Print.IT Reseller - issue 75

01732 759725 4 BULLETIN Holding on to old tech Research from IT asset disposal company DSA Connect, has revealed 13% of employees believe their employers have old technology and hardware they no longer use, but are frightened of throwing it away or reselling it because they are not confident data has been successfully erased from it. In terms of the value of technology that has been mothballed, 30% of people who believe their employers have done this, estimate it could be worth over £10,000. Chairman Harry Benham, said: “Businesses will always find themselves with redundant IT and telecoms equipment. This could be due to periodic equipment refreshes, downsizing or office relocations and closures. However, it is alarming to see so many employers simply mothball this equipment and lock it away in a cupboard. Data can be permanently removed from this technology and it could then be properly reused in some format or sold on.” www.dsa-connect.co.uk Three in five Brits fear autonomous AI People fear the idea of artificial intelligence (AI) acting without human assistance, according to new research by Fountech.ai. The AI firm commissioned an independent survey among 2,000 UK adults to uncover their perceptions towards AI. It found that the majority (61%) of Brits are concerned by the idea of AI systems being able to function without human assistance. This figure rises to 70% for those aged 55 and over. 44% of those surveyed admitted that they do not know how AI works, with 61% claiming it is hard to trust AI when they do not understand how it operates and makes decisions. Over half (57%) of Brits think that AI is fundamentally flawed, as it cannot apply the same emotional intelligence or intuition that humans can when making decisions. As a result, the majority (69%) believe a human should always be monitoring and checking decisions that are made by AI. At 77%, those aged over 55 were the most likely to hold this view. www.fountech.ai Unauthorised access to data Around 14% of people claim that over the past five years, using technology provided by their employers, they have been able to access data at work they were not authorised to see. In terms of specifics around what employees saw that they should not have had access to, 7% said it was the salaries of their managers/colleagues; 6% said private correspondence between their employers and clients; while 4% have seen personal financial details of clients and/or colleagues. Some 5% have also seen private photos belonging to someone else, and 3% have seen health records of third parties. The findings are from DSA Connect which says this huge risk around the security of a data held on employers’ systems could leave them particularly exposed to more fraud and data breaches during the coronavirus crisis. www.dsa-connect.co.uk A superhero for every workgroup Workgroups and small businesses that require the flexibility and sophisticated functionality of an A3 colour MFP but in a compact A4 device will find just what they are looking for in Toshiba’s new e-STUDIO400AC series of A4 colour MFPs. Meeting the diverse needs of busy workgroups, these productive devices incorporate Advanced Toshiba e-BRIDGE Next controller technology, offering seamless integration with a company’s existing print infrastructure and business processes, as well as support for mobile and cloud printing. A 10.1in touchscreen provides intuitive tablet-style operation for quick and easy interaction with workflows, embedded apps, third party solutions, smart MFP functionality and a built-in web browser. The customisable display can be used to turn complicated multi-step processes into time-saving one-touch functions, helping to maximise productivity and avoid bottlenecks. It can also be personalised so that when each user authenticates themselves at a device the home screen displays their choice of apps and permissions. There are two models in the range – the 33 pages per minute e-STUDIO330AC and the 40 pages per minute e-STUDIO400AC. Both produce high quality colour output on a range of print media, from envelopes to banners, and feature a dual scan document feeder capable of scanning both sides of the page in a single pass. For security, the devices support NFC and/ or card-based authentication and as standard come with a self-encrypting Toshiba Secure HDD that prevents sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Like other Toshiba MFPs, the e-STUDIO400AC series is delivered carbon neutral through Toshiba’s Carbon Zero Scheme. In addition, customers can use the e-BRIDGE Plus for Green Information app to save energy and paper costs through on-screen monitoring, reporting and advice. The e-STUDIO400AC series will be available at the end of August. To find out more about the machines and their many time-saving features, please visit toshibatec.co.uk or email [email protected] Effective hybrid cloud migration yields strong ROI Organisations that embrace hybrid cloud migration projects can yield a 145% return on investment within three years, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Virtana has revealed. The Forrester Consulting TEI (Total Economic Impact) study, examined the potential return on investment enterprises may realise by deploying hybrid infrastructure optimisation solutions for both the public and private cloud platforms. It found that organisations who employ planning and optimisation tools are able to better balance their workloads, have a more strategic focus and increase their flexibility. The TEI study also found that organisations who deploy solutions such as Virtana’s software in the private cloud may save more than $250,000 in problem resolution and a further $670,000 driving agility with global capacity management. In addition, those businesses working in the public cloud may see benefits of more than $900,000 when analysing and optimising using their current cloud provider. www.virtana.com AWARDS 2020 PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE: The Awards Ceremony is now being held on 11 February 2021 – still at the Tower Hotel, London. www.printitawards.co.uk ON THE COVER