Kofax partners with Microsoft to advance printing and workplace solutions

Kofax, the Intelligent Automation software specialist, has partnered with Microsoft with the aim of advancing cloud-based print solutions with ControlSuite.

With a combined solution, Kofax looks to update content workflows, governance, reporting, security, compliance and productivity. Kofax's ControlSuite is a print management and cognitive capture software solution that is used across a range of printers and multi-function devices (MFD).

The company's Intelligent Automation software platform aims to help organisations update information-intensive business processes, reduce manual work and errors, minimise costs, and improve customer engagement.

This is achieved through a combination of RPA, cognitive capture, process orchestration, mobility and engagement, and analytics. According to the company, more businesses are looking to migrate to the cloud and this is resulting in workforces becoming more distributed.

As a result, organisations are looking for ways to provide employees with secure and simple print and cognitive capture solutions. Microsoft's Universal Print offering combined with Kofax's ControlSuite achieves this.

Universal Print is Microsoft's cloud based print infrastructure which brings a secure print experience to users. With ControlSuite, IT departments can configure print servers and local devices, alleviating much of the print administration effort and expense, Kofax states.

ControlSuite works across the most comprehensive range of printers and multi-function device (MFD) brands and models, as well as mobile devices.

It is also designed to provide print management, cognitive capture and output management to ensure printing, scanning, content extraction and document workflows can be automated across a combination of hybrid systems and technologies. These include printers, MFDs, mobile and desktop devices, email and print streams, the company states.

Kofax chief strategy officer Chris Huff says, "Kofax and Microsoft share a common goal of helping customers digitally transform business operations and workflow to drive enhanced efficiency, productivity and experience.

"ControlSuite and Universal Print represent the future of work, providing customers a modern print infrastructure delivered through cloud services.

"Customers benefit from Microsoft's cloud services while Kofax ControlSuite provides a single print management, cognitive capture and output management platform across the enterprise, resulting in reduced cost of ownership and improved, secure experiences for employees.

Microsoft principal program manager lead Issa Khoury says, "Universal Print was designed to move key Windows Server print functionality to the Microsoft cloud so organisations no longer need on-premise print servers, and remove the need to install printer drivers on end-user devices.

"Partnering with Kofax, we're able to offer Kofax and Microsoft customers the joint value of Universal Print and ControlSuite and elevate user experience to the next level.

Microsoft's Universal Print is currently in private preview and will be available soon to Microsoft 365 users. Microsoft and Kofax hosted a joint webinar discussing the functionality of Universal Print and Kofax ControlSuite.