You might have heard about the upcoming PSTN switch-off, which is set to happen by January 2027. While your phones are still working today, they might stop working altogether if you don’t act before this deadline. Here’s a quick guide to help you understand what’s happening and what you need to do.
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) will be permanently shut down by 2027, making way for IP (Internet Protocol) technology. This transition is happening because the old copper wire infrastructure that supports traditional phone lines can no longer meet modern communication needs.
Once the PSTN is switched off, every phone line in the UK will operate through fibre networks, making IP-based telephony the new standard. This shift also affects systems like alarms, door entry systems, CCTV, and EPOS machines that depend on old networks
The PSTN and ISDN networks are relics of the past, designed in a pre-digital era when mobile phones, high-speed internet, and cloud-based systems were unimaginable. Maintaining these systems is costly and inefficient, especially as businesses increasingly rely on modern digital technologies. Switching to IP telephony will enable faster, more reliable, and feature-rich communications that fit today’s business needs.
If your business still relies on traditional phone lines, it’s important to start planning now. After 31st January 2027, if you haven’t transitioned to IP-based systems, your phones, alarms, and other critical systems might stop working. Even before that deadline, the sale of traditional lines has already stopped, and services are being gradually phased out, so now is the time to act.
Here’s how to ensure your business is ready for the switch:
Take a close look at what systems in your business rely on PSTN or ISDN. This could include phones, security alarms, payment systems, fax machines, and even door entry systems. Anything running on traditional lines will need upgrading.
Move your communication systems to VoIP (Voice over IP) or another IP-based solution. These systems provide greater flexibility, allowing you to take calls on any device, from anywhere, on the same number. They also offer better call quality and cost savings.
Switching to digital also gives you the chance to modernise your business communications. Whether you need to integrate your phone systems with customer service platforms, enhance collaboration with video conferencing tools, or create a more flexible remote working environment, IP technology can make it happen.
This is where Managed Technology can make a real difference. We specialise in helping businesses like yours smoothly transition to digital telephony. Our experts will work with you to assess your current setup, recommend the best solutions, and ensure a seamless switch with minimal disruption. Don’t wait until it’s too late—speak to us today to see how we can future-proof your communications.
By partnering with Managed Technology, you’ll benefit from:
Switching to IP-based telephony doesn’t just keep you compliant with the 2027 deadline—it offers a host of benefits that can enhance your business:
The PSTN switch-off might seem like it’s far away, but 31st January 2027 will come quicker than you think. And waiting until the last minute could leave your business at risk of downtime or service disruption. By acting now, you can ensure a smooth transition and unlock the benefits of modern, digital telephony.
So, don’t delay—get in touch with Managed Technology today. Our experts are ready to guide you through the switch and ensure your business is ready for the future.
Effective contract management is crucial for any business. Contract management software has become an essential tool, helping organisations handle digital contracts with ease and precision. Let’s take a closer look at how this software works, why it’s important, and how combining it with a Document Management System (DMS) can further enhance your contract management processes.
First, let’s clear up the difference between contract management and contract management software. Contract management involves overseeing contracts from their creation right through to their expiration or renewal. This process covers drafting, negotiating, executing, monitoring, and analysing contracts to ensure all terms are met and performance is tracked.
Alarmingly, 89% of organisations admit their contracting process could be more effective, making the case for a more streamlined approach. This is where contract management software steps in, automating and centralising these tasks to make the whole process smoother and more reliable.
While you could manage contracts manually, the reality is it’s a time-consuming process that’s prone to errors. With up to 80% of business transactions governed by contracts, manually reviewing each one is a massive undertaking, and mistakes can have serious consequences.
Contract management software automates these processes, freeing up valuable time and significantly reducing the risk of errors. For example, organisations like Martinsclub have seen substantial improvements in transparency, efficiency, and error reduction by digitising their contracts.
