The end of every project heralds the start of the next. Businesses thrive on new projects, and part of my job is to reach out to IT leaders and decision-makers and learn about customer requirements in the workplace space. You may know these as “cold calls,” and even if you haven’t spoken to me personally, you likely know how these conversations go.
Through these calls, I’ve learned that most people know the basics of Output Management. However, due to “more important” projects like Windows rollouts or SAP rollouts, document-related projects rarely make it to the top of the priority list. Output processes and the management thereof is shoved to the background and customers resolve to deal with them once the “main project” is finished.
Does this really make sense? Or is there a better approach, one that brings additional value to the primary project?
I’ve had a number of customers who were in the middle of an SAP project when I first spoke with them. In every instance, I quickly learned that there were requirements related to document processes, especially print distribution. Usually, customer teams planned to deal with output issues at the end of the project, but they soon realized that it made more sense to address these challenges at the front end.
By de-coupling print and output processing from the application using our software, they were able to reduce risk and keep within the project timeline. Even better, the employees experienced no negative impact on their print processes since everything works seamlessly.
Furthermore, in each of these customer situations, the solution put in place to address one issue — for example, implementing global templates in SAP — helped the company optimize business processes in another area of the business. Two birds with one stone. From workplace printing to virtual desktop and application environments, we handle it all, from “mobile to mainframe.”
Another positive effect is cost optimization. Implementing LRS Output Management can lead to significant savings, as outlined in a recent IDC white paper that outlined the experiences of LRS customers.
We’d be happy to send you a copy of the white paper and discuss how these findings may apply in your own situation. In any event, there is likely a project in your near future that can be improved by thinking about the document-related business impacts. Perhaps we can discuss it during our next call!