By now we’re all aware of the importance of best practices. They’re recommended processes to implement in order to ensure that things run smoothly, safely and efficiently in your organization.
And in many cases, these best practices have evolved out of other organizations’ trial and error. They learned what worked and what didn’t. Their results were then used to develop these proven steps to success.
One area of best practices that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves is the enterprise print environment. Part of that is because many organizations haven’t yet realized that it’s possible to eliminate print servers while getting more availability, scalability and functionality from their printing.
Best practices end up reflecting that status quo. But as more organizations adopt PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure, it’s time for best practices to be updated. They need to account for all the things that PrinterLogic now makes possible—from massive infrastructure reduction throughout the enterprise print environment to increased ease of use for admins and end users alike.
Focus Areas in the Enterprise Print Environment
When building or updating an enterprise print environment in line with best practices, there are several areas worth focusing on.
- Virtualization: If your wider computing environment includes (or is going to include) solutions like Citrix, VMware and Windows Virtual Desktop, you’ll need a printing solution that reduces some of the complexity of VDI. Traditional print-management solutions are usually going to lead to more server-based infrastructure. They also might not integrate seamlessly with virtual solutions. That might involve limitations like having to restrict drivers.
- WAN dependency: In distributed environments, WAN dependency is a serious vulnerability where printing is concerned. Consolidated servers force print jobs to cross the WAN, potentially exposing them to interception. Data-heavy print traffic also competes with other vital data for WAN bandwidth. Furthermore, WAN downtime results in print downtime.
- BYOD and guest printing: With the gig economy, bring your own device (BYOD) policies and guest printing are becoming more common. Ideally, your enterprise print environment should be prepared for BYOD users and guests. They should be able to print easily but without tons of admin intervention or risk to your network.
- Mobile printing: Along with BYOD and guest users, enterprises are seeing a huge rise in the number of mobile users. And those users have got unique printing needs. Like reliable access to printers even while roaming and native support for mobile-class operating systems.
Implementing Best Practices with PrinterLogic
PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure allows your organization to address all those focus areas with a single solution. But more than that, its next-gen architecture brings advantages that rewrite the book on best practices.
Infrastructure reduction is a perfect example.
Whereas traditional printing solutions don’t offer much potential beyond printer consolidation, PrinterLogic’s direct IP printer connections enable you to fully eliminate print servers from your enterprise print environment. All of that associated hardware, software and licensing is then gone, leaving you with way less to maintain and manage. Plus it practically removes the WAN as a factor because print jobs remain local.
At the same time, PrinterLogic introduces centralized management. That means you can oversee and control the entire print environment from a single pane of glass. Not only that, you get advanced printer deployment options that are more reliable and easier to configure. And you don’t have to touch a single GPO or script.
PrinterLogic also has features like mobile printing and BYOD/guest printing as optional extensions of its core solution. Instead of rolling out additional solutions that might or might not be compatible, you can simply roll with the latest enterprise trends. These features are intuitive for end users and super easy for admins to configure from the same unified console.
Oh, and there’s no exception for VDI. Depending on your setup, PrinterLogic is able to deliver many or all of these same benefits even in challenging virtual environments like Citrix, VMware and WVD.
The Results of Best Practices
PrinterLogic isn’t just changing how organizations implement best practices in their print environment. It also magnifies their results. The infrastructure reduction from eliminating print servers yields time and cost savings. Centralized management and direct-IP printing leads to fewer helpdesk calls and less strain on IT. Printing costs go down while printing speed, security and efficiency of management go up.
We’ve got dozens of case studies on how PrinterLogic has transformed enterprise print environments in organizations that didn’t even know serverless printing infrastructure was an option.
Cott Corporation is just one of them. They consolidated their ever-growing globally distributed print environment under one convenient admin console. They also streamlined printer and driver management. The company ended up seeing serious ROI and described PrinterLogic as “heaven sent” (read the case study here).
Whether you’re starting over from scratch or just realigning your existing print environment, PrinterLogic is a game-changer when your main goal is implementing best practices. Start your trial today and test PrinterLogic completely free of charge for 30 days.