Contracts form the backbone of business operations, governing everything from daily transactions to complex agreements. For a contract to be legally binding, it must include essential elements like offer and acceptance, the intention to create legal relations, and consideration. Contracts come in many forms, from general business agreements to specific ones like employment contracts and licensing deals.
Contract management software offers a range of functionalities that can transform how businesses handle contracts:
Pairing a Document Management System (DMS) with contract management software creates a powerful combination. A DMS not only organises, tracks, and protects contracts but also makes it easy to access, share, and store them securely. This combination ensures documents are kept in line with data protection regulations and supports a seamless, adaptive contract management process.
Ready to take your contract management to the next level? Contact Managed Technology today to find out how we can help you streamline your processes, ensure compliance, and support your business’s growth in an increasingly digital world.
Managing invoices can be a daunting task, particularly when relying on outdated methods. The challenges of improving cash flow, keeping up with ever-changing tax regulations, and managing remote teams are only the tip of the iceberg for today’s finance departments. However, by adopting digital invoice processing through a robust Document Management System (DMS), businesses can not only overcome these hurdles but also set themselves up for long-term success.
Here’s how Managed Technology, specifically through digital invoice processing, can help you streamline your operations and avoid common pitfalls:
For many businesses, manual data entry remains a significant drain on productivity. If your team is still handling paper-based invoices or using basic digital systems like Google Drive or SharePoint without full integration, you’re likely missing out on the full benefits of digitalisation.
Managed Technology, including a DMS integrated with your accounting software, eliminates the need for repetitive data entry. It automates document capture, stores all your invoices in a centralised repository, and allows seamless data sharing across different systems. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of human error, ensuring more accurate and efficient operations.
In many organisations, critical processes exist only in the heads of a few key employees, making them vulnerable if these individuals leave. This reliance on institutional knowledge can lead to inconsistencies and errors.
A DMS with automated workflows ensures that every step of your invoice processing is well-documented and adhered to. By embedding your business rules into the system, you can standardise processes, increase productivity, and reduce the chances of errors or omissions. Additionally, audit trails provided by the DMS help track approvals and other critical actions, ensuring compliance with your business practices.
Slow invoice processing can have severe consequences, from missed early payment discounts to penalties and credit holds. Traditional manual methods make it difficult to keep track of deadlines, often leading to bottlenecks and delays.
A well-implemented Document Management Solution helps you stay on top of payment schedules. It automatically tracks due dates, sends reminders, and routes invoices to the appropriate approvers. In the event that an approver is unavailable, the system can automatically assign the task to a backup, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
Without a clear view of your payment timelines, managing cash flow can feel like a guessing game. A DMS gives you a centralised, real-time overview of your financial status, including monthly spending, outstanding payables, and vendor communication.
With all your documents stored and organised in one place, you can easily track spending patterns, manage vendor relationships more effectively, and negotiate better terms. The insights gained from this system enable you to plan ahead, anticipate changes, and make informed decisions that benefit your bottom line.
Preparing for an audit is often a stressful and time-consuming process, especially when dealing with paper-based systems. The effort required to pull, organise, and photocopy documents can overwhelm your staff and disrupt day-to-day operations.
A digital Document Management System can make audits a breeze. Your documents are stored securely and can be quickly retrieved and shared with auditors, either electronically or through secure online access. This not only saves time but also reduces the strain on your team, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities.
Compliance is a critical concern for any business, especially with increasing scrutiny from financial regulators. Without proper internal controls and accountability, proving data integrity and meeting regulatory requirements can be challenging.
A DMS provides version control, audit trails, and robust security features to help you stay compliant. It ensures that only authorised personnel can access certain documents, and every action is logged, creating a transparent record of who did what and when. These features help prevent fraud, protect sensitive data, and provide peace of mind that your company is operating within the bounds of the law.
