Infographic from Photizo’s 2013 U.S. Office Worker Survey: Digital Workflow and Mobility

We all have been caught up in the mobility craze in one way or another, either professionally, personally, or both. While the increased use of smartphones and tablets does not tell the entire tale regarding digital workflow, mobile devices are playing an increasingly important role in how business workflows are changing to meet the needs of untethered employees, customers, and other stakeholders.

The 2013 U.S. Office Worker Survey that Photizo just completed for its Digital Workflow Transformation Advisory Service found that mobile devices are having a very real impact on historically paper-intensive workflows (see infographic below). We expect the proliferation of Windows 8 tablets will have an even stronger impact as a result of the strong bias toward Windows platforms for “business” apps among enterprises. The continued rise of iOS and Android apps geared toward everyday business activities will also have a strong impact.

The consumerization of IT is here to stay, and whether mobile devices are owned by employees or corporate-owned and personally enabled (COPE), businesses of all sizes are changing their workflows to allow more work to be done on smartphones and tablets. The results of a recent survey by FileMaker underscores the changes that are already taking place, and one of the chilling findings for the imaging industry is that more than half (51 percent) of the mobility case studies included in the survey involved replacing paper-based processes.

If you’re not already looking at ways to improve the mobile capabilities of your hardware and service offerings, now is the time to get moving. Chances are that your customers are already moving in this direction, and if you’re not part of the discussion, there’s a strong likelihood you won’t be part of the solution, either.

Video: Getting in the Canoe, or the Problem with Wa

Ed Crowley, CEO of Photizo, talks about the Wa factor and the challenges it brings to Japanese imaging manufacturers and their consensus management style, an

MPS Page Volume Continues to Rise, Prices Appear to Fall

While the broader industry continues to suffer from mild declines in page volume, Photizo Group’s Second-Half 2012 North America Decision Maker Tracking Study shows that

Flakes of Gold in the Low End

This blog is not really intended to extend the “commoditization” discussion, but I guess it might, since we are again focusing on the low end

Adapt or Die: The Hard Truth About the Digitization Movement

Recently, two articles about the digitization of hard copy documents caught my eye, and I initially found myself agreeing with the sentiments of both pieces,

Why Can’t Business Be Fun?

Have you ever played Call of Duty, Angry Birds, or Words with Friends? Although I’m not a gamer, I have enjoyed playing Angry Birds, a

Preton to Showcase Its Pixel Optimizer Technology at Photizo Transform Global 2013

We recently had a chance to catch up with Ori Eizenberg, the founder and CEO of Preton. Eizenberg discussed his company’s upcoming participation in Photizo’s

New Apps Send Letters and Postcards Right from Your Smartphone

Several years ago, I noticed a shift in the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) marketing focus. Advertising efforts such as TV commercials and billboards positioned

Sharp to Samsung: Hands Off Our Copier Division

One interesting development that took place this March in the year-long, ongoing saga of Sharp Corporation’s financial crisis was a report on Bloomberg.com that Sharp,

Seeing the Workplace Through Google-Tinted Glasses–Part Three: Virtual Clutter

In my last two blog posts, I discussed the “show-and-share” and “data-enhanced worldview” aspects of Google Glass and their potential impact on the workplace.  This