The Future of Business Printing

Businesses are re-thinking their IT strategies, infrastructure, and endpoint devices in this new era of work. A recent HP study1 reported that for “71% of respondents – across all sectors and sizes – print behaviours have changed and will likely continue to do so.” And it’s not just about accommodating working remotely or from home. Companies are considering how employees re-engage with working in the office. These experiences have changed, too, now that more employees sharing desks and resources, and coming into the office at different times and on different schedules.

Hybrid Work

Teams are more distributed than ever before, and IT organizations must ensure that everyone has the tools and is able to produce their best work. We are seeing a move to digitization of workflows so that workers can access information whenever and wherever they need it. This is creating additional complexity around a print infrastructure, while meeting the challenge of delivering a seamless print experience without compromising control, visibility, and security.

HP LaserJet and Multifunction printers (MFPs) are built for the challenge of hybrid work. They are easy to use and simple to manage, and they help businesses provide consistent experiences and results for employees that are in and out of offices.

Automation and Intelligent Workflows

The push for automation in printing processes is significant, aiming to streamline operations and reduce manual intervention. This includes automating document generation and management to enhance efficiency and adaptability to changing business needs​​.

IT can enable seamless workflows with HP Multifunction printers, Enterprise and LaserJet printers. HP Web Jetadmin enables centralized visibility and control of your print environment. Businesses can easily add new devices and solutions, update features, and apply corporate policies.

Print Security

With the rise of remote and hybrid work, IT is challenged to deliver secure printing capabilities that allow employees to print documents from any location without compromising sensitive information​​. What’s worse is that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting vulnerable IoT devices and endpoints – like printers. In HP’s study, respondents reported that hybrid work and a fragmented printing environment are intensifying security concerns. The growing number of in-home devices create new points of vulnerability that are hidden from IT’s sight. As one respondent commented, “Security is the biggest challenge. We have far less visibility into our employee devices and behavior than before.”

Businesses can implement and streamline print security policies, ensure better compliance, and protect workflows with HP printers and print solutions. In fact, HP printers have the industry’s strongest security2 as they are always on guard and continually stopping threats while at the same time, adapting to new ones. And on top of that, HP printers can automatically self-heal from attacks, reducing the need for IT to intervene.

Only HP Enterprise printers have embedded security features that self-heal from attacks by automatically triggering a reboot:

• Maintain BIOS integrity: If a compromised version of the BIOS is discovered during power-up, HP Sure Start restarts the printer with a safe “golden copy” of the BIOS.

• Whitelisting: HP’s whitelisting is Common Criteria Certified and makes sure the firmware is digitally signed by HP. Any sign of tampering reboots the printer to a secure state.

• Monitors the Memory: Run-time Intrusion Detection is active during the riskiest time - when the printer is on and connected to the network. Unusual activity results in a memory-cleaning reboot.3

• Surveys the Network: HP Connection Inspector checks the printer’s outbound data for packets typically used by hackers. Any suspicious data request triggers a self-healing reboot.

• Secure Cartridges you can trust: At each step of the design, supply chain, and production process for Original HP office cartridges, security is built-in with tamper-resistant chips, firmware and packaging.

HP LaserJet and Multifunction printers with built-in security features help to support your security strategy, close vulnerabilities, and reduce the burden on your IT teams.

Cloud-Based Printing

The shift towards cloud-based printing services is anticipated to streamline print management and facilitate remote access and collaboration, making printing processes more efficient and flexible​​. In HP’s study1, nearly a third of respondents have already taken the leap to migrating their print environments to the cloud, with another 45% reporting they are in process to do the same.

The drivers of this transformation are not just about cost. It often comes back to hybrid work. “For 58% of organizations who are part-way through their migration of print to the cloud, supporting remote workers was a key driver for their cloud print adoption.”1 Ensuring that their workers can access print and remain connected is an important priority for IT.

Adopting a cloud-based print management system helps IT teams manage the new hybrid work model by enabling flexibility, improving visibility and overall management, and improved system security. HP printers and MFPs are cloud-ready and designed to fit seamlessly into your business printing ecosystem.

Sustainability in Printing

The adoption of eco-friendly practices is pervasive. HP LaserJet printers and Multifunction Printers are designed for low energy use to help you meet your sustainability goals. And HP printers can help you save paper right out of the box with two-sided (duplex) printing fixed as the default setting.

Investing in HP printers and MFPs is good for the environment. For every page you print, regardless of paper brand, HP invests in protection, restoration or responsible management of forests by collaborating with credible environmental NGOs that are recognized experts in forest ecosystems.

You can deliver a secure, seamless printing experience.

However your business is experiencing hybrid work, or wherever your employees are working, you need to deliver a seamless and secure printing experience. It’s important to make it as simple as possible for workers to set up their office printers in any location, receive supplies replenishment, and print on the go. Anything less can impede their productivity and collaboration.

Your print environment needs to be cloud-ready and to be flexible with other technologies. And it’s critical that your IT team must be able to manage your organization’s printers from a central platform for overall visibility and support.

HP LaserJet and Multifunction printers are cloud-ready, and have security built-in. They are the best first step you can take. Additionally, businesses should consider HP Managed Print Services (MPS). It enables users to print and digitize information from virtually anywhere on any device without compromising the security of your organization. Being highly configurable, HP MPS seamlessly integrates into your developing vision for the cloud.

At Quantum Document Solutions, we are the experts in helping businesses optimize and secure their print infrastructures with products and solutions. Whether you require high-volume printing, superior image quality, or seamless connectivity across a small business or a large enterprise, experts at Quantum are ready to guide you to the perfect solution.

1 How is print transforming for hybrid work? Insights from 500 IT leaders, HP

2 HP’s most advanced embedded security features are available on HP Managed and Enterprise devices with HP FutureSmart firmware 4.5 or above. Claim based on HP review of 2019 published features of competitive in-class printers. Only HP offers a combination of security features to automatically detect, stop, and recover from attacks with a self-healing reboot, in alignment with NIST SP 800-193 guidelines for device cyber resiliency. For a list of compatible products, visit hp.com/go/PrintersThatProtect. For more information, visit hp.com/go/PrinterSecurityClaims.

3 Third-party certification based on Common Criteria Information Technology Security Evaluation ISO/IEC 15408 Standard requirements as of May 2019. Certification applicable to HP Enterprise and Managed devices running HP FutureSmart Firmware version 4.5.1 and later.