It’s easy to dismiss digital transformation as a costly or unnecessary investment, but the reality is quite the opposite. Research shows that processing an invoice manually can cost anywhere from £4 to £25, with error-prone processes potentially costing even more. By adopting a DMS and automating your workflow, you can dramatically cut these costs and achieve a substantial return on investment.
Modern invoice processing offers significant advantages, from improved efficiency and accuracy to enhanced compliance and cash flow management. Don’t wait until inefficiencies start to hurt your business—take the first step towards a streamlined, digital future today.
Get in touch with Managed Technology and transform your invoice processing from a cumbersome task into a smooth, efficient operation that supports your business’s growth and success. Ready to take the next step? Reach out to us today and discover how our solutions can streamline your processes, reduce costs, and set your business on the path to a more productive future.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, cloud technology powers much of what we do daily, from storing data to collaborating on projects. Cloud Printing might sound complex, but from the user’s perspective, it’s remarkably straightforward. The concept is simple: send print jobs from any device, anywhere, to a printer via the internet. This streamlined process enhances flexibility and accessibility, making it easier for your team to print on the go. As businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based services, incorporating your print infrastructure into the cloud makes perfect sense.
Understanding the value that Cloud Printing brings to your business is key. Here are the main advantages:
Cloud Printing eliminates the need for costly on-premises print servers and associated overheads like hardware maintenance, software upgrades, and IT training. By moving your print infrastructure to the cloud, you can reduce operational expenses significantly. A reliable Cloud Printing service offers a comprehensive solution managed by professionals, all for a predictable and manageable monthly fee.
Setting up and managing printing systems can be time-consuming. With Cloud Printing, all configurations are handled through an easy-to-use online portal, eliminating the hassle of dealing with local servers or complicated printer setups. The system can even automatically assign print jobs to the most suitable printer based on your needs, ensuring efficiency.
Security is a top concern for any business, and Cloud Printing doesn’t compromise. Centralised authentication and encryption measures ensure that your print data remains secure, safeguarding against unauthorised access. Plus, with regular updates from your Cloud Print provider, your business stays ahead of the latest security threats.
In the era of remote working, Cloud Printing empowers your team to print securely from any location. Whether in the office, at home, or on the road, employees can send print jobs from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops. This flexibility is invaluable for teams that need to stay productive regardless of their physical location.
Cloud Printing integrates effortlessly with your existing cloud-based workflows and applications, creating a cohesive digital workspace. Whether you’re using Cloud Storage or collaboration tools, you can easily print documents directly from these platforms, streamlining your processes.
As your business grows, so do your printing needs. Cloud Printing is highly scalable, allowing you to adjust your resources to match your demands without the need for significant capital investment. This flexibility ensures you only pay for what you use, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.
Managing a fleet of printers across multiple locations can be challenging. Cloud Printing provides robust print management tools, giving you control over printing activities. With detailed analytics, you can monitor usage, track costs, and optimise workflows, ensuring efficiency and reducing waste.
Choosing the right Cloud Printing partner is crucial for ensuring your business’s printing infrastructure is efficient, secure, and scalable. When evaluating providers, it’s important to consider factors such as robust security measures, scalability to match your growing needs, and seamless integration with your existing IT systems. Additionally, the implementation process should be smooth, and the service must be reliable, offering good value for your investment.
At Managed Technology, we pride ourselves on delivering all these essentials and more. Our Cloud Printing solutions are designed with your business in mind, offering strong security protocols, flexible scalability, and seamless integration with your current workflows. We ensure that the transition to cloud-based printing is hassle-free, with ongoing support that evolves with your business. Our commitment to providing reliable and cost-effective services makes us the right choice for companies looking to enhance their print management and overall operational efficiency.
When you choose Managed Technology, you’re not just selecting a service provider—you’re partnering with a team dedicated to helping your business thrive. We’re here to support your current needs and to grow alongside you, ensuring your print infrastructure is always ahead of the curve.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of digital documents cluttering your workspace, unsure of what to keep and when it’s safe to let go? You’re not the only one. In today’s fast-paced world, managing document retention is more challenging than ever. Knowing how long to retain documents and when to dispose of them is crucial for staying organised, maintaining compliance, and reducing unnecessary digital clutter.
