Employee mobility a strong driver for digitization of business processes

Three quarters of the Western European workforce will be mobile by 2018 and require the ability to access and process information quickly and securely in order to maintain and increase productivity, according to a new whitepaper from the analysts IDC and commissioned by OKI Europe.

In addressing this changing environment, the IDC whitepaper titled ‘Are your business processes stifling your market opportunity? Cost-efficient print and document management through smart MFPs’ states that smart multifunction printers (smart MFPs) need to provide the option to digitise documents while safeguarding sensitive company data against any threats or viruses by providing secure printing from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

One of the biggest evolutions in modern business is the rapid change to how and where people work, with bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and cloud technology paving the way for remote and flexible working structures. Increasingly, many small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are also benefiting from affordable access to sophisticated technology.

However, in bringing about changing behaviour and workplace, the new digital era for business presents a number of pressure points for the modern SMB. In particular, a mobile workforce needs anytime, anywhere access to information to maintain and increase productivity. At the same time, SMBs are under pressure to do more with the same or fewer resources.

Moving towards anywhere, anytime flexibility

In order to manage the continued increase in mobility, the whitepaper confirms that organisations need to have control over how people work from their own personal BYOD and business mobiles. They must protect a company’s intellectual property while still allowing employees ‘anytime and anywhere’ access to maintain efficient working practices through the use of mobile print applications and configured data access.

Devices such as smartphones and tablets are an increasingly popular way for employees to access business information, with IDC research showing that overall shipments for tablets reached an all-time high of 76.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. As well as offering secure printing, smart MFPs therefore need to offer the functionality to enable small business users to print seamlessly from all types of modern devices.

In 2013, an IDC European usage study on print services market trends found that a third of companies allowed their employees to use their own personal smartphones, laptops and tablets. When IDC asked SMBs about their opinions on business process efficiency, a high number agreed that they needed to improve their processes, with employee mobility being a strong driver in support of digitised processes.

A 2014 study released by Atomik Research on behalf of OKI Europe has also pointed to a significant increase in the use of smart devices and flexible working among European SMBs. This research found that nearly half of the businesses surveyed (45%) had staff with a requirement to print from a mobile device.

Smart MFPs – the key to safeguarding business data

While today, most businesses continue to use a combination of paper-based and digital documents in their day-to-day operations, research by IDC shows a third of European companies are now planning for a digital world. As this shift continues, smart multifunction printers (MFPs) can play an important role in helping firms move away from paper-based processes towards more collaborative, digitised processes.

As demand for productivity tools that meet the needs of the modern worker continues to rise, smart MFPs look set to move centre stage as a workplace technology. Acting as ‘on ramps and off ramps to the cloud’, IDC makes the case that they are no longer simply a printing and copying facility (or ‘dumb device’), but have now transcended to become a customisable digital transformation tool.

With access to scanning functionality, SMB users can digitise information for searchable access and scan direct to a specific destination, eliminating the need for a paper trail.

The ability to scan direct to email, or a specified network or cloud-based folder for further use or archiving purposes also makes the devices well-suited to the 66% of European companies which say the ability to have archived documents in a single location is a key benefit of automating business processes.

Meanwhile, functions such as secure ID cards and secure PIN controls take away the security concerns raised by ‘anywhere and anytime’ access to information, giving peace of mind to SMB businesses that sensitive company and customer data is protected and handled in accordance with best-practice industry regulations.

The fact that smart MFPs respond to SMBs’ need for secure solutions and are equipped to meet productivity challenges makes them an intelligent choice for European SMBs navigating the changing demands of the modern workplace.

Confirming the role of smart MFPs in the modern business workplace, the whitepaper points out smart MFPs extend the utilisation of the device to a customisable digital transformation tool. They can act as a platform for growth by providing cost and time-efficient workflow solutions aligned with and in support of companies’ business objectives, such as improving compliance and security while supporting mobility and cost-cutting initiatives.”

Terry Kawashima, managing director, OKI Europe, says: “BYOD has changed from being a business trend to business reality. The fact that smart MFPs can be configured to streamline workflow and simplify document distribution and management makes them an important asset in the management of BYOD and workforce mobility.”