Alan Mason managing director Ricoh IrelandRicoh has called on European businesses to develop and integrate mobile printing strategies into their overall mobile print plans. The recommendation follows a recent study by Quocirca, a leading independent analyst firm offering strategic consulting, research and analysis into the impact of technology on businesses and consumers. The study shows that almost 60 per cent of businesses agree that employees would like to print from mobile devices. However the data found that just 5 per cent of organisations have deployed mobile printing with less than a quarter actively investigating options to support mobile workers.
Further Ricoh-sponsored research by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which included senior Irish executives, also reported that the workplace is set to become even more virtual by 2020. Nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed predicted this, with almost 48 per cent saying they believed that most employees would work from home rather than from a traditional company office in the future. The research showed that consumerisation was key in all this. It indicated that the boundaries between technology used for work and leisure were blurred and this would further accelerate. Over 70 per cent of respondents believe employees will conduct all their communication and electronic work using just one device. A further 52 per cent also predicted that employees would procure and administer their own devices and applications, rather than the central IT function.
Louella Fernandes, analyst at Quocirca, said consumerisation was a major reason for businesses to adopt a mobile print strategy.
“Organisations that ignore the impact of consumerisation on their print environment can be open to risk,” she said. “In the future, employees will bypass the company IT to use alternative consumer printing applications. These solutions may not offer sufficient protection and will also prevent organisations from tracking and controlling print usage.”
Alan Mason, managing director, Ricoh Ireland, added: “For businesses to remain competitive, it’s crucial they support their employees to work in a more mobile, flexible way. This includes providing employees with the ability to access and print important business documents whether they are in their regular place of work, in another office, or on the move.
“By adopting a document management strategy that enables employees to maximise knowledge sharing and collaboration, businesses will benefit from real-time decision making, meaning they can respond to customer and market needs more quickly and effectively.”
Visit Ricoh's website to find out about printing on the move.
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