In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of retention periods: why they matter, how to define them clearly, the factors that influence these decisions, and best practices for setting and managing them effectively.
A retention period is the length of time you need to keep physical or electronic documents before they can be destroyed. These time frames vary depending on the type of document and are often dictated by legal, regulatory, or business considerations. Understanding and adhering to these periods is crucial to avoid compliance issues, legal trouble, or a cluttered digital workspace.
For instance, financial records might need to be kept longer than routine administrative documents. Industries like healthcare and legal services often have specific requirements for retaining patient records or case files. In document management, following retention periods isn’t just a good practice—it’s a legal necessity.
For UK-based organisations, staying informed about the laws and regulations governing retention periods is crucial to avoid non-compliance. Failing to adhere to these rules can result in hefty penalties, legal challenges, and damage to your reputation.
Clear retention policies offer much-needed structure for managing organisational information. They provide specific guidelines on how long different documents and data should be kept, and detail the proper methods for disposal once they’re no longer needed. These policies help ensure that everyone in the organisation understands their responsibilities, promoting consistency and reducing the risk of mistakes.
Having well-defined retention policies is vital for mitigating risks related to data breaches, audits, and legal challenges. For example, non-compliance with the GDPR could result in severe fines, as well as warnings, reprimands, and orders to fix compliance issues.
By establishing clear guidelines for data retention and disposal, organisations can reduce the amount of unnecessary or outdated information stored in their systems. This helps to limit the exposure of sensitive data, reducing the impact of potential data breaches and safeguarding individual privacy rights.
Several factors come into play when determining the appropriate retention periods for different types of documents. Industry-specific regulations, for example, significantly impact these decisions, with varying requirements based on the nature of the industry and the type of information being handled.
Industries such as healthcare, financial services, and legal sectors, which deal with sensitive or personal information, often have longer retention periods to ensure compliance with data protection laws. Furthermore, industries facing increased regulatory scrutiny or operational risks may also opt for longer retention periods to protect themselves from legal, financial, or reputational harm.
Staying on top of evolving regulations is essential. As legislation, court rulings, and industry standards change, organisations must adjust their retention policies to remain compliant and avoid potential penalties or legal liabilities.
Effectively managing retention periods requires a proactive approach that takes into account changing business needs, regulatory requirements, and input from key stakeholders.
Regularly reviewing and updating retention periods is critical to ensuring they remain relevant and compliant. As business environments evolve—due to technological advancements, shifts in market dynamics, or updates in regulatory frameworks—retention periods must be reassessed to stay in line with these changes.
Involving key stakeholders from various departments ensures that retention policies reflect the diverse needs and expertise within the organisation. Legal, compliance, IT, records management, and business units should all have a say in the process.
Providing training and raising awareness among stakeholders about retention requirements, regulatory obligations, and best practices is essential. Empowered with the right knowledge, they can contribute more effectively to policy development and implementation.
Modern document management systems (DMS) can be invaluable in tracking and enforcing retention periods. These systems offer automation features that allow organisations to categorise documents by type, content, or metadata, and apply retention policies consistently across the board.
Key features include automated retention policy indexing, automated workflows to manage document lifecycles, and detailed audit trails and reporting functionalities. These tools help organisations maintain compliance and streamline their document management practices.
Additionally, integrating DMS with other business systems, such as ERP, collaboration tools, and compliance platforms, can further enhance the efficiency of retention period management. This integration ensures consistency across data repositories and optimises document management processes.
Effective retention period management is critical for organisations that want to ensure compliance, minimise risks, and optimise their document management practices. By implementing robust retention policies and leveraging modern DMS, businesses can streamline the tracking, enforcement, and automation of retention periods, safeguarding sensitive information, enhancing regulatory compliance, and fostering a culture of accountability and transparency.
