Ricoh USA Inc. announced major enhancements to its RICOH Smart Integration platform, a part of its RICOH Cloud Workflow Solutions portfolio. These new enhancements address organizations’ health and safety concerns in our “new world of work,” enabling workforces to better share and collaborate wherever work is being done. New features include enhanced security, reporting, device management, more robust secured document release (authenticated pull printing) as well as specialized workflows for certain legal and healthcare environments. These advancements embody Ricoh’s commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses simplify day-to-day activities with a platform-based approach. RICOH Smart Integration technology is available in a scalable, modular subscription model, from both direct and Ricoh Family Group dealer channels, to fit the evolving digital productivity requirements of any organization.
“When we first launched our RICOH Cloud Workflow Solutions portfolio, we focused on what our customers needed most immediately to help with digital transformation: scanning and capturing information. And today what customers need most immediately are solutions that address both workforce health and cost management. With the combination of RICOH Smart Integration’s focus on remote collaboration, access to information anytime/anywhere, and a subscription-based model, it does both,” said Steven Burger, vice president, portfolio management and field marketing, Ricoh USA Inc.
New World of Work
Craig Temple, director, business solutions marketing for Ricoh, provided ENX Magazine with an overview of the latest tweaks that not only simplify doing business in the “new world of work” but also speak to the specific needs of the health care and legal verticals with solutions that reduce touch points and significantly minimize labor-intensive practices.
Device-level authentication requires users to log in to individual or group-level accounts at the MFP with a password or proximity card. These distinct logins can be used in a variety of ways. Administrators can set different permission levels; for example, the marketing department could have color-print permissions, while payroll has black and white. Authentication also powers secured pull printing, which requires users to log in at the device to release jobs from the print queue, effectively eliminating the wasteful, unsecured practice of leaving unclaimed prints on the output tray. Requiring logins also helps generate more accurate and actionable usage data, which can be applied to shape intelligent business decisions for further improvements.
The enhancements truly provide the SMB user with the same latitude enjoyed by larger entities leveraging an enterprise-level solution. “You can add this module to any base package and create a true modular platform for the SMB space,” Temple added.
Legal Considerations
RICOH Cloud Workflow Solutions’ legal add-on makes filing electronic documents with a court significantly more straightforward and efficient. Courts have varied, specific file limitations, including file size. This solution compares files to be submitted against court requirements and breaks them up accordingly, applying Bates labeling where appropriate.
Temple notes that electronic file submission to particular courts, some of which mandate a maximum file size, can be a particularly time-consuming chore. “The user can select the court that the form is being filed to, put in a stack of documents, scan and hit go, and they can be guaranteed the file is going to meet the size restrictions, because we split the file accordingly,” he said.
The suite’s new health care add-on synergizes with electronic health record (EHR) systems to streamline patient onboarding. Medical administrators can scan a patient’s driver’s license, and all relevant information is automatically extracted and funneled into the EHR. Supporting documents can be scanned directly to a patient record. The offering currently works with DrChrono EHR, with plans to expand compatibility.
Real-World Success
Temple noted that Ricoh did a proof of concept at doctor’s offices in California and Georgia. He noted that a two-doctor practice in Georgia with typical patient volume was able to save between 20-30 hours per month by utilizing the software.
“We’re looking to increase efficiency and leveraging the MFP is another example of how we can provide it,” he said.
Each of these capabilities is scalable virtually on the fly thanks to RICOH Cloud Workflow Solutions’ subscription-based, cloud-hosted model.
Given the new realities around workflow efficiency, magnified by COVID-19, and the need to economize where possible, are part of the reason behind the pivot in Ricoh’s planned blueprints. Cashflow, productivity, the need to work efficiently remotely, obtain and share information from the cloud…these are all commonly-shared challenges in the SMB space.
“It was applicable before and we truly think this type of solution in this new work of work is probably more important than ever,” Temple added.
