IBM and Ricoh combinely develops advanced print monitoring and management system

IBM and Ricoh have developed an advanced device and printing management system to track and monitor print-related cost in the form of carbon footprint in real time.

The new system can identify service issues with devices and automatically route alerts to local service desks for remediation before service is affected. It will also capture and manage assets and supplies information, improving accounting processes.

Through an Application Specific Licensing agreement with IBM, Ricoh will bundle the new system, which is based on IBM Tivoli software, with its multi-function products (MFPs) making the new systems available for enterprise clients. Tivoli software manages a range of assets beyond the datacenter including office equipment such as printers, office MFPs and production printing machines. Tivoli's Intelligent Gateway manages policies to control end-user printing features and tracks energy usage and carbon footprint for print services, reporting at the device, department and individual level.

"This new, enterprise-class system will give our global customers complete visibility across their fleet of printers and MFP devices, helping them to better manage and optimize printing as an office function," said Hede Nonaka, executive vice president, Marketing & Document Solutions and Services Division, Ricoh Americas Corporation. "The solution will also be a core technology for our Managed Document Services (MDS) offering."

"IBM's design collaboration with Ricoh on this initiative demonstrates how we are bringing a new level of 'smart' to offices, and significant operational savings for the customer," said Bruce Anderson, general manager, IBM Electronics Industry. "As CIOs work to drive down costs, printers and other office devices offer an attractive target for improvement."

For more details visit www.ibm.com, www.ricoh-usa.com