In today’s hybrid work environment, gaining control over “content chaos” is crucial. With the vast amounts of data we generate daily, managing it effectively is perhaps the biggest challenge modern businesses face.
According to IDC, the data created between 2020 and 2024 will exceed what was generated in the past 30 years. So, if you don’t start managing this growth now, when will you?
Often, we save work locally, relying on outdated methods like USB drives for sharing data—methods that are both insecure and cumbersome. In many organisations, employees still upload files to a hosting service, sharing them via email links for team collaboration. While everyone can see the task at hand, clarity is often lacking. Do you really know where to find your files when you need them? Are they stuck in your inbox or lost in a colleague’s emails?
Searching for information buried in your inbox is not just frustrating but also a time-waster. Email programs like Microsoft Outlook were designed for communication, not for organised storage. Struggling to find important information in your email? You can streamline this with email management features provided by modern Document Management software, which allow you to save email content and attachments as separate, indexed documents within your system. This makes collaboration easier by giving authorised team members access to archived messages and attachments.
Without a centralised, secure repository and a software solution that enforces consistency, many businesses lose control over critical documents. Some people are highly organised, using their own naming conventions, but without an intelligent Document Management system that evolves with these practices, businesses risk losing control over their intellectual capital—the lifeblood of any organisation.
With a Document Management solution, you can link related documents via common data fields, ensuring version control and maintaining document integrity. This eliminates the need to manage multiple paper copies or juggle different versions edited offline.
Poorly managed, undigitised documents create what we call “content chaos,” which directly hampers your ability to collaborate, increases security risks, and ultimately affects your customer experience.
Your Document Management system needs to integrate seamlessly with your existing tech stack to manage the capture, identification, classification, distribution, and archiving of documents across all your business systems. Effective integration means your system not only fits into your current environment but also simplifies how your company organises files and databases, giving more control to teams handling large volumes of data.
Modern Document Management solutions are designed to work within your IT ecosystem, offering a wide range of integrations across email, CRM, ERP, HR systems, and more. These systems also integrate with key business hardware like scanners and multifunction devices, making the conversion from paper to digital effortless.
We recently helped a client in the education sector implement a Document Management system, transforming outdated, paper-based processes into efficient, digital workflows. This not only improved compliance and increased storage capacity but also encouraged greener practices. “At our fingertips, is how I’d describe employee data now,” said the client’s HR Project Coordinator. The ability to easily drag and drop documents from Outlook into document trays has been a game-changer.
This is just one example of how Document Management software helps businesses automate and improve processes, enhance collaboration, and eliminate the need for cumbersome, expensive paper processes.
As digitisation continues to revolutionise the modern workplace, it might seem reasonable to assume that print devices are becoming obsolete. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Print infrastructures are not only surviving but evolving, playing a crucial role in the journey towards digitisation and the automation of document workflows, which is why IT and Facilities Managers are wise to include intelligent print devices in their digitisation strategies.
Recent research highlights the importance of Managed Print Services (MPS) in accelerating digitisation efforts. According to a Quocirca report, over two-thirds (69%) of organisations using MPS are fast-tracking their digitisation plans, compared to just 40% of those not utilising MPS. Additionally, almost two-thirds (65%) of IT decision-makers consider it extremely or very important that their print suppliers also provide business process automation.
Despite the push towards digital, many organisations will continue to rely on printing. While 46% of those accelerating digitisation expect a reduction in print volumes by 2025, 38% foresee an increase. This underscores the ongoing transition to a ‘less-paper’ rather than a fully paperless office.
Every organisation has unique needs, but physical documents remain essential in many scenarios. Striking the right balance and designing a print infrastructure that supports the digital journey is key to a successful digitisation strategy.
