INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: HP Imaging and Printing Group
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
John Tomesco
Vice President, Market Development
WW Enterprise Sales and Service
HP Imaging and Printing Group
John Tomesco leads a team focused on public sector, vertical service industries, program management and product industries for HP’s enterprise imaging and printing group.
Q: How are compliance and regulation policiesin the public sector impacting development of printing software?
A: The government has implemented several compliance policies, such HIPAA, Sarbanes- Oxley and other regulations, that have dictated not only what solutions are being developed, but also how fast they are being implemented. The importance of security measures has evolved rapidly in recent years. While in the past the challenge has been to help customers see the need for security, today’s need has gone well beyond that to include a printing and imaging infrastructure designed to meet the most stringent security regulations while addressing overall IT pain points. With a broad portfolio of printing capabilities and workflow solutions, HP works to educate the public sector on ways they can increase productivity, improve operations and enhance outreach effectiveness while meeting compliance policies.
Q: It is no surprise that security is a major hot topic in the public sector right now. How is HP addressing these issues?
A: The public sector is a very paper-intensive environment, and it is important for organizations to ensure that MFP functionalities are secure to protect sensitive documents. Endpoint security has emerged as an important tool to protect the organization’s internal network. MFPs, if not secured properly, can easily become the entry point into corporate and government networks for intrusions, leaving it exposed to hackers and even malicious internal threats, and could eventually be put into the wrong hands. To help customers prevent intrusions on their MFPs, HP introduced the HP Common Access Card (CAC), which was developed out of an immediate customer need following Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The Department of Defense approached HP about creating a solution that meets these stringent regulatory requirements. Using HP’s expertise in security solutions, HP created CAC to work directly with HP’s multifunction printers to authorize the capture and output of digital content. CAC requires the user to enter a PIN as well as insert a valid smartcard before the user has access to his or her personal backend information on the MFP.
Q: Are there any current regulations or government mandates that HP is addressing with specific security solutions?
A: Although there are several HP printing solutions designed to help agencies and companies comply with state and federal regulations and laws, HP has been working in particular with several customers to address the U.S. REAL ID Act of 2005. HP Document Capture Solution for Evidence of Identity is powered by HP hardware, software and services. It captures, stores and retrieves important identity documents so that government agencies can accurately issue citizen documentation, such as state and national ID cards or passports, with enhanced security features. Designed to help organizations comply with the U.S. REAL ID Act, which will go into effect December 2009, this solution will provide customers with comprehensive audits of workflow environments.
This solution complements the recently announced HP Compliant Document Capture Solution for SEC Regulation 17a, a solution of software, services and document capture hardware that improves business compliance posture toward important financial services industry regulations, including SEC 17a. Securities Exchange Act SEC CFR Rule 17a requires that all transaction records relating to any securities transaction be kept in nonrewritable and non-erasable format, including documents in e-mail, fax and mail.
These solutions effectively and seamlessly integrate these new requirements into government document and information workflows to enable a more effective and secure environment.
Q: What steps can organizations take to better secure their printing and imaging infrastructure?
A: HP has invested heavily in security solutions to create a broad portfolio that addresses authentication, authorization, audit and accounting. Depending on the printing and imaging pain points within a printing infrastructure, an organization can employ a variety of solutions to address authentication, authorization, audit and accounting issues through HP Secure Print Advantage. Announced this past year, HP Secure Print Advantage is a comprehensive security solution designed incorporate security elements to an organization’s existing infrastructure. The end-to-end workflow solution is implemented into the printing environment to protect data and resources, validate regulatory compliance and optimize business risk management. It consists of secure print servers, secure printer cards and intelligent client applications to ensure that no sensitive documents are ever exposed on a network or a printer. Users are securely authenticated when they send documents and pick them up at the printer. Secure printer cards authenticate printer applications so that they are not compromised by viruses or Trojan horses. Overall, this appeals to several organizations that do not want to make major changes to its existing network to introduce a secure architecture. With HP Secure Print Advantage, HP can provide companies with a flexibility solution that works with their current imaging and printing infrastructure.
More information on HP public sector imaging and printing offerings can be found at www.hp.com/united-states/public. ♦
