and that requires using the right technology. If the right technology is used correctly, your firm can save time and money by automating a sizable portion of your legal processes.

Canon is a leader in digital imaging solutions and has the hardware and software that can help you achieve an efficient workflow. One of the key technologies Canon offers is its MEAP software, which runs on the imageRunner Advance platform and certain imageRunner MFPs.

But before you can take advantage of MEAP, you have to understand what it is. Knowing that can help your practice take its next steps in optimized case management.

When you buy or lease your copier locally, you'll get faster, immediately-accessible support for any technical or administrative questions. No one likes being bounced around!

Did you ever stop to think that buying a copier locally is like buying from your local farmer's market?

At a farmer's market, you get friendly service from people you know and fresh, locally-grown produce -- plus, you're helping local business.

The same can be said for buying a copier locally. You're not only contributing to local business; you're also getting a quality product with an instantly-accessible support team.

No combination of office equipment and document management software is going to win you cases. However, they can team up to help you successfully craft your argument and avoid making mistakes that can lose you cases.

Every document counts when it comes to business, and in legal proceedings, there are a lot of documents. The last thing an attorney wants to deal with is misplacing a critical one.

I've written about how important document management is to everyone's practice, so I won't repeat myself, but it's clear that too many law firms still rely on paper files. 

Document management and workflow can keep you efficient in the six stages of civil litigation. The ability to share your files electronically and print and copy documents using multifunction copiers makes collaboration much easier.