Modern multifunctional printers are no longer just paper-based devices. They have transformed into versatile, programmable digital tools. When used strategically, these devices add significant value by optimising business operations and enabling more flexible ways of working.
Cloud-enabled devices, such as RICOH’s IM-C range, function as powerful digital hubs. They seamlessly integrate with document workflows, allowing users to digitise and print documents as needed. Whether it’s digitising physical documents directly into automated workflows via Office 365, SharePoint, or other cloud-based applications, or converting digital documents into physical formats from any location, these devices support the entire document lifecycle.
Are you overwhelmed by paperwork? Managing administrative tasks like accounting, onboarding, or contract processing can be time-consuming and inefficient. It’s time to streamline your paper-heavy operations with advanced document management solutions. These systems not only store documents but also categorise them intelligently for easy retrieval. They simplify, secure, and organise, turning your administrative backlog into a model of digital efficiency.
Navigating compliance amidst constantly changing data protection laws and emerging regulations can be challenging, especially without in-house specialists. Cloud-based workflow automation can play a pivotal role in ensuring compliance by streamlining processes and enforcing standardised procedures across the business.
These systems offer features like predefined rules, automated approval notifications, and audit trails, reducing human error and simplifying regulatory reporting. By embedding automation into your processes, compliance becomes a seamless part of daily operations, ensuring confidence and transparency.
The shift to hybrid work has introduced new challenges, such as ensuring secure access to documents and running efficient meetings. To overcome these challenges, equip your business with secure collaboration tools and technology that bring remote teams closer. Project management tools, document management solutions, and smart meeting room equipment can enhance collaboration, improving both the employee experience and your digital transformation journey.
With numerous suppliers and constant renewal needs, procuring IT and office equipment can be complex. Some vendors or local partners can simplify procurement by managing your supplies and automatically renewing stocks when needed. This approach saves time, reduces costs, and allows you to focus on strategic growth and innovation.
Technology can sometimes fail, leading to lost productivity. This is where the value of managed services and external providers becomes clear. By relying on specialists to maintain your devices, you can maximise uptime and ensure that your team remains focused on core activities. Trusting the technical details to experts keeps your operations running smoothly.
At Managed Technology, we believe that the right blend of print devices and digitisation tools can transform your business, driving efficiency, compliance, and collaboration. Our hybrid Managed Print Service offers the best of both worlds: the personalised service of a local dealer with the robust support of a national provider, ensuring that your journey from cabinets to the cloud is seamless and successful.
With increasing cyber-attacks, securing your IT infrastructure means anticipating every potential vulnerability. One area often overlooked is print security, yet it has become essential for organisations of all sizes.
Printers are no longer just devices that print; they are complex digital tools integral to business workflows and document management. Connected to your network, they process a significant amount of your organisation’s data, making it crucial for IT managers to prioritise print security.
Adapting Print Security for the Modern Workforce
As the workplace extends beyond traditional office walls, print solutions must evolve to support remote and home working environments while ensuring data protection across all printing activities.
Today’s cloud-connected print devices and multi-function printers (MFPs) are equipped with advanced security features, coupled with sophisticated software and applications. These tools offer the flexibility and scalability needed for a distributed workforce, ensuring that your organisation’s data remains protected, regardless of where printing tasks occur. Adopting a cloud-first approach to print technology is vital in the hybrid and remote working landscape.
The Perils of Unsecured Printers
Leaving printers unsecured can have serious consequences, leading to data breaches, hacking attempts, financial losses, and compliance violations. In a 2020 incident, Cybernews revealed how they ‘hacked’ nearly 28,000 printers worldwide by simply using standard printing commands—underscoring the need for robust printer security.
Furthermore, recent research by Quocirca indicates that 61% of organisations have suffered data loss due to unsecured printing. However, there’s a silver lining: 79% of IT decision-makers plan to increase their print security investments this year.
Six Key Actions for Enhanced Print Security
By taking these essential steps, IT managers can significantly reduce the risk of security breaches and ensure that their organisation’s print environment remains secure in an increasingly digital world.
