Print.IT Reseller - issue 81

VOX POP 01732 759725 40 Multiple studies have revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and that more organisations are leveraging the cloud to support their DX initiatives. This month’s panel discusses the impact of Microsoft Universal Print The future of print Jamie McClunie, Product Manager, PaperCut Software: “If we take the cloud adoption of other business tools as a guide (accounting software, for a recent example), it’s safe to say that the shift to print management in the cloud is inevitable. “A recent Quocirca report suggests 73% of organisations expect to transition to cloud print management by 2025. And, in fact, another report points to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating complete cloud IT adoption for businesses from 34% to 43% by the end of 2021. “Add to that the emergence of cloud- native print management platforms such as PaperCut Hive, and there’s certainly enough evidence to expect an increase in adoption in 2021 and beyond. “Of course, many customers will be excited about the move to Microsoft Universal Print, just like they were for AAD, as part of their M365 licensing bundle. You can see the appeal when you consider that the move will enable them to save on server costs and enjoy the benefits of cloud services instead of dealing with the hassle of managing their own infrastructure. But just like Active Directory, there are still a vast number of organisations who can’t or won't completely abandon the control, resiliency and security of the local infrastructure they manage themselves, whether it’s for identity or print.” Christoph Hammer, Senior Vice President Cloud Services, ThinPrint GmbH: “The aim of cloud printing solutions, like ezeep, in general is to get rid of expensive-to-maintain on-premises infrastructure. Microsoft now joining this development is a good sign for the whole industry.” Hugo Marqvorsen, Sales Director and Co-founder, Printix: “Universal Print by Microsoft will certainly accelerate the demise of print servers and shift to cloud- native print infrastructure. It is a natural progression of their other cloud-based products since Azure was introduced.” Adam Bishop, Strategic Marketing, EveryonePrint: “A lot of our customers have welcomed this advancement. What Microsoft Universal Print has done is to bring the concept of cloud printing and a single print driver to the mainstream. CIOs are now seriously considering the ongoing value of print servers and to some degree, the development will accelerate the decision to migrate print to the cloud, all of which creates opportunity for EveryonePrint. “However, it will not signal the total demise of print servers, certainly in the short- to medium-term, many organisations require some information to remain local whether that’s due to bandwidth or latency issues or for security reasons, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.” Peter Silcock, Business Manager for Business Imaging, Epson UK: “Since Microsoft Universal Print was previewed to the public in 2020, the cloud-based print solution has – along with the rest of the Azure platform – signalled a shift away from using traditional on-site servers in many businesses. “Switching to Universal Print brings with it several benefits for IT managers, from eliminating the need to manage print servers and install drivers, to enabling users to print from anywhere (when connected to the internet). The cloud-based infrastructure helps centralise the management of all printing within an organisation, saving IT leads both time and energy. “Although it won’t herald an entire demise for traditional on-site print servers, there is certainly now a compelling argument for more companies to consider switching to a cloud-based print infrastructure – and one which could mean print is increasingly considered a cloud managed business service.” Liz Benson, Senior Strategy Director, Kofax: “We’ve seen digital transformation and workflow automation adoption rise across the board due to the new norms – distributed workforces and expectations for an effortless customer and employee experience, all while backed with enterprise-grade infrastructure and security. “As organisations seek their own outcomes to increase agility and efficiency – like shifting to cloud-native print infrastructure – we’re happy to partner with Microsoft. We share a common goal of helping our customers digitally transform business operations and workflow to drive enhanced PrintIT Reseller: Will Microsoft Universal Print signal the demise of print servers and accelerate the shift to a cloud-native print infrastructure? continued... Jamie McClunie Christoph Hammer