You’re diving deep, contemplating if printing management software is right for you. You’ve looked into cost, feasibility, integrations, and every other tidbit on print management, only to remain in limbo about transitioning to a new solution.
Now is a better time than ever to step back and ask yourself a few basic questions:
Are print servers causing printer downtime?
Is print management the brunt of my workload?
Are most helpdesk calls print-related?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, print management services are certainly something to consider.
But first, let’s discuss what printing management software is to help you decide if it’s right for you.
What is printing management software?
Printing management software can be hosted on-prem or in the cloud and streamlines the print management process by giving administrators a centralized platform to oversee print jobs.
Print management solutions offer businesses a way to utilize all their devices, operating systems, and printer manufacturers, all while delivering a streamlined printing experience for end users.
With this compatibility and oversight, admins can control costs, provision printers to the right end users, and better secure their print environment since print jobs aren’t spooled on a print server—all of which we will cover later.
What are the benefits of printing management software?
The benefits of print management software go far beyond centralized management of print jobs. They eliminate the guesswork from print management by providing admins with all the tools they need to address gaps in their environment.
Printing management software reduces infrastructure.
Whether you’re moving to on-prem or cloud-based printing management, you can reduce legacy infrastructure in your environment by eliminating some (if not all) of your print servers. Along with reduced infrastructure, users enjoy quicker print speeds and IT doesn’t have to worry about print server maintenance and licensing—which can be time-consuming and expensive depending on how many you have.
Cloud-based solutions make print servers obsolete altogether. And print servers aren’t the only thing you can eliminate. The oversight you gain from print management software helps you identify unused printers in your environment, helping you decrease the number of printers in your fleet.
And security patches? You’ll never have to think about those, either. The best print management solutions are constantly fine-tuning in the background to fill any potential security gaps.
Printing management software increases overall productivity.
You can imagine how printing management software boosts IT productivity. Less infrastructure to manage means more free time to do other projects. Centralized management means quicker response times to address print-related issues. And increased insight leads to more accurate cost tracking.
End users benefit just as much, if not more. Printer downtime is almost non-existent without spooler crashes. Fewer printer problems translate to fewer helpdesk calls. Cloud print management solutions even have self-service capabilities that allow users to install their own printers without relying on IT support.
Printing management software is better for the environment.
Companies are doing their best to lower their environmental impact. In most cases, the first step is cutting back on paper usage in the office. But for most IT teams, it’s hard to tackle sustainability initiatives without inconveniencing end users. End users need to print and shouldn’t feel guilty when they have to.
Serverless print management software makes printing more intentional by allowing admins to configure default settings for printers company-wide. For example, suppose your organization uses too much paper and color ink. In that case, you can set printers to revert back to greyscale and duplex settings after a user initiates a print job. This minimizes unnecessary color printing and encourages duplex print jobs to reduce consumable usage.
Printing management software secures your documents and data.
A must-have in every organization, document and data security creates a safer space for users to print and protects customer information from internal and external threats. Cloud print management protects companies in a few different ways:
Authenticate All Users: Printing management software offers IdP support which authenticates users before they access applications required to print. This keeps malicious actors out of your network and only gives printing access to those who need it.
Pull Printing Functionality: Another essential layer of authentication, pull printing, requires users to verify their identity at the printer via PIN, password, or badge swipe before they can release their print jobs, removing the possibility of users leaving documents in the print tray.
Secure Printing for Mobile Employees: Contractors and contingent workers can print securely to any network printer from anywhere in the world—without having to be on the company network.
Keep Print Jobs Local: By centralizing your print environment with on-prem or cloud-based print management solutions, print jobs don’t leave the company network.
These are a few basic necessities to secure your documents and data in today’s print environments; however, few solutions offer airtight security without sacrificing ease of use.
So, do you need printing management software?
We’ll leave that decision up to you.
But. (There’s always a but.)
We recommend testing the waters to see which print management solution fits you best. PrinterLogic offers a 30-day trial of serverless printing—no strings attached.
Click here for your free demo.
Need a little more guidance? Check out this Going Serverless Guide that walks you through a five-step process to eliminating your print servers and simplifying print management.