Deciding to invest in new technology to streamline the flow of information across your organisation is one thing; successfully implementing it with minimal disruption and keeping costs under control is quite another. The stakes are high, as we’ve seen with high-profile failures like the abandoned NHS patient record system and Sainsbury’s costly warehouse automation debacle.
To avoid such pitfalls, it’s crucial to approach new technology rollouts with careful planning and consideration. Recent research, surveying thousands of IT decision makers (ITDMs), revealed that compatibility with existing systems is the number one challenge during new technology implementations. Such issues can spell disaster for a project, especially as businesses strive to enhance their digital maturity. Alarmingly, 10% of respondents in the survey reported having to abandon a technology implementation entirely in the last few years.
In this article, we’ll outline four key areas for ITDMs to consider when implementing new technology. By addressing these elements effectively, businesses can enjoy a smoother and more rewarding rollout, quickly realising the benefits of their new systems.
When it comes to strategic technology implementations, our research shows that integration with existing IT infrastructure is the most commonly cited challenge, with 28% of ITDMs identifying it as a significant issue.
This underscores the importance of considering compatibility as a top priority when evaluating new technology investments. It’s not just about what the technology can do today, but how it will integrate and scale with your existing systems over time.
At Managed Technology, we understand that the time, cost, and complexities involved in implementing new solutions can be daunting. That’s why we advocate for a strategic approach to procurement, focusing on scalable technologies that allow for future growth without the need for disruptive overhauls. Our expertise in integrating new systems with your existing architecture ensures that your investments continue to deliver value as your business evolves.
Support during a major technology rollout can be a game-changer. Our research found that 61% of ITDMs enlisted the help of third-party vendors during their last major implementation. However, businesses vary in how they approach external assistance.
Some organisations prefer a baseline level of support, enabling them to manage the process internally with confidence. Others seek a more collaborative partnership, sharing responsibility for the project with their vendor. Still, others opt for full-service support, where the partner handles the project from start to finish.
At Managed Technology, we offer flexible support models tailored to your organisation’s unique needs. Whether you need full collaboration, a guiding hand, or complete project management, we’re here to ensure your technology rollout is a success. Our approach is adaptable, allowing you to choose the level of involvement that best aligns with your internal capabilities and project goals.
The right approach to a technology rollout will depend on your organisation’s priorities. For instance, our research indicates that companies managing their implementations in-house tend to experience fewer compatibility issues and delays, which is ideal if speed is your primary concern. However, this often comes at the cost of ongoing support, with some organisations reporting communication breakdowns and insufficient after-sales service.
On the other hand, ITDMs who opted for full collaboration with a third-party vendor reported fewer challenges overall, including better after-sales support and communication. However, this approach sometimes leads to a slight increase in functionality issues.
What’s clear is that a mixed approach—where responsibility is split between in-house teams and external vendors—can lead to complications. Over 90% of ITDMs who took this route encountered challenges, with many being forced to abandon their projects. This hybrid approach often results in higher rates of issues, such as technology not being fit for purpose or low employee adoption.
At Managed Technology, we believe in a consistent approach to technology rollouts. By providing end-to-end support or full collaboration, we ensure that your project remains on track, reducing the risks associated with mixed methodologies.
Selecting the right partner for a major technology implementation is critical. A good partner can help mitigate risks associated with compatibility and timelines, ensuring that your project is a success. However, as our research indicates, working with the wrong partner can exacerbate these issues.
At Managed Technology, we bring deep solutions integration expertise and specialist knowledge to the table. Our team understands the importance of seamlessly bringing various systems together, ensuring they work in harmony. We also recognise the need for an in-depth understanding of your business processes, particularly how documents and information are managed within your organisation.
By choosing Managed Technology as your partner, you’re selecting a company that is committed to your success. We provide the confidence you need to fully commit to an automated future, unlocking benefits such as improved security and compliance, increased productivity, and an enhanced customer experience.
