GDPR and digital transformation fueling managed print

There continues to be a sizeable number of customers that have yet to embrace managed print management and as a result risk losing money or getting on the wrong side of GDPR regulations.

One of the main benefits of using a print management service is that it gives a clear picture of what is being used in terms of consumables and how many pages are being printed. Often the result is that printing costs are reduced for customers.

Adam Victory, director of  XOS, said that there was still plenty of scope for a discussion with users about print management and there was a growing appetite given the increased focus on automation and digital transformation for a different approach to printing.

"Over 50% of the customer we go and talk to don't have a clear idea of what they are spending and why they are spending it. There are a whole load of opportunities out there," he said.

XOS works with Xerox and has been using the vendor's Fleet Management Portal to provide its own staff and customers with even greater visibility of their hardware estate and the status of each device.

GDPR is also giving customers another reason for looking at their print infrastructure because of the potential to fall foul of data protection laws.

“As well as considering data breaches, organisations also need to reflect on the personal identifiable information of individuals present in their enterprise systems, such as a company’s print/copy/scan infrastructure, and how to comply with individuals’ rights concerning that data,” says Martin De Martini, Co-founder and CIO at Y Soft.

In the case of multi-function devices, which scan, copy and print there is a potential risk that if those were not secured then it could be the point of a leak that would land a firm on the wrong side of the GDPR regulations.

“Looking at the typical enterprise workflow solutions management setup, which includes network printing, scanning, copying and managing physical access to MFDs, there are a number of obligations related to the providing organisation under GDPR. This includes the likes of the processing of personal data by enterprise workflow solutions being secure and having all personal data that is processed by any of the services identified, amongst other obligations," added De Martini.