Legacy Systems No Problem For Multifunctional Network Devices

Legacy Systems No Problem For Multifunctional Network Devices

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“In the network output systems mansion, there are many rooms.”

This liberal takeoff on a biblical quote might sum up what insurers and manufacturers of network systems would feel about the use of network output systems in the insurance industry.

Why? Because manufacturers of network systems are producing top-notch, multifunctional machines that can print, scan, and fax on a new server-based system, as well as an outdated legacy system.

“I believe the insurance industry will use the legacy system for some time to come,” says John Salsman, industry director for financial services at Lexmark International Inc., Lexington, Ky. “And we are quite committed to accommodating it.”

How do the latest models of network output systems accommodate old-fashioned network operation systems? “They are both stand-alone and network products,” Jim Contino, manager at Xerox Corporation, Rochester, N.Y., explains. “There is little technical conflict between the old technology they use and the new technology [used in the output devices].” The high level of interoperability is possible because, Contino notes, “network connectivity has been made much more simple and easy than it was 10 years ago.”

If one single machine, while running on an old system, can print, scan and fax, its advantages will be tremendous, says Contino. In small and midsize offices, users can receive a document by fax and edit it immediately on-screen. They can also archive the files in a number of formats ranging from MS Word, to HTML, to PDF, to Text.

“The solution [our multifunctional machines provide] is not just a scan process,” stresses Contino. “The solution is aimed at allowing customers to do whatever they need to do with a hard-copy document.” This includes “editing a document in digital format, transmitting it, indexing it, etc.”

Multifunctional output devices can also help boost corporate security, because faxed documents sitting in an inbox can easily be read by anyone who is around, says Contino. Multifunctional devices can transform fax documents into electronic documents that can be shielded by a companys online security.

In the technology world, gadgets may not necessarily be user-friendly. Their diverse features may be underused because “regular Joes” find it hard to operate them. And at one time, multifunctional devices were no exception.