BUSINESS FEATURE
INSIGHT
Canon
Report
Illustrates
Growing Security Concerns
BY CANON SOUTH AFRICA
According to a Canon Offi ce Insights 2017 report, South African businesses are investing
in digitisation at a rapid rate, but uncertainties around security threatens to slow down
progress.
Key fi ndings in the report include the following:
•
•
•
87% of South African offi ce workers view digitisation as ‘critical’ for their
business.
34% of the average organisation’s IT budget will be ploughed into
document processing software in three years’ time.
However, only 18% of respondents believe that remote working improves
workforce productivity.
With the majority of South African businesses keen to invest in business and
technology solutions and with cloud storage and computing cited as the most
frequently mentioned areas for investment, South Africa shows encouraging
signs of being committed to moving towards an increasingly advanced offi ce of
the future.
Despite this, more than half of end-users (52%) in South Africa are not fully
aware of their company’s corporate security policies, and security concerns are
holding back development in a number of crucial business areas.
As a result, 80% of senior managers in South Africa say they are likely to
upgrade their document security in the next 1-2 years, and 55% of respondents
have already sought guidance from information security experts, or specialist
colleagues, to inform their security decision making.
A quarter of respondents mention concerns around security with regards to the
rollout of cloud services. 48% of South African respondents worry about losing
data in the cloud and only 24% entirely agree that cloud based applications will
become the norm. According to the report, one of the results of this attitude is
that the rollout of mobile working has been slower in South Africa than in other
regions across Eurasia and the Middle East. For example, 35% of respondents
believe that mobile access to company systems are not important, and 44%
www.AfricaPrint.com
have no plans to connect their mobile devices to the company printers at
all. The skepticism and uncertainty around the benefi ts of cloud and mobile
solutions may hold back progress, according to the Canon Offi ce Insights report.
James de Waal, head of marketing, Professional Print Group at Canon SA
said, ‘Understandably, many businesses are still cautious of integrating mobile
and cloud technology into the offi ce landscape. When done right, however,
cloud technologies and mobile access can actually improve both security and
productivity, allowing users to access lost data, helping to wipe machines
remotely, or just enabling fl exible working on-the-move. For businesses in South
Africa, the key is to provide greater education on the benefi ts of cloud services,
as well as supporting end-users to ensure they are getting the most out of
this technology. With the advanced hardware and software security solutions
available today, we are eager that no organisation is left behind due to solvable
security concerns.’
The Canon Offi ce Insights 2017 research interviewed 2550 offi ce workers,
including decision-makers, managers and end-users, across 24 countries in
Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the Middle-East. The report includes insights
from key decision makers and end-users in South Africa and follows on from
Canon’s 2013 and 2016 Offi ce Insights reports, which focused heavily on the
development of basic document services across Europe, the Middle East
and Africa.
CANON SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD
(+27 12) 675 4900
www.canon.co.za
AFRICA PRINT JOURNAL
JANUARY 2018
PG 39