In 1736, Benjamin Franklin famously said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” to illustrate that preventing an issue is much preferable than resolving it.
Franklin’s quote was directed at Philadelphia citizens regarding fire safety. But if you fast-forward almost 300 years, his words have merit in a myriad of scenarios.
Take printer management, for instance, and consider the following:
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Printer downtime results in 23 minutes of lost productivity for staff.
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60% of businesses have lost sensitive data through printer security breaches, with an average cost of over $400,000.
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Only 48% of organizations apply regular firmware updates to their printers.
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90% of businesses do not know how many printers they have within their facilities.
By taking a proactive approach to printer management and security, businesses enjoy greater workflow efficiency, improved employee productivity, greater customer satisfaction and better bottom line results.
Simple SATO Printer Maintenance with the SOTI ONE Platform
Franklin himself would be pleased to know that together, SATO and SOTI Connect – which is part of the SOTI ONE Platform – smartly integrates routine and predictive printer maintenance into a single, intuitive solution.
Why does this matter? Well, look at these statistics:
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The average response time for a third-party service to provide printer maintenance is four hours. That’s response time, not resolution time.
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Up to 51% of help desk calls are printer related. Meanwhile, internal IT departments spend 15% of their time working on printing issues.
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Document-related costs can account for up to 15% of all business expenditures. Depending on the industry the business is in, printing can be the third highest expense behind payroll and rent.
The preventative approach adopted by SOTI and SATO can be used to proactively identify and remediate simple fixes, such as topping up a low ink cartridge before it runs out or more complex issues such as nozzle realignment, inconsistent battery levels or abnormal operating temperatures.
For Further Reading
Download the SOTI Connect/SATO Joint BrochureThe Value of Being Proactive
Another popular Benjamin Franklin quote is “look before, or you’ll find yourself behind”, meaning that being reactive is a surefire way to put yourself at a competitive disadvantage.
Using one the statistics mentioned earlier, imagine waiting four hours for a managed service provider (MSP) response to a printer issue and apply that to your industry:
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Healthcare: Four hours of printing prescription labels for vital medications seniors need is lost.
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Retail: Four hours of printing planograms managers need to setup their stores for a big sale to welcome back customers once the COVID-19 pandemic ends is lost. Or time – and customer satisfaction – is lost because of downed receipt printers at the cash register.
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Transportation and Logistics: Four hours of printing time-sensitive shipping labels for perishable items to be delivered is lost.
There’s no time for downtime, especially if consistent, reliable printing is essential to your business-critical mobile operations.
SOTI Connect addresses this by collecting real-time information into the status of your SATO printers. Then, automated, web-connected systems determine what actions are needed to resolve any detected problems based on defined rules.
It’s all done automatically, and reports are generated which allow you to refine your printing processes accordingly. Running out of colored ink faster than normal? Modify your settings or ink dispersion levels to improve page yield rates. Printer not responding to commands? Remotely install and update firmware and apps to secure connected printers and ensure the latest features are in place.
The value of being proactive for printer management and maintenance can be found in the people negatively impacted by downtime:
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When printers go down, 58% of people are concerned about its impact on overall customer satisfaction. Will the customer abandon the sale rather than wait for the issue to be resolved? Will the customer choose to take their business elsewhere in the future?
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46% are worried about lost or missed revenue, 42% are anxious about repair costs and 33% say they wonder about the impact on employee morale.
With solutions from SOTI and SATO, you’re well on your way to getting those numbers to as close to zero as possible. And that’s where the value – and benefits – of proactive printer management are found.
For Further Reading
Download the SOTI Connect/SATO Joint Data SheetThe Power of the Cloud
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin performed his famous kite experiment where he flew a kite into a cloud during a thunderstorm to better understand the connection between lightning and electricity. He deduced, in very simple terms, that electricity could be collected at one time and discharged at another.
Today, the power of the Cloud – specifically cloud computing – securely connects SATO devices. This allows businesses to smartly allocate resources when operating multiple printers across multiple sites around the world.
For example, a virtual technician can monitor an entire fleet of SATO printers rather than onsite staff monitoring all printers at all locations.
SOTI and SATO: Working Together to Improve Your IoT Efficiency
The following two Franklin quotes best sum up the partnership between SOTI and SATO:
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“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
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“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
For more information:
This article was written with contributions from Eckhard Wernich, Business Development; Product Management Solutions, SATO Europe.
