IT managers think they have the right tech for hybrid working – but workers disagree

A huge proportion (78%) of IT decision makers (ITDMs) believe that their company provides sufficient equipment for hybrid working, whilst around 20% of employees appear to contradict this view by still using their own personal IT equipment for their job.

Over 3000 people were surveyed by printer and camera maker Canon, with a near-even split between ITDMs and end-users, across seven EU countries, including UK, Germany and France.

What’s more, another 20% said that they struggle to get IT support when they need it at home, and 56% of ITDMs being asked to give this kind of remote support.

Hybrid issues

Such issues for employees include signing digital documents and negotiating approval processes (42%), with 41% struggling to even access digital and physical documents that they need. This leaves 37% having to visit their workplace to access and print files.

The most common help desk queries that IT departments receive from employees include printing at home (56%), being unable to access files remotely (43%) and having problems sharing files with colleagues (36%).

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The transition to hybrid working has proved a task for IT departments as well. 71% of ITDMs said their legacy technologies were not up to hybrid working standards. As a result, sourcing new technology has been key, but this hasn’t been easy – 76% said they have found it challenging to acquire equipment from multiple vendors.

This means that when problems arise with the technology, 71% of ITDMs need to contact all the different manufacturers to resolve them, which takes time. The vast majority, therefore (81%), believe it would be simpler to have a single vendor for all their equipment and document management needs.

Canon believes that technologies that improve hybrid working conditions are needed more than ever. 50% of the respondents said their company is or will move towards hybrid working, with just 33% being entirely office-based. ITDMs appeared to agree on this point, with 70% expecting an increase in IT spending to meet the demands of continued hybrid working.

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