The US Federal Government continues to invest in moving to the cloud across core software applications. FedRAMP and other cloud-approved offerings have been a key driver of this migration, making it easier for the government to acquire and deploy capabilities. Microsoft Office 365 is prolific throughout the federal IT landscape and it’s accelerating the move to the cloud. It enables collaboration and ease of access to documents across government offices.

At the same time, investments in print hardware are being reexamined by agency leaders. Hybrid work has reduced the duty cycles on equipment and disrupted normal operations indefinitely. Many government agencies and organizations are now looking at how they can improve the return on their hardware investments while keeping security a top priority.

But there remains a core challenge as the hybrid workplace evolves: providing a secure Common Access Card (CAC) and Personal Identification Validation (PIV) enabled scan-to-OneDrive for Business (ODFB) capability that natively works with Microsoft Office 365. Many agencies are exploring how multi-function devices (MFDs) can enable automated workflows into Microsoft Office 365 through Intelligent Automation software, while keeping a robust security posture. While there are a few companies offering this functionality, not all solutions are created equal. In fact, only one candidate meets all the criteria organizations need.

An open forum on the issues

There are several challenges agencies face when it comes to scanning documents to OneDrive for Business. Despite the number of candidates available for scanning, most of them cannot address key requirements noted below.

First, the scanning process must be secure to comply with data protection and encryption requirements. Oftentimes, however, the existing software agencies have in place do not support the scanning process or the necessary security requirements.

It is also common for agencies to have multiple brands of MFDs in their fleet. Providing secure scan to OneDrive with varied software interfaces can be problematic, especially when the workforce may need to move from one fleet to another based on work locations. Having a common workflow and interface with Microsoft Office 365 unifies the user experience across the various brands of devices.

Many agencies also want to capture data within the scanning workflow and use it for other business purposes. If capture workflows cannot seamlessly integrate with other cloud-based solutions, this quickly becomes yet another complicated integration challenge.

Tungsten Automation ControlSuite pulls ahead of the pack

Tungsten Automation ControlSuite is the industry’s only commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) solution with Scan-to-M365 capabilities that resolves all the key issues agencies face in their drive to the cloud. Additional features and technology further enhance the control organizations have over their MFDs and content workflows, making it the frontrunner over other solutions.

The solution unifies the entire MFD fleet regardless of brand, providing your workforce with a unified experience across all major manufacturers’ devices.

ControlSuite’s secure scan capability meets all modern Federal security requirements facing organizations in their drive to the cloud:

• Adheres to FIPS 140.2 and FIPS 140.3 encryption requirements
• Market-leading security with CAC/PIV integration print release and IPv6 compliance
• Modern (multi-factor) authentication leveraging Azure Active Directory
• Flexible workflows that evolve with the organization
• Native analytics which provide security alerts, auditing, and management statistics

Tungsten Automation ControlSuite further empowers the workforce by recognizing printed text in scanned images and intelligently routing the searchable files into a specified OneDrive directory. This is known as “content awareness,” and it means faster and more automated processing. This results in improved user experience and more time for staff to dedicate to higher-value work.

ControlSuite also natively connects with Tungsten Automation’s broader Intelligent Automation (IA) platform. Tungsten Automation’s IA platform further enhances intelligent workflows by expanding the document understanding capabilities of ControlSuite.

The Tungsten Automation IA platform enables further automation through:

• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Robotic process automation (RPA)
• Process orchestration
• Optical character recognition (OCR) technologies

When used as part of the larger Tungsten Automation IA platform, ControlSuite securely ingests documents at the MFD, processes them, then routes and delivers the data and documents back into the ControlSuite workflows that integrates with Microsoft Office 365.

Below is an example of how the Tungsten Automation platform intelligently transforms workflows:

Make the intelligent choice

Tungsten Automation ControlSuite is the only COTS offering that overcomes the challenges of Microsoft Office 365 integration and OneDrive for Business scanning. It accomplishes this while enabling you to more effectively govern your MFD fleets and provide additional business efficiencies.

Tungsten Automation has an extensive footprint of software deployments within the federal market, as well as an experienced team to help you navigate Microsoft Office 365 integration and document processing.

We invite you to an introductory conversation with us, so you can learn more about how Tungsten Automation ControlSuite can solve your Microsoft Office 365 integration and scanning issues, digitally transform your document workflows with Intelligent Automation and maximize your organization’s investment in your MFD fleets.

You can learn more about our solutions on our dedicated resource page or send a note to our team at SSR.AMS@kofax.com. If you are interested in more information on our available federal contract vehicles, you can visit our microsite via Carahsoft.