|
|
|
|
|
 | Background personalization: Monochrome or four-color photo-quality printing |
| Graphic personalization: pictures, logos, text and barcodes |
| Data encoding: ISO and JIS2 magnetic encoding, smart cards and contactless cards with RFID antenna |
Key figures
|
| 2007 turnover: USD 48.9 M |
|
| European leader and within the top 5 vendors in the global market for plastic card printing systems |
|
| An export market that represents 92% of sales |
|
| A global distribution network spanning 91 countries |
|
| 130+ employees worldwide |
|
| Headquarters and production site in Angers, France |
|
| Offices in Miami, Singapore and Tokyo |
|
| Investment in R&D as percentage of Sales Turnover: 4% |
|
| A full range of systems for plastic card customization: 7 product ranges (from monochrome or color printing, single-sided until high volume personalization, dual-sided) |
|
| Today 250 product references, sold by unit or in volume |
Key markets
Applications that require instant, decentralized and simple delivery of personalized cards : Identification – Security and Access Control – Transport – Leisure – Loyalty – Banks – Governmental Institutions
Prevent unsupported hardware and software installs
Do end users in your company call the help desk looking for assistance with applications unsupported by the company? Or worse, when your tech support analysts visit user workstations to troubleshoot, do they find problems are the result of the installation of unauthorized hardware?
If so, you've got trouble. When anybody in the company can install applications or add new hardware, the results include an undue burden on tech support, security breaches, loss or compromise of data, proliferation of viruses, and increased use (waste) of precious network bandwidth.
So what can you do to prevent end users from installing software or hardware? To answer that question in one word: policies.
Specifically, we recommend establishing written policies that define who can install what on company computers. Then, wherever possible, put in place network operating system policies that prevent users from breaching your written policies.
Whose call is it to lock down user machines?
Help desk managers have a duty to protect company assets by reporting any unauthorized software and hardware installations. But what specifically can the help desk manager do?
The answer depends on your IT department staff. In some shops, the same person who administers the network is also the person who oversees technical support operations. In other shops, the help desk manager may have to get buy-in from the network administrator to establish security policies or to physically lock down user machines.
No matter who has ultimate authority over the network, the help desk manager is usually the first person to learn about unauthorized installations. Users inevitably make the mistake of calling for help getting Quake to run on the network or installing the nifty new USB port they bought over the weekend. Help desk analysts should inform management as soon as they find out someone is installing (or trying to install) unauthorized applications and devices.
Written policies the help desk can sponsor
The problem with trying to tell people they can't do something is that they'll push back. They want to know why they can't just install whatever software or hardware they need on their machines. Without any policies in place, users may assume they can do whatever they please, with or without help from the support team.
One way to eliminate confrontations with users is for the help desk manager to write policies that specifically outline what users can and cannot put on their machines. Put those policies through the normal corporate approval policy, publish the approved policies on the intranet, and make sure departmental managers in the organization get the word out to their teams.
You can sum up these policies in this way: "Nothing goes on company computers unless the IT department has certified and approved its use, and nobody gets access to the network except by approved methods." To give such policies administrative teeth, you may want to define specific consequences or penalties for anyone who violates them. At the least, you should authorize the tech support staff to uninstall any unauthorized software or hardware whenever they encounter it.
Once you put policies in place and have communicate them to end users, the help desk has an out that lets it refuse to provide support or help to an end user who does something against official company policy.
Lock them down now, or clean up the mess later
Some of you may believe that policies that require locking down end user machines are too restrictive. Some of you may believe companies should allow end users as much freedom to install applications or configure machines as they like.
If you can trust the users in your organization to add or remove hardware or software, more power to you and to them. And if you don't mind providing help desk support for the picture-maker-of-the-month and gamers on the network, more power to you.
But be forewarned. The first time a user inadvertently launches a virus or brings down the network, you'll wish you'd locked down their machines.
No business ever plans to get smaller, but a surprising number fail to plan for growth...particularly when it comes to IT. Smart IT managers can choose scalable solutions to help reach business goals. Whether the result of an internal process or part of a professional services recommendation, a clear plan for scalability is needed. IT scalability refers to the ability of a platform to provide suitable application performance regardless of the number of users. In a broader definition, scalability is the ability of hardware, software and infrastructure to respond to constantly evolving needs of the business...to add users and functionality with minimal disruptions to daily operations.
| Hardware |
Scalability at the desktop is pretty much a non-issue these days as processor speeds, standard RAM configurations and drive capacities already exceed the needs of most users. Issues of desktop scalability are more focused on the ability to provide adequate technical support to a growing and increasingly dispersed user base. Issues of server scalability are more pressing as the demand for Internet access and the increasing amount of traffic across LANs can quickly tax resources.
| Software |
Unlike hardware, choosing an operating environment is trickier now with the release of Windows XP. Recent Linux developments also make deployment issues more complex as the promise of a "free" operating system (OS) that scales well is weighed against the need for support.
| Connectivity |
When it comes to connectivity, the choice is still between dial-up and leased lines for most small businesses. Provisioning of telecom services remains a lengthy, complex process. Larger tech-savvy companies in need of a quick bandwidth fix are looking to "dark fiber" sources -- excess fiber-optic capacity carriers and even enterprises build out in anticipation of future growth. Smaller companies should plan ahead to ensure enough bandwidth is available to meet connectivity needs.
| The Only Constant Is Change |
IT needs were once fairly predictable, but organizations must now respond to market conditions that create instant, rapid growth. Mergers and acquisitions, e-commerce initiatives and good old supply and demand can wreak havoc on seemingly robust IT infrastructures. Ill-prepared companies can literally fail overnight, or at least lose opportunities to better-equipped competitors. While no business wants unused IT resources gathering dust, the IT manager must plan ahead to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place to handle demands and meet business objectives. Companies of all sizes must develop an IT strategy around hardware, software and connectivity solutions that can scale in response to growing needs.
|
|
