The Key Point Blog
The recent incident where 4 million U.S. government employees fell victim to a cyber-attack was a shocking wake up call. It showed that we live in a world in which a staggering amount of information—much of it highly sensitive or confidential—is routinely held on computers that are far from being 100% secure. In the UK, there are many well-publicized cases of laptops containing confidential information on Prison Officers, Armed Forces personnel and members of the public having been stolen, and these show just how easily information can fall into the wrong hands.
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With its historic strength in B2B markets, in the last two years Sharp Corporation found itself on slippery financial ground in large part due to its consumer electronics division’s challenges in the TV marketplace. Mike Marusic, senior vice president of marketing, operations and service for Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, recently sat down with BLI to candidly discuss Sharp’s clouded financial past, and how the company’s licensing of its TV division has reinvigorated its focus on its core market—business users.
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The early signs of fall foliage on my drive from New Jersey to the home of Paul Revere and the Red Sox were a fitting metaphor for the BTA East 2015 event: Like the New England leaves, dealers’ “colors” need to adapt to the changing seasons.
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BLI attended as a session speaker to share its knowledge of the progress made by the document imaging industry thus far (based on BLI’s proprietary environmental testing), some of which was originally published in BLI’s 2014 white paper, “Environmental Trends and Projections, A Detailed Analysis of BLI Test Data.” Other sessions included discussions on e-waste, the use of hazardous materials and viable alternatives, closed-loop recycling, green product evaluation and corporate responsibility. Since electronic components can be found in just about everything from cars to kids’ toys, the speakers and topics varied greatly. Scientists discussed redesigning semiconductor packaging, chemists from leading universities shared their struggles with designing natural flame retardants, doctors decried certain chemical restrictions and economists assured us that alternative energy sources won’t be a detriment to society.
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Marco was one of the first organizations in Minnesota to offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), and it’s on a relatively short list of U.S. companies that’s owned entirely by employees. “Whether you answer a phone, drive a truck or sell hardware, or whatever else, we all have a stake in our success,” Gau said. “We return a high percentage of our profits to our employees (dispensed as a percentage of a person’s income), which creates commitment from people who can help build our future.”
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“See impossible” was the overarching theme of Canon Expo 2015, a product showcase put on every 5 years (making it a quinquennial event for you word lovers out there) by Canon U.S.A. to showcase its entire portfolio. The Jacob JavitzConvention Center in New York was brimming with high-tech offerings ranging from still and video cameras to medical equipment to document imaging products. Expounding on the theme, Canon’s goal at the show was to help customers solve their business challenges and achieve their business goals – no matter how impossible that may seem. Based on the products displayed, it is apparent that Canon sees the best lens through which to “see impossible” is their software solutions.
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Are your customers’ printers and MFPs a potential Trojan Horse to the security of their networks? According to an HP-sponsored research report conducted by the Ponemon Institute, that very well could be the case. The report revealed that 56 percent of companies ignore printers in their endpoint security strategy. It appears that the security obsession (rightfully) prevalent in IT departments has skipped over the printing and imaging space. However, with the release of three new enterprise-class LaserJet MFP and printer series and the introduction of new security features available on new and select legacy printers, as well as updates to JetAdvantage Security Manager, HP is expanding its focus to include more printer-based security solutions.
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We can credit the embedding of apps into smartphones, and later, MFPs, at least partially to the Internet of Things (IoT). The ability to embed everyday appliances with electronics, software, and sensors for the sake of exchanging data between manufacturers, operators, or other machines facilitates a new level of ingenuity and innovation in the technology world.
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Keeping pace with the technology industry’s exponential growth is a tough task. But Milner’s commitment to continuous training leaves Sutton without worry. “Our director of training does a great job of working with manufacturers and our internal subject matter experts to teach the new technologies to our salespeople.” Frequently, Milner’s staff is armed with up-to-date information for all the products they sell.
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