Modernizing print infrastructure with the cloud
According to the State of Cloud 2023 report, the trend in cloud computing isn’t migration anymore – 94% of organizations are already in the cloud – the trend now is the rapid adoption of new cloud services.
Cloud has undoubtedly proved its mettle in terms of delivering the high availability, scalability and agility that businesses need today. And as companies continue their transformation into digital-first organizations to support a hybrid workforce, the advantages of moving print to the cloud are now clearer than ever in IT decision-makers’ minds.
We’re seeing an uptick in demand from organizations looking to modernize their print infrastructure to boost efficiency, shore up security, and reduce cost.
Here, James Gilmore, directprint.io VP of Product and Design, addresses some FAQs around modernizing print with a cloud-based print management platform.
Q. Will the platform support a multi-vendor fleet?
A. directprint.io serverless solutions are compatible with all printer makes and models, including receipt (POS) and label printers. Both the directprint.io and directprint.io RED platforms feature a unique universal driver that eliminates the need to manually deploy multiple print drivers and manage numerous updates. This is easy to install through Google Workspace Admin, Microsoft Intune/PQD, or your favorite MDM tool, to all devices. Plus, it also includes configurable advanced finishing options, secure print and native accounting capabilities across all printers, ensuring a seamless, consistent print experience, regardless of the printer brand or model you choose.
Q. Our end-users work across Windows and Mac devices; how does that work?
A. directprint.io cloud-native solutions support all three major operating systems – Chromebooks, macOS and Windows, and the two major cloud productivity suite providers – Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Directory sync capabilities enable existing single sign-on, login and authentication policies to be connected to the software. There’s also a directprint.io proprietary internal directory that simplifies the user provisioning and account set-up process, regardless of which device they use.
Q. To what extent will change impact our end-users?
A. The short answer is none, and here’s why. Our mission is to make printing easy, and we believe that printing should be reliable, powerful and easy to administer.
When you migrate print management over to directprint.io solutions, end-users won’t notice any difference, they will simply continue to print in the same way they’ve always done.
Our solutions provide end-users with access to fast and reliable printing from any device or location. Directory sync capabilities with Google Workspace and Microsoft Azure ensures simple printer deployment, end-users are allocated printers based on their login, so as soon as they turn their machine on, they automatically get the correct list of available printers. These integrations also enable single sign-on and, if end-users are created, moved or deleted, the platform automatically reconfigures their printer access.
Q. What about security of documents and data?
A. By managing the print infrastructure in the cloud, you’ll benefit from automated patching and monitoring, safe in the knowledge it’s always up to date and always secure. Seamless integration with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 in addition to the directprint.io internal directory, enables secure user authentication and access control, ensuring only authorized users can access print devices and data. Admins can grant print privileges for OUs, groups and users, determine which groups or individual users can use which devices, including those available for remote printing; provide special print privileges to VIPs, or even remove print access altogether.
Plus, with direct-IP printing, print jobs never leave your network and Edge Print keeps remote print jobs within your already approved Google/Microsoft infrastructure keeping your data safe and secure. Edge Print also supports a zero trust security architecture.
You can also enable secure PIN release on printers to protect confidential information. Choose from on-printer secure print release, which uses the device’s internal secure print capability – (we support all the leading print manufacturers) – or terminal-based print release, which enables any device to be secure print-enabled by placing a print release terminal next to the printer.
Q. Our end-users need to print from anywhere, do we need a VPN?
A. directprint.io print management platforms are cloud-native and do not require a VPN connection into the network, making it more convenient to print, as well as mitigating the risk of a VPN compromising the corporate network.
Q. We need visibility over the fleet and usage
Advanced reporting and analytics around print usage and behaviors, are among the many benefits of the directprint.io cloud-native print management platforms. Admins can access highly detailed reports from a single pane of glass.
Modernizing print – what else do we provide?
We also provide device monitoring capabilities and alerts for printer status, device health, paper levels, toner levels and more. This value-added feature, which is available as an optional extra on the directprint.io platform and built-in to directprint.io RED, provides a comprehensive overview of fleet performance, device status, supply levels, and counters – data that empowers IT leads to proactively respond to common issues such as paper jams or low toner levels and in many cases, resolve them before an end-user experiences an issue.
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We hope this blog answers any queries you may have about modernizing print for your business, but if there’s anything else, please feel free to set up a call with us here. You can also find out first-hand just how easy it is to take print to the cloud, sign up for a free 30-day trial and discover the true value-add of smart and secure serverless printing first-hand.
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