Is Technology Taking Over your Office? - Industry Trend or Event

Planning and strategic management of technology are essential in today's workplace. Before purchasing new technology, the office situation must be assessed to allow for maximization of the company's goals. Technology may not always be the solution. In fact, many times it's the problem. Technology management is the professional administration and support of the life cycle of the technical components as they are or should be used by the organization. The management of technology includes the economic, technical, operational, and organizational feasibility of the technology. While planning allows top management to set goals, effective use of technology allows administrative staff to support those goals while making the most efficient use of resources.

Plan! Plan! Plan!

Ask an expert what types of technology you need for the office. The response you get shouldn't be an answer to the question, but rather several questions asked in return. There are different technological requirements for multinational companies than there are for mom-and-pop shops. What steps are needed to determine the technology plan that's right for your office?

1. Decide the scope of the technology plan. Are you assessing one office, one department, or the entire organization?

2. Complete a technology audit. Assess the current state of technology. What is being done? How is it being done? Who is doing it? How could it be improved?

3. Gather input from employees. What are the needs of the end users? What problems and/or opportunities exist? Who makes technology decisions? What are their ideas for improvement?

4. Visit with top management. Stress that technology management must be supported organization-wide with centralized/decentralized application and control.

5. Research the alternatives. Check the reputation of the vendor. Does the vendor do the initial installation? How easy is it to install new software and devices? How much training is required for full use of the system? Is the system scalable for changing needs? Is there a warranty and technical support? What is the connectivity to peripheral devices? Application software? Network connection? Modem? Speed? Storage space? Memory? Reliability? Cost?

6. Evaluate each alternative for functionality. Address specific needs from the user's perspective rather than limiting to a specific technology. For example, if speed is not a factor, say that speed is not a factor rather than saying magnetic tape can be used to access data files.

7. Implement the selected technology. Test the technology system. Train! Employees must know how to use the technology if they're expected to use it productively.

8. Follow up. Continually monitor and evaluate the use of the technology. Always have a contingency plan--technology does fail. Have backup systems in place for downtime.

Now let's look at some technology tools that are available for the automated office.

PCs

There's no recipe for specific computer requirements that will work for every office, but there are some minimum guidelines you can follow to maximize performance:

* The microprocessor should be at a minimum speed of 900MHz. For heavier computer use, a 1GHz processor should be considered.

* Random access memory (RAM) is the temporary workspace end users have available for loading operating systems, applications, and data. A minimum of 128MB RAM should be sufficient for today's office.

* Secondary storage devices include hard drives, floppy disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD drives. At the very minimum, an office system should have a 40GB hard drive, a 3 1/4-inch floppy drive, and a CD-ROM drive or a backwards compatible (meaning it will read CDs) DVD drive. A CD-RW (Compact Disk-Read/Write) drive is a good option for cost-effectively sharing and/or archiving large amounts of data.

* Video cards determine the resolution, colors, and speed at which images are displayed on the monitor. A 24-bit color monitor with pixels at .28 pitch and a video RAM of 8MB are good standards.

* To more efficiently use the notebook computer in the office, docking stations or port replicators may be used. A docking station is a housing unit for inserting a notebook computer so it can be used as a desktop computer. The docking station may have parallel, serial, or USB ports; secondary storage drives; and plug-ins for a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. A port replicator attaches to the back of the notebook computer for plugging in a printer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, or other peripheral device.

Fax machines

Fax machines may be thermal, ink jet, or laser (just like printers). Thermal faxes are the least expensive, but the faxes are printed on rolled, waxy paper--not a good choice. Ink jet and laser fax machines print on plain paper. The ink jet fax is somewhat slow, but prints nice quality. The laser fax machine is the most reliable and offers the best quality and speed, although it's very expensive by comparison.

The most common speeds for fax machines are 9,600 bps (bits per second), which is about 20 to 45 seconds per page; 14,400 bps at 5-10 seconds per page; and 33,600 bps at 3 seconds per page. Even though faster fax machines may be more expensive, they often pay for themselves by reducing long-distance phone charges. Keep in mind that data can only be sent as fast as the slowest devices. So, if the receiving fax transmits at 9,600 bps, even though your fax machine has the capability to send at 33,600 bps, the transmission will be at the speed of the slower device (9,600 bps).

Memory is an important feature of a fax machine. There should be enough memory to save incoming faxes if the machine runs out of paper--512KB will hold about 25 pages.

Scanners

When purchasing a scanner, consider the following features: resolution, color bit depth, interface connection, maximum size of original, automatic sheet feeder, and software.

The minimum resolution recommended for graphics and images is 600 x 600 dpi. If very high quality for detailed images and enlargements is needed, 1200 dpi is recommended. Interpolated resolution is not necessary. It may create additional pixels that help enlarge the scan but doesn't improve the detail. The key factor is to pay for what is needed in the office. If resolution is not important, 600 dpi will be just fine.

For regular office use, a 30-bit or 36-bit color depth is acceptable. Because higher bit depths allow for better color reproduction of scanned images, a 42-bit or 48-bit color depth will provide higher-quality color resolution if the organization prints its own brochures and advertising materials.

