Many businesses are incorporating the Cloud into their operations - but moving print infrastructure to the Cloud is often considered a bridge too far, despite the many benefits of working with Cloud Print.
With benefits including flexibility, longevity, and efficiency, the value of the Cloud is readily apparent to many businesses nowadays – to the point that it seems absurd to think it was only prominent amongst larger businesses only a few years ago.
However, while the majority of businesses seem comfortable with moving their core IT services to the Cloud, the same cannot be said for print infrastructures – which are commonly deemed too complex for migration to be possible, without having a detrimental effect on employee’s ability to print.
However, the capabilities of the Cloud are rapidly becoming apparent – and implementing Cloud Print is proving to be an exceedingly quick and easy process, with just as many benefits for businesses as Cloud-based IT.
Much like a Cloud-hosted IT service, Cloud Print will generally work on a pay-as-you-go basis – meaning that it can easily be scaled up or down to ensure that clients are only paying for what they use. This is immediately preferable to the considerable costs that come with buying physical print servers outright; since this equipment can be difficult to replace and even costlier to upgrade.
Additionally, if your provider offers ongoing support, this will likely also be included in your manageable monthly fee – removing the need to reserve funds for expensive third-party repairs. In fact, with the uptime of your Cloud Print service now falling under the full attention of your provider, your business benefits from maximised functionality - with your IT department, now unburdened with printer maintenance, able to focus their attentions on more valuable endeavours.
While security concerns are commonly cited by businesses who are still on the fence about moving to the Cloud; these days, you run a higher risk of a data breach if you try and manage your security independently. This is for the simple reason that Cloud providers are able to invest more money and resources into security – as well as manpower.
With teams of skilled IT experts actively monitoring your security, Cloud Print providers are able to deliver more focused protection than any in-house IT department can provide - who, by necessity, must divide their attentions across many areas. By offering features such as end-to-end encryption and zero-trust networks, Cloud Print providers are able to ensure complete security for endpoint print devices; ensuring that no conceivable ‘entry points’ are left vulnerable.
Without a Cloud Print service, getting new staff set up on the onsite printers can be an arduous process for the IT department; since print drivers need to be updated on individual computers before the printer can be used. A Cloud Print service, however, can be implemented and made accessible on a companywide scale very quickly - removing the need for print drivers, and allowing staff to gain access to your print devices so long as they have a secure connection.
Similarly, for staff who frequently hot-desk at multiple sites, this kind of service is invaluable – since it allows users to gain instant access to printers at any location, at any time, from desktop or mobile. The clear benefit of this is that employees are no longer tied to a single location in order to print, and don’t require attention from IT in order to get set up quickly.
In much the same way as Cloud Print providers will handle their own security, so too will they handle the management of their own infrastructure. This means that internal IT departments no longer need to be relied upon to resolve problems such as software bugs – since with a provider, these issues are likely already being worked on before customers have even detected a fault.
This proactive approach to system upkeep allows clients to benefit from greater efficiency - since it means maximum uptime and functionality for your print devices, without your employees having to worry about surprise technical issues being an obstacle.
Another valuable benefit of a Cloud Print service is that it can be installed within mere hours – as opposed to the considerable time it takes to manually co-ordinate the installation of print servers. This also applies to print software updates; which will often be activated outside of normal office hours; meaning that your Cloud systems can perform optimally without requiring any attention from your internal IT department.
Following full Cloud migration, issues such as power requirements for expensive hardware, cooling systems for servers, lengthy software updates, and space management no longer need to be a concern. Not only does this relieve a litany of issues for your IT department and office managers, but it also creates minimal disruption to other members of staff.
Cloud Print is just another way that businesses can use the Cloud to streamline their operations; which has proven to bring many other benefits along with it. To see how it can help your business, learn more about Apogee Cloud Print here, or contact us using the form below.
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