The consumerisaton of IT, due in part to ‘bring your own devices’ initiatives, is accelerating the adoption of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in the workplace. Today’s dynamic and mobile workforce is now relying on personal devices in their professional lives and expect anytime, anywhere access to corporate systems – including printing.

As the office extends to an ever-wider range of work locations and businesses find themselves supporting a diverse range of mobile platforms, the print infrastructure is extending to the mobile worker, improving both employee and business productivity. Even in the era of smartphones and tablets, businesses continue to rely on printing. Quocirca’s research reveals that there is certainly the appetite for mobile printing, with almost 60% of respondents stating that their organisations would like to print from their mobile devices, with around 25% currently investigating mobile print solutions.

However, due to the diversity of mobile platforms and printer hardware, implementing an enterprise mobile print strategy is far from simple. Organisations face a complex array of hardware, software and service offerings, which vary both by mobile platform and printer device. Businesses cannot afford to ignore the consumerisaton impact on enterprise printing. If they do, consumers will bypass IT and potentially use consumer printer apps which offer IT no real levels of corporate security or control on what is printed.

Clearly, the future of enterprise printing will increasingly be shaped by consumer trends. The extent to which organisations and vendors can harness this trend will determine success or failure. Organisations must balance a mobile print strategy with security, cost, business process requirements, user needs and delivery models.

This report highlights the market drivers for mobile printing in the business environment, discusses some of the main offerings in the market and suggests some best practices for building a mobile print strategy.

How IT consumerisaton is driving anytime, anywhere printing

Today’s dynamic workforce is more mobile than ever before. The widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets, across Android, BlackBerry and Apple iOS platforms, has broadened the effectiveness of professional workers to remotely support business requirements. End users want to have access to desktop functions, for all business applications, on any device, anytime, anywhere – and printing is no exception. A continued reliance on printing amongst many businesses means IT must provide enterprise mobile printing capabilities that are secure and reliable. This not only ensures employees remain productive but also allows mobile printing to be tracked and controlled – vital in an era when many businesses face financial, environmental and security concerns.

Click here to read this entire White Paper by Quocirca

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David Lindsay

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