We’ve flipped the page on our calendars and welcomed in the new year. So with 2019 in the rearview mirror, it’s a good time to take a look back at what happened over the past 12 months. 2019 delivered a monster year for PrinterLogic customers. Here’s a brief look at some of the very best of many PrinterLogic highlights for the past year.
New Global HQ Groundbreaking
To cope with current growth and to prep for continued expansion, we broke ground on a world class headquarters building back in May. As an anchor of the Tech Ridge business/residential/retail development in our hometown of St. George, Utah, the new HQ will occupy a prestigious address on the black mesa just east of downtown.
The PrinterLogic crew at headquarters groundbreaking
Just to confirm the rumors: the new HQ will include a basketball court, which will double as an all-hands meeting space. Views from the building overlook the original neighborhoods and commercial district of the city center.
With move-in expected in summer of 2020, the HQ will consolidate PL staff currently housed in multiple buildings into a single location. Beyond its practical purpose, the new HQ has another role. It’s an important symbol of PL’s commitment to making a tech company thrive in the Southern Utah desert.
First Acquisition Announced
We strategically expanded into an adjacent tech segment by, as business pundits say, “broadening our portfolio” with the acquisition of MaxxVault, a leading provider of enterprise content management software. PrinterLogic is still the world leader in Serverless Printing Infrastructure and will remain so. But with this acquisition we’re also in the digital workflow automation, e-forms, content management, digital signature, and secure storage space(s).
This is a major move. PL will continue to help customers “Eliminate Print Servers” as we always have. But now we will also assist business process owners to “Eliminate the analog-digital divide.”
What that means is this: in addition to our direct IP printing infrastructure business, PL will also provide software tools that customers will use to move their analog (read: paper-based) workflows to digital because it’s faster, more accurate, more scalable and less expensive.
Strategic Rebrandings
Optimizing the brand was a major emphasis at PL this past year. Getting our branding right is critical to the company’s future growth (see the previous two points in this post). Our two main PL products got new names in 2019, and the new acquisition mentioned above also became a new brand under the PL umbrella.
Our on-premises version of PrinterLogic became PrinterLogic Web Stack. And the former PrinterCloud was renamed PrinterLogic SaaS to reinforce its true software-as-a-service nature, as opposed to “cloud-based” competitors that are executables hosted on a cloud server.
The acquired MaxxVault software was rebranded under the Vasion name. Development on that product continues under the direction of MaxxVault founder Bruce Malyon. Customers can expect Vasion’s preview release in Q1 2020.
Chrome OS support
Simply huge! PL added Chrome OS to our list of supported operating systems, which already included Windows, Mac and Linux. It gives our customers using PrinterLogic SaaS the ability to centrally manage direct IP printing for Chromebooks through the new Chrome OS Client Extension
Chromebooks already dominate in U.S. K-12 education and are well positioned for growth in the business enterprise because they’re secure, suited for mobile workers and cost less than other laptops. Typically organizations evaluating Chromebooks have a mixed network of operating systems. PL’s Chrome OS extension provides our customers two BIG advantages. It allows them to:
- provide their workforce secure, reliable and scalable printing and print management in mixed-OS environments for all mainstream operating systems.
- treat Chromebooks not as mobile devices, but as equals to computers running Windows, MacOS and Linux, with the same print management features and functionality.
PrinterLogic SaaS customers can deploy the Chrome OS extension at no additional cost. The extension is currently in private preview, with general availability expected Q1 2020.
As you can see, this Best of 2019 post doesn’t even scratch the surface of all that went on for PL customers for 2019. We didn’t have enough space here to even mention the new releases, product updates and added features that were introduced last year, nor the partnerships PL solidified with some of the biggest names in tech.
But here’s the big takeaway: 2020 is shaping up as another monster year for PL customers. All the stuff from 2019 has set the stage for an even better, stronger and more productive next 12 months.
We can’t wait!