Optical character recognition (OCR) software and image-editing software will allow for the most effective use of the scanner, although it's more economical to use the software that comes with the scanner.

Photocopiers

Digital or analog? Digital copiers are less likely to jam or need servicing, they're less noisy, and have better quality (especially graphics and pictures) than analog copiers-and the cost is not always higher! The mainstay features should still be considered: automatic document feeder, duplexing, collating, stapling, and cropping options.

Many digital copiers have a scanonce/print-many option that means the original can be removed after it's been scanned and the copier will continue copying from the scanned image. Digital copiers also have enhanced features, such as automatic page numbering, watermark printing, and date stamping. The digital copier can be connected to a computer so it can also be used as a printer. A lesson learned from previous buyers of digital copiers: Be sure the vendor has been producing digital copiers for a while. There's something to be said for experience in product, installation, and service.

Digital cameras

If your office is in need of a digital camera, there are a few features to ask about:

* type of batteries-preferably rechargeable

* warranty period

* Mac compatibility-some digital cameras require a separate kit for Macs

* built-in flash

* zoom feature

* resolution-Higher resolution is needed only if you'll be taking longdistance photos with a lot of detail- or if you plan to crop images, then enlarge them. Lower resolution (minimum of 640 x 480) will be adequate if the images will be viewed on the computer monitor at normal size.

* disks or built-in memory cards--A standard serial port connection is needed to transfer images from the digital camera to your computer unless you're using a floppy disk to store the images. If you're using a disk, simply take the disk out of the camera, put it into the computer, and open the image to your desktop. Manipulate or crop the picture using editing software.

Then, print, e-mail the picture as an attachment, or upload the image to the Internet.

* LCD panel or optical view finder--A liquid crystal display panel is a small screen on the digital camera to frame the picture you're taking. If you'll be taking pictures outside, an optical viewfinder is necessary because it's difficult to see the LCD panel in natural daylight.

When taking pictures with a digital camera, use high compression modes, except when a lot of detail is required. The higher the compression, the less memory used and the faster the download. Lower compression is better quality but also uses more memory.

Electronic document management systems

Electronic document management systems (EDMS) allow rapid simultaneous access by several users to documents within the company. EDMS may consist of many different formats, such as text, spreadsheets, graphics, and digitized presentations. It's important to note, although EDMS include records management systems, EDMS doesn't replace a records management system because it doesn't allow for maintaining an audit trail of records for evidentiality. Also, because the EDMS images analog documents and manages them in digital mode, confusion may exist that an EDMS is an imaging product. Large organizations, or even cities, have implemented electronic information management systems (EIMS) via an intranet or public access of the Internet. The city of Escondido, Calif., implemented an enterprise-wide EIMS that reduced the number of information retrieval requests to the city clerk's office by 66 percent, reduced the average retrieval time citywide by 80 percent, reduced the amount of storage space by 10 percent, and subst antially increased cost savings. The EIMS provided easier, faster, and simultaneous access to information for the citizens and employees of the city.

Multifunctional devices

A multifunctional device has the functionality of a fax, copier, scanner, and printer--an all-in-one office center. There are several benefits of purchasing a multifunctional device for today's office:

* It's less expensive than buying each piece of equipment separately.

* Less office space is used.

* It incurs lower supply costs and maintenance costs.

There may also be some disadvantages to consider:

* The image/resolution quality or performance functionality may not be as good as a standalone unit.

* It may not have the versatility of different paper sizes, envelopes, labels, font types.

* One user may tie up all parts of the device (fax, printer, scanner, copier).

Two specific requirements: (1) The faxing component must have a minimum of 0.5MB memory to hold about 25 pages, and (2) the scanning resolution should be a minimum of 400 dpi. Be sure to test each specific feature to meet the needs of your office.

Surge suppressor/uninterrupted power supply

Protect your computer, modem, fax machine, and other office equipment from power surges by following these steps:

1. Have an electrician check the wiring system in your office. Faulty wires are more common than most people realize, and they can zap equipment.

2. Be sure the office follows federal code that all neutral and ground wires be grounded together outside the building into the earth.

3. Buy a quality surge suppressor to absorb shocks from the office electrical system that can come from something as simple as the office refrigerator.

4. Consider an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system that can help protect against surges.

Antiviral software

The new Norton Antivirus software 2001 version is one "must have" for all offices. It contains a Live Update functionality that finds an open Internet connection, retrieves new virus definitions, and installs them automatically. The software also easily scans files and e-mail attachments as they are downloaded. At $40, this antiviral software is a bargain that is essential to keep the office free of Viruses.

Conclusion

If technology is taking over your office, evaluate your technology plan. Ensure that the technology is benefiting the employees, the customers, productivity, quality, and the bottom line! And if it is, sit back and let technology do the work for you.

Dr. Marcel Rabies is an assistant professor and chairperson for the Information Systems and Business Education Department at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. As a faculty member, she teaches courses in office management, telecommunications, management information systems, records management, and business education.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Quality Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group