Pierre Laurier
8 min read
When I started my career as a programmer, one of my managers had a mantra. It went, “A good programmer is a lazy programmer, as he always tries to have the machine do the task for him.”
Bill Gates believed in something similar. He said, “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
Maybe they are onto something.
It’s safe to say that these mantras encapsulate the essence of the digital world we live in.
The goal of innovative technology is to have machines do repetitive tasks for us with high accuracy and speed. The goal is to simplify, centralize, and automate IT systems to make life easier for IT teams.
In the IT world, we install and maintain applications constantly. Our customers have several requirements before their enterprise software solutions are installed, set up, and running smoothly. The main one? Make systems less time-consuming to work with.
Our solution for that is ‘No Print Management.’
No Print Management is a concept developed by Y Soft to tackle a new era of customer needs. The concept forces a change of mindset in the print industry to let IT teams free, by making print a commodity, simplifying its use, and converging solutions to drive bigger outcomes for the customer.
With traditional installations, you need the right operating system, server, network setup, service packs, and databases to run smoothly. Needless to say, maintaining an organization’s IT infrastructure is painstaking work.
Going back to my project manager’s mantra, IT productivity in this scenario is finding machines that can perform manual tasks efficiently. Running a print infrastructure is complex and time-consuming, that’s plain to see; It’s a common dilemma among IT teams. The question is, what can we do about it? Let’s explore!
What Does it Mean to Let Go of Print Management?
For years, we’ve believed that print management is the solution to simplify print tasks and troubleshoot print issues. The problem is, that print management solutions are built on a presumed-value service that dictates that feature-heaviness is the solution to a heavy IT workload. How that makes sense is beyond me—but we all went in that direction.
Of course, these features came with good intentions—They're not the culprit. But with all the features combined, the industry has created complex solutions that are a hassle to manage. Each feature solves isolated user issues but doesn’t make managing print any easier for the IT department.
A print management platform doesn’t tackle the core problem or holistic process.
That’s why it’s time to streamline print management and make it possible for IT teams to let go of it altogether. To let go of print management means entering an era of modern customer needs. An era where agile outcomes, less work with more value, and time for strategic work reign supreme.
No Print Management is about letting go of old perceptions and paving the road for IT departments to become business enablers.
To let go of print management is to let go of the idea that print management is an offering to pursue. At Y Soft, our offering is ‘No Print Management.’ The features, durable infrastructure, and capacities don’t go away... Our customers just don’t have to manage it anymore.
What makes ‘No Print Management’ possible?
- Cloud technology
- On-demand scalability
- Automation of IT work
- Converged infrastructure
- Consistent user experience
- Round-the-clock availability
- End-to-end security
6 Driving Forces to Embrace No Print Management
One of the best ways for IT teams to simplify and streamline print management is by employing cloud print technology. Cloud solutions give IT teams full infrastructure control while creating an opportunity to let go of the infrastructure administration.
Cloud printing is a serverless, online print management software solution. It allows organizations to eliminate the need for on-site print servers and data centers. It is a managed service that simplifies organizations’ print environments with the help of converged, low-touch infrastructure.
1. Converged Infrastructure & Simplified Printing
A cloud-native converged infrastructure platform helps businesses achieve a centralized printing ecosystem. This ecosystem does away with the complexities and restraints of a traditional print management solution. But what is centralized printing?
Centralized printing places every printer in your fleet—no matter how many printers, vendors, or physical locations you might have—at your fingertips. With centralized printing, we streamline all your printers and queues with one single driver that is brand-agnostic, and enables you to...:
- … Pick the printer vendors you prefer
- … Consolidate a mixed fleet of printers (everything in one spot)
- ... Streamline driver, printer, and queue management
- … Simplify printing and allow users to work with preferred devices
- … Not worry about feeling constrained now or in the future
- … Just print – no matter where to or from
The centralized environment affords you a consolidated outlook of print activities and device fleet while giving users a simplified print experience. With SAFEQ Cloud, you can access your print and scan capabilities from the same interface, thanks to true cloud technology.
Speaking of cloud technology. SAFEQ Cloud simplifies printing by leveraging the cloud to facilitate remote printing, making the print environment accessible to a distributed workforce. No device, colleague, or office gets left behind.
With converged infrastructure, we use intelligent software to combine pools of resources into a predominantly software-defined solution. It replaces the components of legacy infrastructure, like separate servers, storage networks, and storage arrays, with one unified system, creating a highly scalable solution (more on that later).
2. Real Value & Agile Business Outcomes
No print management is about moving the industry from presumed-value to real-value services that customers can access when they want them. Real value services go beyond churning out features or isolated improvements. They encompass a range of valuable offerings that solve client problems, enhance efficiency, and contribute to overall business objectives.
When thinking of print customers—IT departments across the world—these are the problems they face with a legacy print management platform:
- A heavy workload with lots of system maintenance, keeping up with helpdesk tickets, and manually keeping up with security standards and prerequisites.
- A growing expectation from the high ranks to actively participate in setting and keeping up with digital transformation strategies, growing the business, and building a digitally proficient enterprise.
- Decentralized IT systems, multiple expensive contracts, manual upgrades, and complex IT infrastructure with pesky hardware, scattered software, and never-ending lists of features.
All of these pain points forge a daunting hamster wheel effect. It’s time to dismantle traditional print management and look for more effective ways to manage IT and the transformation happening in IT departments. And no, it’s not about launching yet another feature.
