Print Infrastructure Lagged in Zero Trust Adoption

New data reveals enterprise print environments fall behind core IT security strategies as AI integration mandates rise.

Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in Cybersecurity

Bold flat-color editorial illustration depicting geometric server blocks connected by conduits, representing the systemic gap in enterprise document network security. — Research from Vasion shows enterprise print infrastructure is significantly lagging in Zero Trust security adoption, creating critical vulnerabilities for companies integrating AI. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Research from Vasion indicates that U.S. enterprise print infrastructure maintains only 16% Zero Trust coverage, significantly trailing cloud workloads and identity management. This research, based on a survey of 502 IT leaders, highlights a critical security gap in document workflows.

Why it matters

As organizations prioritize agentic AI integration, the lack of Zero Trust security in print environments creates a persistent vulnerability and operational bottleneck. Standardizing print workflows is becoming essential for enterprises moving to integrate secure, end-to-end AI systems.

Zero Trust coverage for print infrastructure sits at 16%, compared to 66% for cloud workloads, 61% for endpoint security, and 58% for identity management. Despite these metrics, 61% of IT leaders report weekly failures in document workflows.

The players

Vasion

A St. George, Utah-based provider of enterprise print and document automation software serving 14,000 global customers.

Censuswide

An international market research consultancy that conducted the 2026 survey of U.S. IT executives.

The details

Zero Trust is a security framework that requires continuous verification of every user and device attempting to access network resources, regardless of their location. Current print environments often remain isolated from this model, relying on legacy authentication protocols rather than the granular, identity-based access controls used in cloud and endpoint environments. This divergence causes the weekly workflow failures reported by 61% of IT leaders.

June 3 to June 9, 2026: Censuswide surveyed 502 IT leaders regarding their infrastructure security.
2026: Organizations are shifting focus toward the expansion and establishment of AI systems.

The Tech Race

The findings highlight that print infrastructure is lagging significantly behind the industry-wide adoption of Zero Trust architecture. This development exposes a critical failure to unify legacy hardware with the secure, modern frameworks required for scalable AI integration.

IT teams should expect a shift toward integrating print environments into existing security policies as 64% of leaders prioritize AI expansion in 2026. This requires moving away from traditional print management toward automated workflows that enforce Zero Trust verification.

The takeaway

Enterprise leaders must reconcile the 50-point coverage gap between cloud and print security to support secure AI deployment. Watch for the upcoming release of Vasion Forms Agent as a bellwether for vendors attempting to integrate legacy print workflows into the Zero Trust stack.