In the world of modern printing, technology plays a crucial role. And while in the past, that meant hardware developments that led to improved print performance, Samsung Printing Solutions has already begun changing the game. As part of an open, software-driven approach to improving the print industry, the company in 2011 unveiled the powerful and flexible eXtensible Open Architecture (XOA) platform.
The XOA platform was created with a view to providing a boost to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by allowing for customized solutions that could integrate with multi-function printers and meet their own customers’ requirements.
In a nutshell, XOA allows companies to fully customize their printing operations by modifying their existing base platforms. This allows enterprises to make important system modifications and deliver their clients a wider range of tailored services.
Far-reaching Functionality
To users, that means practical new options. Firstly, companies can choose between two platforms. The first is the XOA-Embedded (XOA-E) platform, a fully functional Java machine that reduces complexity and drives down server costs.
There is also a web-based alternative, XOA-Web, based on standard web code such as HTTP and XML. This lighter platform allows users to access solutions running on a separate server. The XOA-Web platform is ideal for businesses that use cost-effective, competitively priced A4 devices.
Crafted for SMBs
Back in 2011, Ron Nevo, a member of the solutions marketing team at Samsung Electronics’ America Enterprise Business Division, explained that XOA was many years in the making and that SMBs’ needs were the driving force for the platform’s development.
Nevo explained, “Our goal was to combine the first-class technology built into all of our printers and copiers with our partners’ unique applications – to offer business users a broad spectrum of solutions for document management, secure printing and cost-saving.”
Open Rules
The crucial factor about the XOA platform is the fact that it is, as its name suggests, open. Rather than being a closed shop, with all the control in the hands of Samsung Printing Solutions developers, the gates are open and just about anyone is welcome to try their hand at diversifying their company’s print experience.
Samsung Printing Solutions realizes that the printer has now become a smart device in its own right, thanks to innovations such as the Smart UX Center. And this is why it is essential that software development takes place on open platforms. Just as a smartphone allows you to download apps made by developers all over the world, printers need open platforms if they are to become hubs of the smart office.
The Ability to Integrate
Diversity is also a key factor, as XOA allows SMBs to integrate with third-party solutions. A range of companies and institutions around the world have already started taking advantage of this important aspect of the platform, including King’s College, a university in London.
Specifically, the university integrated XOA with its existing PaperCut system, enabling pull printing authenticated by student access cards.
Toby Leaver, the Head of End-user IT Services at King’s College London, explains that Samsung Printing Solutions “provided a lot of help and support in terms of moving to managed print solutions.” Leaver also adds that XOA was “very easy to use and integrated perfectly with the university’s print management solution.”
Office managers and IT admins also find that XOA provides them with a range of extensive options that help them manage their companies’ printing output. It allows admins to link users to their print outputs, and, for example, provide warnings when printing budget limits have been reached.
Admins, meanwhile, can also use the platform to create limits for their staff to work within. These include managing individual users’ color printing usage and other cost-saving measures. In this sense, XOA lets you improve your document management so that it integrates with your enterprises’ own solutions.
Make the Change
Both consumers and analysts have praised XOA, with Buyers’ Lab calling the platform “flexible” and citing it as evidence that Samsung Printing Solutions is “deeply invested in the future of printing.”
As printing needs continue to diversify, Samsung Printing Solutions’ XOA empowers your business and lets you make quick and incisive changes to the way you work – providing versatility and changeability when you need it most.