For many of us, being 'at work' is more about what we are doing and less about where we are.
The demand to be market driven and customer centered causes us to do business where the
customers and suppliers are, requiring us to be away from our traditional workplace. Our
business requires us to travel to the customer's site, a vendor's warehouse, a field office, or a
branch office. Our talents are needed where the action is, and that's seldom where our desk is.
There is a trend in many industries to limit the office space provided for employees, assigning a
'loaner' desk when they come to the office. IBM has estimated a $70 million annual real-estate
expenses saving due to this concept of workplace reduction in the New Jersey trading area alone.
This trend towards sharing minimal office space is causing more employees to set up home
offices. Consumer outlets have already developed to support this trend. Everything from
paperclips, to file cabinets, to computer networking gear is now being sold directly to the
information worker rather than to central procurement.
For the mobile information worker, the home, automobile, airplane, hotel, etc., serve as a
"virtual" office. Being mobile puts unique stresses on the information worker. Information is the
key to business, with access anytime, anywhere required to make fast business decisions.
Delivering information to a client in real-time may be the difference in closing the deal.
Now consider Toby, a salesman for a clothing manufacturer. Toby is mobile, traveling to the
offices of buyers of major department store chains. The key to Toby's success is to present his
clients with up-to-date information about his product line, tailoring his presentation to the
immediate needs of the each buyer, and presenting written proposals against their requirements
before the meeting closes.
Toby's road worrier arsenal include the standard tools; laptop and wireless phone. But he has
added a new weapon - the Salutation-enabled multifunction devices and printers that are showing
up in hotel business centers, convenience-copy storefronts, and even some of his clients offices.
While traveling from the last sales call to the next, Toby phones ahead to discuss requirements
with the buyer. With laptop connected to the corporate data base, Toby manipulates the product
line to meet the buyer's requirements, pulling up to date information on those garments that are
in-line with the needs of the client. Before calling on the client, Toby finds the nearest business
center, and directs the information that he compiled to be transferred from the corporate host
computer to the local Salutation-enabled device. With hardcopy in hand, Toby makes the sales
call.
After the meeting, Toby has the information he needs to process a formal bid. Again, with his
laptop, he accesses the corporate sales data base and enters the product codes, volumes and
delivery requirements. The host computer responds with a bid which Toby directs to the client's
Salutation-enabled printer. Within a few minutes, Toby has a 'written' bid to leave with the
client. No delays! Real time sales.
Toby's next client is his biggest, and he wants to make a good impression. He decides he will make his initial presentation in color. He opens his laptop and queries the network for a list of the nearest high-quality color printers. He gets a list of three; one at the hotel, one at the copy store, and one at a kiosk in the shopping mall. Since he has to do some birthday shopping anyway, he selects the mall kiosk. While retrieving his printout, he uses the scanning capability of the kiosk machine to forward his signed sales agreements to his assistant, who is working from home.
Salutation is used by the corporate host computer to determine the capabilities of the printer or
multifunction device Toby selects. Knowing the capabilities, the corporate computer is able to
format the print job to utilize all the features and function available. This guarantees that the
resulting output will be the highest presentation fidelity provided by the device.
Salutation is also used to find the color device Toby is looking for. A Salutation search is used,
specifying the specific capabilities Toby needs. Only devices meeting these requirements respond
to the search.
Finally, the Salutation enabled scanner at the kiosk is used to deliver the sales contracts to Toby's assistant. With higher scan resolution than a fax machine, and direct attachment to the internet, a higher quality reproduction is immediately available to the assistant. No need to suffer the lower quality and lower speed of a fax machine. Additionally, the Salutation-enabled scanner can adjust its scan operation to meet the capabilities of the assistant's Salutation-enabled output device, which change depending on his work location.