By focusing on these four key areas and partnering with Managed Technology, ITDMs can navigate the complexities of technology rollouts with greater ease, ensuring their organisation is well-positioned to leverage the full potential of their new systems.
Commercial printers in the United Kingdom now have a groundbreaking tool at their disposal to elevate their print creativity and production capabilities. Ricoh Europe, headquartered in London, proudly introduced the RICOH Pro™ C7500 digital colour press on September 18, 2023, providing commercial printers with a next-generation solution that delivers richer and more accurate colours, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in print production.
This innovative sheetfed press follows closely on the heels of the recent launch of the high-volume RICOH Pro™ C9500 digital colour sheetfed press, showcasing Ricoh’s commitment to evolving and advancing print technologies. The RICOH Pro C7500 is designed to empower agile commercial printers to navigate the ever-changing landscape of print production successfully.
Building on the legacy of the RICOH Pro™ C7200/x Series, the RICOH Pro C7500 is fully compatible with Ricoh’s special colour toners, including white, clear, invisible red, gold, and silver. In addition to this, it introduces neon colour profiles, automatically adding neon yellow and neon pink, thereby expanding the colour gamut for even richer and more vibrant colour expressions. This feature will undoubtedly unlock new creative possibilities for commercial printers, allowing them to produce eye-catching materials that captivate their audience.
Furthermore, the RICOH Pro C7500 introduces an elastic intermediate transfer belt, enhancing its versatility by allowing it to handle a wide range of media types, including rough or uneven textured materials. This press can handle paper weights from a mere 40gsm up to a robust 470gsm, significantly surpassing the maximum recommended grammage of 360gsm for the Pro C7200/x Series. Its strengthened design supports the efficient production of duplex prints up to an impressive length of 1030mm. These advancements open up new opportunities for progressive Print Service Providers (PSPs) to diversify their offerings, including light packaging, greeting cards, wedding stationery, and much more, all while benefiting from an unprecedented level of print quality.
The RICOH Pro C7500 also incorporates the brand-new RICOH Graphic Communications Operating System (GC OS), a game-changing development in terms of device control and operation simplicity. This engine controller streamlines device usage and offers an intuitive interface for machine settings. Remote access is facilitated through a web browser on a PC or tablet, ensuring streamlined operation in a multi-skilled environment where print operators are required to perform various tasks. Additionally, the system is designed to adapt to client feedback, allowing for the addition of new functions and software updates over time.
Further enhancing its capabilities is a powerful Digital Front End (DFE), developed in collaboration with Fiery®, which significantly improves operational efficiency. This includes additional printing efficiencies and labour-saving functions designed to reduce maintenance time and facilitate real-time troubleshooting. Notably, the press allows for quick and straightforward unit changeovers for special colours and introduces improved operator-replaceable units to support responsive system maintenance.
Simon Isaacs, National Director at Ricoh UK Graphic Communications Group, proudly remarked:
“The launch of the new RICOH Pro C7500 is a testament to the innovation our teams continue to deliver within the print industry. Through a robust development phase, we have been able to evolve our existing proven technologies to tackle some of the key print industry challenges. This next-generation press will unlock new creative and versatile print production capabilities and will empower our clients to optimise their business efficiency and enhance their return on investment.”
In addition to its exceptional hardware capabilities, the RICOH Pro C7500 is complemented by a range of value-added software options, including RICOH Supervisor™, RICOH TotalFlow Production Manager™, and FusionPro®. These software solutions enable clients to maximise the effectiveness of their products and, in turn, enhance the return on their investment in Ricoh technology.
Commercial printers and print service providers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) can look forward to experiencing the game-changing capabilities of the RICOH Pro C7500, as it is set to become available starting in November. This innovation promises to reshape the industry landscape, offering printers new avenues for creativity and productivity in an ever-evolving market.