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The Document As Network

Doc remembers the good old days when “networking” meant handing out a bunch of business cards at the Rotary Club meeting. Of course, now the network is all about the computers on it and more and more, about the documents that populate it. In fact, documents in and documents out are now as essential as bits and bytes.

Written by Doc , Contributor May 11, 2010 at 1:32 a.m. PT

Doc remembers the good old days when "networking" meant handing out a bunch of business cards at the Rotary Club meeting. Of course, now the network is all about the computers on it and more and more, about the documents that populate it. In fact, documents in and documents out are now as essential as bits and bytes.

And just like all the other types of data crossing our networks, documents need to be easy to read, secure, compatible, and all the other good things that make networks hum. That’s why the folks at Ricoh have coined a new acronym, DSS, short for Document Solutions & Services. It’s a way of looking at documents as an integrated part of the network, whether they take shape in print, text, PDF, or other format.

Combine DSS with Multi-Function Printers (MFPs) and you have a complete system. This system sits on your network and works seamlessly whether you’re scanning documents in, printing them out, converting them from one format to another, storing them, or simply moving them around the network.

But hey, I don’t tell it as clearly Ricoh does, so I direct you to a free white paper on the topic. And don’t say I didn’t warn you that this white paper has some pretty steamy sections all about “device relationship management.” Now that’s hot stuff!

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The Document As Network

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