NSi Goes Mobile

Mike Morper

We’re seeing a lot of mobile-related introductions in the imaging space of late and it’s a sure bet we’re going to see many more in the months ahead. The big mobile announcement this week was Notable Solutions, Inc.’s (NSi’s) roll out of NSi Mobile, a productivity app for organizations looking to extend their business processes to their mobile workforces. NSi Mobile extends the capabilities of NSi AutoStore to Android and iOS devices and is described by NSI as the only solution to provide mobile document and photo capture; secure electronic forms processing; secure access to files within a user’s home directory; and secure print-on-demand capabilities, in one combined solution.

With NSi Mobile, data from accounting, healthcare, ERP or any other business application is now available to a mobile worker, enabling them to securely deliver documents, photographs and other electronic information back into the business process. Examples might be a healthcare worker who needs to capture point-of-care information with a tablet and deliver it into an EHR system or a field service professional who can now provide real-time work order updates directly into the organization’s ERP system.

NSi Mobile is an extension of NSi’s AutoStore software platform. With more than 13,000 organizations using it worldwide, AutoStore facilitates the capture and secure delivery of paper and electronic documents into business applications. “We can now collect information from a myriad of sources and put it into that predefined workflow,” states Mike Morper, vice president of marketing for NSi.

NSi Mobile is especially helpful for filling in forms on the go. “If there’s a form that needs to be filled out we are constantly going back to the source to ensure the right field and tie it into the business process, and the benefit is it ensures accuracy and makes filling out forms process much faster and with greater accuracy,” says Morper who is a little biased when he adds that this is a “great electronic forms platform.”

Key capabilities of NSi Mobile include:

• Mobile document and photo capture: Information available on a mobile device, including e-mail attachments, files from other applications including cloud- based services as well as photos taken with the device can now be delivered directly into other business applications, providing real-time situational awareness of the activity.
• Secure electronic forms: Remote workforces can complete electronic forms on their mobile devices with two-way data validation ensuring accurate information is delivered into the business process. By using electronic forms, paper is eliminated, error rates are minimized, and costs and delays associated with processing paper-based forms are reduced, according to NSI.
• Secure file access (MyFiles): The MyFiles capability integrates directly with an organization’s existing infrastructure and gives users access to files from their home directory or corporate network, to view or deliver into a business process. With secure file access, organizations can extend access to enterprise content and information to mobile users with no changes to the existing IT policies.

• Secure pull print: NSi’s secure pull print capabilities enable employees to print “on-demand” documents at any MFP or networked printer in their organization by simply selecting from their mobile device the closest networked MFP/printer or scanning the QR code attached to the output device. The user’s print jobs are then presented on the mobile device where they can be selected for immediate output.

One of the biggest benefits of NSi Mobile is that it’s secure and within the SMB and enterprise space, that’s an important. “One of edicts is security, security, security, and this requires the same [security protocols] as if you were using the front panel of the device,” explains Morper. “We need to be secure, we need to be able to conform to whatever IT standards the customer has, plus take advantage of any investment they’ve made in AutoStore and extend that to the mobile device and make it easy for the workforce to access files on the pull print server.”

He adds that NSi Mobile offers a great services opportunity for NSi’ dealer community and partners.

“From a business partner standpoint and a dealer standpoint we think this is a home run because it extends business processes they may not otherwise have been able to participate in most notably in this mobile space,” states Morper. “Another thing this gives them is a leg up to other capabilities in our mobile platform. We want to provide situational awareness and real-time updates out with their field service organization.”

With this introduction Morper feels NSi now has a huge competitive advantage in the market.

“From a competitive standpoint, no one comes close,” says Morper. “Orchestrating something into a workflow is where people drop off—grabbing files off a mobile client is unique, key print capabilities are cool;, accessing secure files back at the Mothership, and if you’re in a place without network connectivity you can still complete forms and then when you have connectivity, upload them.”

The NSi Mobile client will be available in October from the Apple App Store as well as Google Play. The NSi Mobile server will be available for download through the AutoStore Software Update service for customers using AutoStore 6 Service Pack 1 or greater. Additional client licenses for use with NSi Mobile are required. More information on NSi Mobile can be found at www.nsiautostore.com/autostore/mobile.