The Company
Age UK is the UK’s largest charity for the elderly, with a combined annual income of £160 million. Age UK Essex is one of the largest Age UK brand partners supporting over 80,000 people across Essex through its network of offices. Having replaced its existing fleet of Windows laptops with Google for Work and Chromebooks, Age UK Essex required a new print solution with a connection to Google Drive that had the capability to print via Google Cloud Print for 170 staff and volunteers.
The Challenge
Age UK Essex had an incumbent fleet of printing devices which were expensive to run, unpredictable, and unreliable when connecting to the Google Cloud Print platform.The situation was becoming critical and in danger of affecting the operations of the organisation. Additionally, Age UK Essex had no insight or control over their existing devices, and was unable to see how much money was being spent on printing within the organisation.
The Solution
EBM carried out a full print audit to pinpoint the issues within the network. They subsequently implemented a full managed print service solution using eight uniform Lexmark devices. This allowed Age UK Essex to integrate their printing and scanning needs seamlessly with Google Cloud services. Lexmark was selected as the most suitable provider owing to its flexibility, compatibility with Google Cloud Print, and extensive knowledge of the marketplace.
The Benefits
Age UK Essex made significant cost savings, and reduced the strain on IT resources. Helpdesk requests have fallen considerably since the new cloud printing solution was implemented. With staff able to access Google Cloud services on all mobile and desktop devices as well as printing and scanning from and to Google Drive straight from Lexmark devices, and the option to use the cloud print functionality from any location, productivity also increased within the organisation. By selecting a single manufacturer, EBM helped Age UK Essex cut the cost of consumables. They were able to more accurately forecast orders and so reduce waste and eliminate unnecessary consumable stockpiling for many of their devices. Storing documents in the cloud has also reduced the amount of paper being printed – generating even more savings.