Posted by Andrew Miller
Print management is currently experiencing one of the most dynamic periods in its multi-decade history. Trends like employee mobility, device heterogeneity, and enterprise distribution are rapidly reshaping the modern workplace in remarkable ways.
Yet these changes are also placing new demands on the status quo. Traditional print management solutions are no longer up to the task of dealing efficiently and seamlessly with workers who move from location to location, a multitude of devices running different operating systems, and organizations that are spread across several cities or continents. This has in turn led to another new trend in print management: the elimination of print servers.
For years print servers have been implemented by organizations as a common printer management solution. And although far from perfect, they worked tolerably enough when print environments were fairly self-contained, uniform and static. In today’s print environments, however, print servers betray their roots as a piecemeal, add-on response to enterprise growth and diversity. They don’t allow for true centralized administration across the entire organization from a single pane of glass, effortless mobile printing from any device, or consistent and intuitive end-user self-installation—all clearly visible trends in print management. What contemporary print management calls for instead is a solution that is versatile, transparent and dynamic.
PrinterLogic was designed from the very beginning to address these print management trends—and anticipate future ones—through a forward-thinking approach to printer management. It’s equipped with built-in features such as:
- Mobile and BYOD printing support: Users can easily print any file, anywhere, from any device, to any authorized printer. There are zero drivers to install, zero workarounds or hacks, zero dependencies on proprietary software like Google Cloud Print or iOS.
- Centralized administration: PrinterLogic’s easy-to-use web-based admin console gives you a single window onto all the print activity and print management across the entire enterprise. Deploy drivers, install printers, edit assignments and audit usage from just one terminal anywhere in the organization.
- Simple but powerful automation: Deploy printers to staggered sites around the globe during non-office hours. Ensure that the right printers are installed for the right users every time—and without resorting to complicated group policy objects (GPOs) or scripting. PrinterLogic allows you to make individual deployments or batch changes easily and at the most convenient times.
- Seamless integration with virtual environments: PrinterLogic works hand in hand with popular virtualization solutions like Citrix and VMware, leveraging their native printing functionality or replacing it altogether with PrinterLogic’s own powerful print management capabilities.
- End-user empowerment: Employees of any skill level can view and install nearby printers with a single click via a consistent interface no matter where they are within the enterprise network.
- Driver management: Maintain and deploy a multiplicity of drivers for all the devices in your organization without fear of conflicts and compatibility issues.
- Reduced WAN overhead: PrinterLogic makes intelligent use of bandwidth by caching drivers where necessary and relaying print jobs directly from the workstations to the physical devices
If you’re seeing significant change in your print environment, adding another print server isn’t the answer. But eliminating them is, as more and more organizations around the world are discovering. Before long the hottest new trend in print management could very well be implementing PrinterLogic. Contact us today for a demo on how our software can add value in your environment.