Survey Results

Transforming print for the hybrid era

Is your organization keeping up?

Is your organization keeping up?

We surveyed

We surveyed

500 high ranking IT professionals in the US to understand how and why organizations across multiple sectors are reshaping their print environments, to meet evolving workforce needs and industry demands.

Over 75%

of respondents say their print environment is already in, or on its way, to the cloud

Over 50%

of respondents have a print transformation strategy in place

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Current state of work and
print in the hybrid environment

Current state of work and print in the hybrid environment

1 Has the shift to hybrid work changed your organization’s print behaviors?

Yes, print behavior has changed

No change

Not sure

As companies look to find their rhythm in this new era of hybrid work, they are totally rethinking their IT infrastructure and strategies.
For 71% of companies across all sectors and sizes, the transformation of their print solution has already started.

2 In terms of working location, in our organization people are:

43%

Working across a combination of home and office

33%

Mostly back in office

24%

Mostly working from home

Hybrid work arrangements continue to be the norm.

For 43% of respondents, employees are working across a combination of home and office, which rises to more than half in the Finance and Architecture, Engineering & Construction sectors. Clearly, hybrid work is here to stay even as offices continue to reopen.

3 How are remote workers getting their printing done now?

3 How are remote workers getting their printing done now?

Respondents expressed a strong preference to print at home, with 58% printing with their personal printer. This highlights the challenge that companies face with print visibility and security of devices at the edge.

The prevailing hybrid work arrangement is reflected in the respondents’ print activity with 25.7% printing both at home and in the office.

58%

Use personal printer at home
41%

Use company-provided
printer at home
39%

Come to office to print

4 Did you face any of these print-related challenges during the shift to remote working?

58%

Ensuring document and data security
41%

Providing access to printers and print supplies
39%

Adapting or digitizing paper-based workflows
39%

I had no need to print
39%

No challenges

51% of all
respondents say their biggest printing challenge is ensuring document & data security.

Work has atomized the office & IT leaders are concerned that this fragmentation increases data loss risks. It’s evident that for many organizations, hybrid working poses persistent security challenges.

“Hybrid working can lead to a misalignment between those employees that are working in the office and those working remotely. Since one of the main appeals of hybrid is the balance between autonomy and collaboration, you need to make sure your hybrid working arrangement promotes both.”

- IT Manager, IT and Professional Services organization

5 Do you have visibility into the print activity of your remote workers?

Visibility into remote print activity is reasonably high.

This increases to 80% when remote printing is supported by their MPS agreement.

Company-provided printers do make a difference as the results saw visibility among respondents using company-provided printers rising sharply to 82%.

61%

Yes, we have the ability to track remote print activity
27%

No, we are unable to track remote print activity
6%

No, we have instructed our employees to only print in the office
6%

I’m not sure

“I feel that supporting our remote employees when issues arise is the most challenging part for our IT people because some of the remote workers are not technically sound and trying to resolve their issues takes much longer and becomes stressful for the IT team. It has doubled their workload.”

- IT Manager, Finance organization

6 Has your print environment transitioned to being managed in the cloud?

Partially/In progress

Yes

No/I don’t know

Almost a third of respondents have already taken a significant step in their print transformation and moved to the cloud. A further 45% are on their way there.

62% of those already in the cloud stated that reducing the print management burden was a primary motivation. There’s evidently a rise in organizations seeking to free IT resources with a lighter touch print solution.

Future Plans for Print

7 Do you have a print transformation strategy in place?

55%

Yes.
45%

No.

More than half of all respondents have a print transformation strategy in place.

The proportion increases with IT team size, so we can assume that more IT resources provides a higher capacity for transformation initiatives.

Respondents from organizations where print has transitioned to the cloud, and who have visibility into remote print activity, are also more likely to have a print transformation strategy in place, suggesting that their strategy drives these outcomes.

8 Which of the following drivers are influencing your print transformation?

Most common responses

51%

Supporting remote workers
48%

Integrating with digital workflows
42%

Lowering carbon footprint
51%
48%
43%
41%
41%
36%
33%
5%

Supporting remote workers

Integrating with digital workflows

Lowering carbon footprint

Addressing security concerns

Managing IT complexity

Reducing print spend

Adapting to changes in user behavior

None of the above

Workforce enablement is helping to set the agenda, especially for those still on their journey to the cloud.

For 58% of respondents supporting remote workers is the key driver for moving to the cloud. Getting the right device in the right hands at the right time is the priority. Paper-based processes continue to be critical and so connecting the workforce with the right workflows sits at the top of the IT agenda.

In conclusion

The print transformation journey is underway and, with 75% of organizations on their way, cloud is where it’s at. Those who have embraced cloud as a game-changer in print are already realizing its benefits:

  • A more productive end user.
  • A more secure IT infrastructure.
  • A more collaborative workforce.
  • A more agile IT team.
  • And a meaningful contribution to the organization’s sustainability goals.

Overwhelmingly, we have learned that there is no one size fits all. Every company will have unique requirements that will inevitably evolve over time and the critical attribute for all technology solutions will be flexibility, including print.

Speak to an HP expert to get help in shaping a print transformation strategy that fits your organization.

Contact us
Take the survey Get the full report

HP surveyed 500 IT professionals in the US to understand why organizations across sizes and sectors are rushing to evolve their print environment. The survey included 12 questions, both open- and close-ended, regarding print behavior, transformation, and challenges.

It was conducted online over a two-weeks period in March 2022. Survey target audience consisted of respondents in the IT function, from organizations with a minimum of 500 employees, who have some degree of involvement in print-related decisions-making. The survey was executed by Transmission in partnership with Rival Tech, on behalf of HP.