LEXMARK REPORTS THAT INFORMATION SECURITY ISSUES ARE DRIVING CHANGE IN ENTERPRISE PRINTING

Lexmark International, the printing solutions provider, has recognised a significant trend in enterprises regarding the challenge of securing printed information. Security is a key customer requirement when entering into a managed print services (MPS) engagement for printers and multifunction products (MFPs).

Lexmark has been successfully delivering solutions and services to meet the need to secure information while reducing both pages and printing costs. Customers expect MPS vendors to provide printing solutions to secure documents by integrating into existing business systems – but in reality, many MPS vendors struggle to deliver a robust and sustainable offering. As a result, Lexmark is sharing through case studies/customer testimonials? how it has successfully helped organisations to overcome these enterprise security challenges.

“Large organisations are well aware of their security requirements, capabilities and inconsistencies, and need to take complex steps that will protect their IT as well as their physical assets,” explained Marko Tarkiainen, EMEA general manager, Large Accounts Sales at Lexmark. “For example, when an enterprise has deployed smartcards that control everything from door entry systems to access to the correct IT systems, they want these cards to enable their printing infrastructure to also integrate seamlessly.”

“Lexmark’s integration expertise is an advantage, and many clients find our integrated solutions the most reliable,” Tarkiainen added. “Our certified consultants work together with customers to share our knowledge through education and solutions dedicated to meeting their complicated needs.”

Lexmark’s portfolio for integrating print technology into corporate security systems includes consultancy from Lexmark’s Global Services team, based around the company’s security features of its printer and multifunction laser devices. These features have been designed specifically for large businesses, combining the latest technology with software and security features to match enterprise requirements, including:

- User authentication with smartcards to access copy, fax and scan features

- Ability to print anywhere within the enterprise using a smartcard
- Scan-to-PDF functionality to share documents safely and confidentially

- Secure network protocols: IPSec, SNMPv3 and 802.1x network security
- Industry-standard disk encryption and wiping capabilities

Working with customers, Lexmark has developed printing solutions based on PIN and smartcard security to ensure the confidentiality of printouts, while advanced usage-monitoring systems, cost entry and user permission management ensure limitless control. These large enterprise focused initiatives are why Lexmark’s MPS customers constantly report a successful return on investment.

Viessmann Group – The world-leading manufacturer of heating systems with 8,500 employees integrated its printing infrastructure with staff badges. While guaranteeing confidentiality, the Lexmark solution also displays the cost of each printed piece of paper to the employee via the MFP’s innovative touch screen, saving more than half a tonne of paper in one department alone.

“The functionality of Lexmark’s device concept was unbeatable. A number of the innovative company’s requirements were ingeniously solved. ‘Lexmark Print Release’ enables us to access print jobs anywhere. Lexmark also nicely integrated our employee badges with a card reader and enabled us to create interfaces with electronic workflows.” -  Werner Fugmann, Client Services Manager at Viessmann.

VR Group – The Finnish Railways company integrated its printing architecture to allow 12,500 employees to print securely at any printer, in any office, purely by touching their smartcard to a reader. At the same time, Lexmark optimised the print environment while reducing the number of printers in the business and added features such as double-sided printing to further reduce paper wastage.

“The operational management, the IT and data security experts, as well as the users, all agree on the advantages offered by the new technology. Printing and scanning should always have been like this.” – Janne Toukkari, ICT Concept Owner, VR Group

Naspa – Germany’s largest regional savings bank has 160 branches and used to print more than 20 million pages. An audit showed an average of 1.5 printers per employee, with many of them not on the network. Lexmark’s solution cut the number of devices in half by installing them only where needed, and also installed tighter security features – such as advisors’ desks – while giving all employees a PIN to release their printed pages.

 “These success stories demonstrate that secure printing doesn’t have to mean a significant change or disruption to existing IT infrastructures,” Tarkiainen added. “In all of these cases, the solution has not only created a secure printing environment – it has saved cost and vastly improved the organisation’s environmental footprint.”