📖 Read on → 8 Indicators that IT Transformation is in Full Swing
You can effectively and easily swap out your print management platform for an online print management software and an automated powerhouse in the cloud. With SAFEQ Cloud, these are the real value offerings we’re dedicated to delivering to our customers:
-
- Remove all print management tasks from IT teams’ plates
- Free up time for IT to become business enablers
- Converged print system (one brand-agnostic tool)
- Automated repetitive tasks and simple workflows
- Commercialization of print
- Minimized helpdesk activity
- Round-the-clock availability
- … and a lot more
3. Cost-Efficiency
A cloud print solution allows organizations to cut back on print server maintenance. In fact, with pure cloud solutions, you can even remove legacy systems, which results in eliminated hardware costs too.
If we take servers as an example, 66% of organizations with more than 1,000 employees maintain on average three servers. They spend over $4,400 annually to provision and run each server. With three servers, that becomes $13,200 spent annually just to run print jobs on-premises.
Moving to the cloud becomes a win-win situation for customers. They cut back on hardware costs and get a solution that is consistently improved to deliver ongoing value.
Hardware is not the only cost-efficient part of the equation.
Solution providers deliver cloud print solutions as a subscription service (SaaS), so you don’t have to worry about upfront investment or paying for more than you need. That’s because cloud computing lets you move print from capital expenses (CapEx) to operational expenses (OpEx).
SaaS and OpEx means you only pay for the cloud resources you use on an as-needed basis —no more, no less. This frees up funds for other purposes, such as hiring new colleagues or initiating business-critical projects.
4. Proactive Security Procedures
Managed print services are well-maintained and equipped to safeguard documents that may be sensitive or confidential. The risks of data breaches due to leaked documents and hacked printers are much lower.
In-house IT teams also don’t need to constantly take care of patches and updates. The print service provider takes care of that on their behalf. With a true software offering, the solution providers roll out dynamic updates for your print solution.
With every monthly update, we include security enhancements. Software providers work proactively with security to ensure your print environment is always in stellar condition. With service providers handling the security mechanisms of your print infrastructure, your IT team can effectively let go of that worry and time spent.
From cloud solution providers like Y Soft, you can expect:
- Ongoing vulnerability scanning
- Quarterly penetration testing
- Proactive threat and intrusion prevention
- Incident management procedures
- Frequent security enhancements
- Zero-trust security strategy
- Strict access management
5. LOW-Touch solutions
A lot of the helpdesk calls IT receives relate to either printer drivers, print queue management, or printing software. A cloud-based print management platform significantly reduces the instances of print-related helpdesk calls. IT can avoid printing mishaps thanks to a print infrastructure that’s efficient, powerful, and easy to use.
Onsite teams also do not need to worry about regular maintenance of print servers. With a cloud solution, your infrastructure is completely serverless.
📖 Read on → Boost IT Efficiency & Never Touch Drivers or Servers Again
"As a small IT department, the only way we could support the business’ growth trajectory was to streamline processes and automate as much as we can. Everything is so much simpler now. (…) When an agent visits any of our offices they only see the printers available to them at that location, which makes life much easier for them and doesn’t end up in a call to the helpdesk!" - John Schweighardt, CIO of Intracoastal Realty
We aim to make SAFEQ Cloud a truly low-touch solution for our customers. We focus on 'No Print Management' to ensure that our customers do not have to deal with the intricacies of their infrastructure as they build the backbone of the digital enterprise.
6. Automation & On-Demand Scalability
The way to a future-proof, real-value print solution is through technology advancements in automation and scalability. With SAFEQ Cloud, we’ve automated a bunch of workflows and IT tasks to make it easier for IT to keep track of everything they need without having to delve into the mechanics of their infrastructure.
The No Print Management solution scales up or down as needs change or growth takes effect. Not only do we alleviate the burden on IT departments in the here-and-now, but also for the company’s future. Cloud print solutions ensure on-demand scalability and vast infrastructure flexibility, so you can build the right infrastructure for you—without being constrained.
In the end, automation and flexibility tie back to where we started–we aim to simplify printing so users can print with ease from any device to any printer, and IT departments can let go of the tedious work behind managing print.
FAQs on Simplified Printing
Q1) What Makes No Print Management Possible?
No print management becomes possible with the combined forces of native cloud technology (serverless printing), a vendor-agnostic and full-featured single driver, automation, infrastructure flexibility, and a service approach that tackles customers’ real issues. With cloud print technology, we can simplify printing for our cloud customers and change the narrative of what it means to solve IT pains.
Q2) What is the Value of Centralized Printing?
Centralized printing ensures you can consolidate and oversee your full print fleet from one dashboard. Using centralized print infrastructure, IT teams can minimize the number of ways a job gets done and simplify print tasks for users and IT admins.
The value of centralized print management includes increased office efficiency, easy document tracking and security, and proactive hardware and software maintenance (by your vendor and solution provider).
Final Points
Ready to let go of print management as we know it?
Y Soft’s SAFEQ Cloud is a No Print Management solution that rethinks the way customers work with their IT infrastructure. SAFEQ Cloud simplifies daily operations with its central administration from its cloud-based management console. No need for print servers, and no need for regular updates on your IT team’s end. It's completely out of your hair.
Control everything remotely and securely from the same web admin page with SAFEQ Cloud. It doesn’t matter if you have one simple installation or a complex, multi-site installation to manage. The solution can fulfill any organization’s requirements concerning print security, flexibility, and scalability with ease, using a Multi tenant SaaS setup.
This cloud printing platform supports your business objectives. It does so by improving user experience, cutting costs, improving security, and modernizing your print environment. The solution also grows with you—at your pace, your way. And saving the best for last—it effectively allows your IT team to let go of the burden of managing your print environment.
Does that sound like something for you?
Let’s find out if your company is ready to join the cloud print bandwagon. To find out if you’re ready for a simplified print management solution that, well, removes print management from your shoulders, take our 4-minute Cloud Readiness Self-Assessment today.
