DM May-Jun 2022

Dm RESEARCH: PRINT SERVICES
Hybrid working
pushes print
management
to the cloud
According to the latest
report from Quocirca,
80% of businesses expect
to use cloud-based print
management as the
overall balance of IT
infrastructure shifts to the
cloud
The majority of
organisations will
operate a fully or mostly
cloud-based IT environment by
2025, according to the latest Cloud
Print Services 2022 Report from global
market insight and research company
Quocirca.
Businesses are seeking resilience, cost
savings, and the flexibility to support a
hybrid workforce without
compromising security. As a result, one
in five say they will fully transition their
IT environment to the cloud by 2025;
while 41% will 'mostly' transition. This
compares to the situation today, where
6% are fully in the cloud and 21% are
mostly in the cloud, meaning the
overall balance between cloud and onpremise
infrastructure will switch in
favour of the cloud within the next
three years.
Adoption of cloud print management
is also gathering pace. A cloud print
management platform has already
been implemented by 43%, a strong
increase from 29% who had done so in
2021. A further 37% are planning to
implement cloud print management,
making it the solution of choice for
eight in ten IT decision-makers overall.
The study also found that:
Cloud services are the top
investment priority in the coming
year, cited by 31%.
45% have implemented remote
print job submission to support
hybrid workers.
87% believe the cloud to be a lot
more, or somewhat more, secure
than an on-premise platform.
Cloud print deployment forms part
of
their
sustainability
strategy for 80%
of respondents.
Cloud provision is a key
MPS supplier selection factor,
with 38% saying it influences
their choice of MPS provider.
40% say transitioning print services
to the cloud is a key driver for MPS
adoption.
Commenting on the research findings,
Quocirca Research Director Louella
Fernandes says: "There has been a swift
acceleration in the pace of cloud
adoption, and particularly where cloud
print management is concerned. The
combined drivers of the need to
support the hybrid workplace with
secure, flexible infrastructure, and to
enhance sustainability strategies, have
acted as a catalyst and we expect
momentum to continue."
MPS MATURITY DOES NOT EQUAL
CLOUD MATURITY
The study found that organisations
with a fully outsourced Managed Print
Service were less likely than those using
a hybrid approach to have switched to
a cloud-based print environment. More
than half (52%) of fully outsourced
MPS customers are still operating their
print environment fully on-premise,
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May/June 2022
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