Does that copier you just upgraded contain confidential information?

Police data on copiers causes city to scramble

CBS report prompts worry on disclosure

By Brian Meyer and Jay Rey

Buffalo officials are trying to figure out why police information was left on the hard drives of two of the department’s old copy machines, which have turned up as part of an investigation by CBS News.

CBS, which this week telecast a report about the resale of used digital photocopiers, purchased four at New Jersey warehouse. Two of them had been leased by the Buffalo Police Department.

Stored on one of the hard drives were details involving domestic-violence complaints along with a list of wanted sex offenders.

Read the complete story here  or View the CBS Investigates Report here
 
I don't know about you, but this revelation would be concerning to me if I were a C-level executive at any company.  Considering the number of high-tech, medical, financial & legal organizations in Plano, Frisco, Carrollton & the surrounding areas, my first thought is that there is a LOT of sensitive material floating around in the warehouse of every copier distributor in the metroplex, & to a much larger & worse extent, copier wholesalers that either re-sell or strip for parts once a machine comes off lease. 
 
This is actually a concern that recently came up with one of my clients in the banking business, and we are in the process of working on a few things for them.  One of the options is to add the DOSS (Data Overwrite Security System) to all of their Ricoh & Lanier copiers & mfp's.  This feature is an extremely affordable option for the peace of mind in knowing that their confidential information will not be compromised.  Some models also offer a removeable hard drive option, but the only way to ensure that this data is not compromised is to purchase the hard drives at the end of the lease & either clean them or keep them into perpetuity. 
 
But, what about the Konica Minolta, Xerox & Canon products that we are replacing at some of their branches?  This one is a little tricky, which is why it is a work in progress.  We are in the process of  exploring partnerships with a few different companies that specialize in data security and hard drive cleansing so that we can offer this as a pre-return option to our clients.  Obviously, there are a number of moving pieces in finding an ideal solution for this, because leasing companies want the machine either back in their hands or in the warehouse of the wholesaler that they sold the machine to for a low, pre-negotiated price within a specific time window.
 
Since I understand that this is a concern to so many businesses in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, I am actually having a meeting to discuss this very topic with the owner of my company next week, and I hope to be able to share some updated information with my current & future clients in the near future.

Ricoh closing Irving, TX office

Full Story courtesy of the Dallas Business Journal

I saw this story this evening, and it hit me that things are not going well with the direct operations of Ricoh America's Corp, manufacturer of Ricoh, Lanier & Savin printers, fax machines & multifunction copiers.  Since making the transition to Oracle several years ago, Ricoh Business Solutions (their direct sales operation) has had an atrocious reputation as it relates to their billing processes.  Conveniently enough, the office that is closing is the Administration & Billing office that serves the Coppell & Plano sales branches.

Considering that Ricoh acquired IKON Office Solutions in 2009 & the fact that the majority of the senior managers at Ricoh America's received the boot last week only to be replaced by their IKON counterparts, I am 95% certain that IKON will take over the administrative & billing functions that were previously served by this office.  That being said, considering that the sales offices supported by this office accounted for nearly $50 million in annual revenue and the fact that it does not appear that IKON will be adding additional support personnel in the near future, I can image that these key departments at IKON Dallas will be extremely overworked & overwhelmed.  On top of being overworked & overwhelmed, the employees tasked with servicing this base of customers will most likely be bombarded with calls from for RBS (Ricoh Business Solutions) customers that have questions or comments regarding potentially botched invoices.

Only time will tell, but times like this are when I am proud & thrilled about the fact that I am part of the ASI Business Solutions team.  Everyone has their hiccups every now & then, & I will be the first to admit that.  The important thing is that as a company that is not too large or too small, we are able to address the occassional issues in a personal, reasonable & timely manner. 

If you are sick & tired of the way that your monthly invoices are handled with Ricoh Business Solutions, IKON or any other vendor, please do not hesitate to Contact me, & I will work with my team to customize a solution that meets your unique needs.  To be completely frank, I may not be able to do anything now, but I can at least provide you with a realistic timeline for when you can stop experiencing the same nightmare month after month.

I hope to hear from you in the near future.

The First Quarter was quite eventful...

How is it that today is really April 7th 2010? It seems like just yesterday I was scrambling to close out 2009 strong and wondering what the first quarter of 2010 had in store for me. In the past, the first quarter has either been a fantastically productive quarter or a total disappointment. The beginning of FY'10 was eventful in a number of ways:


1. Texas Back Institute trusts ASI with their entire output fleet

After nearly 2 years of work, I finally had the opportunity to help Plano-based Texas Back Institute reduce the costs associated with their printing & copying fleet by over 51%. The solution included a mixed platform of A3 Lanier MFP's & A4 Lexmark desktop MFP's, along with a Managed Print Services contract to cover all of their HP LaserJet printers. Every inkjet device was removed, & all locally-connected laser printers were removed from staff members' offices. Additionally, ASI Central constantly monitors every device in order provide proactive service alerts & consumable inventory. TBI now utilizes the Locked Print function on their Lanier systems to ensure that documents subject to HIPAA regulations are not put at risk. I am extremely excited to work with them in the coming years to help them keep costs low as they implement Electronic Medical Records and continue to advance technologically.


2. ASI becomes a Lexmark Business Solutions Dealer

Until recently, I had only one product line to offer my clients, that being the Ricoh manufactured products from Lanier. We occassionally sold HP systems, but there was not a high demand due to their technological shortcomings. At the beginning of 2010, we brought on the full lineup of Lexmark MFP's and single-function printers. These products are extremely exciting to me, because they have a user-friendly control panel similar to what my clients are used to seeing on their Lanier systems, but they offer a less-expensive alternative for areas that need an MFP solution that does not warrant a full-blown Lanier MFP, including a laser printer (not MFP) with a Java-enabled touch screen. These new Lexmark systems have been flying off the shelves at break-neck speed, so they are obviously filling a need that we previously could not meet with our Lanier products. It feels good to be the single-source for my client's office technology needs.



3. ASI helps Rise Energy Partners get off the ground

Thanks to a referral from a long-time ASI client, I am thrilled to welcome Irving-based Rise Energy Partners to the ASI family. A startup oil & gas company that has strategically acquired assets of now bankrupt companies, Rise is poised to double its staff by the end of 2010. As a result, they needed robust, fully-loaded equipment that will support their business during their growth. I look forward to growing with them in 2010 & beyond.

In summary, 2009 was difficult to say the least, but 2010 looks promisting thus far. I have a feeling that change is bound to show her lovely face, and i look forward to the challenge & to help my clients optimize their print & document workflow processes.

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