Print.IT - issue 50

PRINT.IT 5 www.printitmag.co.uk BULLETIN bulletin One down, three to go Jonathan Whitworth, managing director of DSales (UK), the UK distributor for Develop MFPs, is undertaking four fundraising events in aid of Joining Jack, the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy charity. In July, he is taking part in the 50-mile Wigan Bike Ride, for which DSales is the principal sponsor, and the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, aiming to complete the 25-mile route over Pen- y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in less than twelve hours. Finally, in September he will take on the Wigan 10K run. Whitworth’s fundraising campaign started in March with the 5-kilometre Run Wigan Festival. Extreme weather prevented him from getting to Wigan so, instead, he completed the 5K distance closer to home in Yorkshire. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jonathan-whitworth6 www.joiningjack.org Four million UK businesses at risk of data loss Almost one million UK businesses do not backup their company data and a further 2.8 million risk losing valuable information by storing electronic copies in the same location as the original data, according to new research from business ISP Beaming. Its survey of more than 500 business leaders shows that while 83% of UK firms backup their data, half save it to servers or storage devices in the same premises, leaving them vulnerable to data loss through theft, fire or malware attack. Only one third (35%) of UK businesses store back- up data off premises, for example in the cloud, on portable storage devices taken home by employees or on the company’s own servers located in a separate data centre or colocation facility. Just 18% of businesses currently backup their data to facilities located at least 30 miles from their premises, the minimum distance recommended by business continuity experts to limit the IT impact of natural disasters. Of these, most use cloud- based storage services and don’t know precisely where their data is held. Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming, said: “Our research shows that almost four million UK businesses are vulnerable to data loss from single events and could potentially become unable to operate. We’d encourage businesses to think seriously about private cloud or co- location services when it comes to storing highly sensitive data or mission critical applications. These should only be accessed through the most secure forms of connectivity.” www.beaming.co.uk AI could bring efficiencies to printer management As organisations scale up their use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and identify areas of operations that could benefit most from investment in AI, enterprise office solutions provider Y Soft Corporation is urging organisations with large numbers of MFPs to consider its possible impact on print management and security. Ondrej Krajicek, chief technology strategist at Y Soft, said: “AI technologies can be applied to print software in the first instance to improve decision-making processes through the quality and expressiveness of managerial reports. Through data gathered on how users are interacting with MFDs – what they are printing, how they are printing and how much they normally print – enterprises will be able to detect abnormalities in users’ behaviours. The AI will predict if there is suspicious activity, such as someone trying to print confidential information at an unusual time of day or if they’ve never printed that data previously, and alert the appropriate departments.” Krajicek adds that AI also has the potential to reduce printer failures and maximise device uptime. He said: “If the right data is collected and analysed, AI will be able to provide insights into the steps leading up to a printer failure. It will recognise when these steps begin and either alert the IT team to a potential failure or, in the future, fix the problem before it even occurs and prevent the problem from happening again.” www.ysoft.com Reality disappoints UK tech lovers British workers have a rose- tinted view of technology, with the end result of their employer’s investment in digital technology often failing to meet expectations. In a survey by network solutions provider HPE Aruba, 92% of UK workers said their workplace would be improved through greater use of technology, with 69% saying they would welcome a fully automated workplace in the next 5-10 years. Yet, when asked to rate the impact of existing digital technology, only 68% say it has improved the speed of work and just half believe it has had a beneficial effect on work-life balance (54%) and workplace motivation (53%). One explanation for the gap between expectation and reality identified in Digital Revolutionaries Unlock the Potential of the Digital Workplace is the level of investment involved. Aruba’s analysis of results from 7,000 workers in 15 countries reveals a chasm between the experience of ‘Digital Revolutionaries’ working in fully-enabled digital workplaces and ‘Digital Laggards’ with less access to the latest workplace technologies. Compared to Laggards, Revolutionaries are 51% more likely to have strong job satisfaction; 43% more likely to be positive about their work- life balance; 56% more likely to say they are motivated at work; and 83% more likely to praise their company’s vision. Advanced digital working is also perceived to be good for professional development, with 65% of Revolutionaries claiming that access to digital technology has helped in their professional development, compared to 31% of Laggards. Almost three quarters (72%) of Revolutionaries report a higher ability to adopt new work skills, compared to 58% of Laggards. www.arubanetworks.com Sonia Blizzard Ondrej Krajicek