Quick Response Codes, or “QR Codes” for short, are grid-like two-dimensional barcode graphics that are popular ways to quickly share small amounts of data.
They offer the following advantages over traditional barcodes:
- No specialty equipment required. Any camera – and therefore any smart phone – can “read” the data stored in the graphic.
- Native storage. The graphic actually holds data, about 3 Kb at the maximum settings.
- Awareness. These codes are popular and ubiquitous so minimal user training is required.
- Low barriers. A multitude of smart phone apps exist to read and decode the graphics, reducing any barriers to usage.
While very popular in the consumer space, QR codes have also been deployed in the business arena as well, where they have solved some common problems.
Enterprises use QR Codes for the following common functions.
- Asset Management. QR codes printed on a decal make a convenient label to tag individual and corporate assets. These codes can easily be scanned for accountability and inventory purposes.
- Knowledge Sharing. A convenient way to bridge the physical and digital worlds is with QR codes. Information posters displaying QR codes can be scanned by readers and linked to online sources, or supplemental online information.
- Physical Access. Employee and visitor badges displaying QR codes can be scanned for access requests and to track the physical locations people are visiting.
- Facility Security. Physical locations, such as a loading dock, that have a QR code can be scanned by security patrols during their rounds to ensure a physical visit took place at a prescribed time. This serves as a “check in” function.
As many enterprises use ServiceNow as the their authoratative datasource for assets, employees, and facility data, we realized that how great it would be if you were able to generate a QR code without leaving the instance and use ServiceNow to manage the QR codes.
That’s why we developed the Stave QR Code Generator, an plug-in app that extends ServiceNow.
The Stave QR Code Generator is an easy-to-use utility that allows you to generate QR codes from directly within ServiceNow. These QR codes can link to any record in the platform, or to any external URL. This allows you to generate QR codes to match all common use-case functions that enterprises are doing. In addition, QR Code Generator gives you control over the “look and feel” of your QR code label in that you can define human-readable elements around the code and set size and border values.
In addition to being able to create these QR codes, with this app you can actually make them dynamic. That means that if you ever change the destination record or URL over time, you do not need to re-generate, re-print, and re-post another QR code. The app handles that automatically and instantly. That’s huge. QR Code Generator is available for immediate download and free trial in the ServiceNow Store.
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We’d like to talk more about how you can easily and cheaply use QR codes throughout your enterprise in order to automate and improve repetitive tasks and processes. Scan the code below to give us a ring today:
(Neat, huh?)
