Security gap emerging in multi-vendor print environments

Customers operating multi-vendor print environments face higher risks of disruption and security issues when compared to those working with a single supplier.

That is the conclusion of Quocirca’s Print security landscape 2025 study, which is urging those looking after customers operating in a multi-vendor environment to understand some of the consequences of that approach.

The analyst house found that there was a security gap between multi-vendor and single-vendor environments, with the majority (59%) working with more than one manufacturer.

Quocirca found that the average cost of a data breach for those operating multi-vendor printers was £937,000, compared to £630,000 for businesses with standardised fleets.

This situation is not news to more than a third of customers who are concerned about the risks of sensitive data being breached across a multi-vendor environment. Those fears have been heightened by the prospect of artificial intelligence (AI) being used by bad actors to uncover and exploit print infrastructure weaknesses.

“Previous Quocirca studies have identified multi-vendor fleet security weakness, and this year’s findings indicate that the gap is increasing,” said Quocirca CEO Louella Fernandes.

“New printers and MFPs are increasingly connected and sophisticated, but legacy devices remain an important part of many companies’ print infrastructure. Integrating these older devices with centralised security management platforms can be difficult, while maintaining patches and updates is an administrative burden.

“Organisations with mixed fleets must allocate more time and budget to maintaining an adequate security posture and should consider specialist mixed-fleet management solutions.”

Customer fears of a breach are well-founded, with 56% reporting they suffered at least one data loss in the past year. As a result, those in charge of the purse strings expect spending on print security to increase by an average of 13% in the coming year, rising to 16% for those operating multi-vendor fleets.

That money will be spent on security home printers that are a route criminals have been targeting to get to sensitive data, minimising the opportunities for unauthorised printing and identifying vulnerabilities across the infrastructure.

Customers are expecting some intelligent help to meet those aims, with many looking to vendors to be able to provide AI and machine learning features to identify security risks across the infrastructure.

“Vendors are responding to IT decision-makers’ high expectations of vendors around the development of AI and quantum computing-based security solutions,” said Fernandes. “Significant advances from leading companies in the past year include quantum-resistant printers, zero-trust solutions, AI-powered platforms, content and authentication solutions.”

As well as outlining the multi-vendor risks, the Quocirca research highlighted an opportunity for the channel to provide customers with more support around authentication and the implementation of a unified system that delivers consistent access policies and audits user activity.

“Organisations should integrate print authentication with a broader, centralised identity and access management [IAM] framework,” said Fernandes. “Solutions offering seamless, strong authentication across the entire print fleet will enhance security posture, improve user experience and streamline IT administration.

“There is a clear opportunity here for MPS providers to expand service offerings as strategic security advisors to create more resilient, manageable client print environments.”