BYOD: IT must tackle printer security

With more staff bringing their own devices to work, IT needs to rethink its printing and scanning policies

As staff bring their own devices to work, IT will need to rethink its printing and scanning policies, a study commissioned by Canon has reported.

The pan-European survey of 729 users and decision-makers across Europe found that employers wanted more flexible, mobile working practices.

Some 51% of respondents said they would like to be able to send scanned documents to cloud applications.

When people use their iPads, iPhones or Android devices at work, they may want to print documents from those devices and receive scans from multifunction departmental printer/scanner devices. This can create problems in terms of creating a security risk if sensitive documents are scanned or printed from a personal device.

Employees are requesting BYOD and more flexible, mobile working practices

  • 51% would like to be able to send scanned docs to cloud applications
  • 31% would like to use an employer’s tablet at work
  • 20% would like to bring their own device to work

The study found that 83% of people still print every day. One in three said they would not be able to work without printing or scanning. Only 5% said they would not be affected if print was taken away. The study also found that print security was a major concern among 66% of the participants.

Matthew Wrighton, office and image product manager at Canon Europe, said: “Businesses need to think about resource allocation, budgeting and how they charge for printing.”

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