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Print solutions specialist Xerox announced it is expanding what multifunction printers (MFPs) can do in the workplace through advancements to its ConnectKey technology.
The 14 Xerox ConnectKey-enabled i-Series MFPs are equipped with ready-to-use apps to speed up paper-dependent business processes and make it easier for users to collaborate.
For example, Xerox App Studio 3.0 allows channel partners to build and tailor MFPs using simple templates that modify and customize the user interface to synchronize to their business processes.
For more sophisticated customization, the Personalized Application Builder (PAB) program lets users connect with partners to build complex apps to meet their workflow requirements.
“Apps have enabled an increase in productivity by giving customers the ability to customize their devices to their specific requirements,” Jim Rise, senior vice president of Xerox’s office and solutions business group, told eWEEK. “ConnectKey apps have brought this customization to the MFP.”
He explained that, with this technology, users can scan directly to cloud services and can even develop simple applications for the complicated and repetitive tasks they need to perform often, and embed them on their MFP.
“Consider our ConnectKey app for easy translation,” Rise said. “It is an app that goes on the MFP but is linked to a cloud service that performs translations—so you can scan in English and a copy in French will come out. This shows how the power of an app on the MFP can leverage the cloud to do more work for you.”
In addition, the Xerox App Gallery is preloaded directly on the user interface to give users direct access to a variety of apps from Xerox and partners.
“We have intentionally built the ConnectKey technology ecosystem so it is easy to use,” Rise explained. “For example, the simplified and intuitive user interface can be tailored to individual business needs. Users can easily create a workflow that enables them to scan information to their selected destinations—email, desktop, network folders, cloud repositories—in secure text searchable formats at the touch of a button.”
Now available on iOS and Android, the Mobile Link App lets users create one-touch, automated workflows on their mobile devices to remotely control a Xerox MFP and transmit documents to fax, email and cloud hosted services like Box, Dropbox and Google Drive.
“As the expectation for more productivity continues to grow, people will start to look for easier and faster ways to work with their documents. Technology must be agile, with the ability to support new collaborations,” Rise said. “This is the power of Xerox MFP apps that can be quickly developed to meet the needs of customers as technology changes. An MFP that is a full IoT [Internet of things] citizen, like our ConnectKey-enabled Smart MFP i-Series, will play a key role as an additional point of access for document management.”