THE FUTURE OF PRINT be on a network or cloud-based for further utilisation or archival . This makes the devices well-suited to the 66 percent of European companies which identify the ability to have archived documents in a single location as a key benefit of automating business processes .
Various document formats can also be scanned for output in PDF or PDF / A format . In this regard , smart MFPs also help meet longer-term , searchable digital archiving requirements .
Supporting the increasingly mobile workforce with ‘ anytime , anywhere ’ solutions Another key factor driving forward the digitisation agenda is the continued rise in workplace mobility , which was identified as an important trend in the IDC research . By 2018 , the analyst firm has predicted that 75 percent of the
Western European workforce will be mobile and require access to accurate information in order to maintain and increase the productivity .
This follows an earlier 2014 study released by Atomik Research on behalf of OKI Europe , which pointed to an increase in the use of smart devices and flexible working among European SMBs . Here , the research showed that , as reliance on digital technology grows , the demand for printed documents is evolving , with nearly half of the businesses surveyed ( 45 percent ) highlighting that they have staff with a requirement to print from a mobile device .
In direct response to market demand for digitisation , the rise in employee mobility and the desire for streamlined document workflows , smart MFPs are rising up the agenda and increasingly being viewed as an important
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