While the world is increasingly digital, there are always going to be times when a document needs to be printed, copied or scanned, safely and securely, such as during the recent change in Government with many new ministers needing to be briefed.
GovPrint, managed and delivered by The Government Property Agency's (the GPA) PropTech team, is a greener, flexible, money-saving service which saves departments the time and cost entailed in buying and managing their own print process. The GPA takes care of the entire procurement and management process and departments pay for what they use, saving on costs and reducing the carbon footprint by having fewer shared printers.
Its simplicity is key. Once civil servants have registered they can use a GovPrint multi-function device (MFD) in any building, on any floor, to print, copy or scan documents as needed. GovPrint means people can access their documents in whichever office they happen to be, whether for meetings, collaboration sessions or training. It's interoperability in action.
Rolling out across the UK
Numerous departments already use GovPrint, including Treasury and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with 172 multi-function devices across 32 sites, supporting over 11,000 users. Recently Whitehall has been a key area, with GovPrint now available in multiple locations, with monthly print volumes approaching half a million pages.
Al Gardner, the GPA's Head of Technology, said:
Demand from departments is increasing - the service is currently rolling out over 1,300 devices in the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Department for Education, significantly increasing GovPrint's reach,
In addition the service is going into HM Revenue and Customs hubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham, and the concept is being explored with other departments including DEFRA and Companies House.
Security matters
Security is vital when delivering a service to government departments. To that end GovPrint complies with National Cyber Security Centre cloud security principles and the GPA works continuously with suppliers to review information assurance and privacy assessments, and carry out IT health checks.
What's next
The GPA is looking to deliver even more flexibility and cost savings, such as moving to a GovPrint Cloud, all while continuing the highest level of service at the best value for money.
