In just the past decade, the workplace has undergone monumental changes to its workforces, its offices and its tools. And the rate of change is only accelerating.
To achieve business longevity, you need to start anticipating those changes today – and yes, that includes your office printer setup.
Want to know what the workplace of the future will look like? We’ll tell you what changes to expect, and how to prepare your office printer for what lies ahead with these future print services.
Changing workforces
Thanks to internet connectivity and mobile technology, workforces no longer need to be bound by four walls. Employees are now demanding more flexibility, and businesses are granting that flexibility in the way of remote working.
This has also provided businesses with more freedoms, granting them a much broader talent pool made up of full-time, part-time, casual, freelance and gig workers, in what Deloitte calls the open talent economy.
How to prepare your office printer setup for a changing workforce
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Implement features to support remote working: Ensure your printer is ready for a remote and mobile workforce by enabling it to connect to the cloud, and implementing features like mobile printing that give workers the freedom to use their mobile devices just as they would use a laptop.
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Consider cybersecurity needs: As businesses become ‘borderless’ and workers transport data in and out of systems, that data can potentially become more exposed to a breach. Ensure your printers have technology that helps keep your data safe, such as follow-me printing and user authentication.
Changing offices
As workforces become more flexible and diverse, offices will respond in kind, incorporating a wider variety of different spaces and becoming more adaptable – think cosy nooks for deep concentration, open areas for boisterous collaboration, comfy lounges for casual meetings and bars for after-work mingling.
Sustainability will also remain a hot-button topic, with more employees demanding environmentally responsible practices from their employers.
How to prepare your office printer setup for a changing office
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Think flexible: As your office becomes more flexible, so too should your office printer setup. Be sure to undertake a printer audit to gain a deep understanding of your organisation’s printer needs, so you can ensure you have the optimum number of devices, and those devices are placed in the most productive locations. You could also consider implementing managed print services (MPS) that can adjust to your business’s needs as those needs change.
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Think sustainable: Consider devices that are more sustainable, such as KYOCERA’s ECOSYS printers, which incorporate long-life consumables, thereby reducing landfill waste. You can also minimise your carbon footprint by utilising printer features like Energy Saver and defaulting to black-and-white printing.
Changing technology
Expect to see technology continue to develop at an unfettered pace, fundamentally changing the way we do business.
There are plenty of spaces to watch here! Automation will help to free workers from highly repetitive tasks, making them available for higher-level tasks. Artificial intelligence (AI) will become more sophisticated and conversational. Cloud computing will help make data available to mobile and remote workers faster than ever. Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) will become indispensable tools, aiding businesses with things like training, design and data management.
How to prepare your office printer setup for changing technology
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Consider how to integrate automation and AI into your workflow: Ensure your printer setup is built into automated workflows. An enterprise content management (ECM) solution, for example, can aid in converting paper documents to digital formats, ensuring the automatic capturing, process and storing of data is performed seamlessly from beginning to end. AI is also making ECM solutions more powerful, giving them features like natural language process and understanding, and intelligent redaction.
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Implement 3D printing: Help your business take a giant leap into the future with a 3D printer. With 3D printing, you can produce rapid prototypes, helping you to innovate quickly and stay a step ahead of your competitors.
Businesses that are prepared for changing workforces, offices and technology with these future print services will be primed to reap the benefits and overtake less-prepared competitors.
Managed Print Services is a flexible and scalable print solution that can meet the changing needs of your organisation in the new era of work. To learn how you can reduce your costs, minimise risk, improve your environmental footprint and gain greater control of your print environment, download our Managed Print Services Fact Sheet.
