Print.IT Reseller - issue 81

01732 759725 42 VOX POP efficiency, productivity, and experience. “Variables, including latency and bandwidth, are still influencing factors where an organisation may be on their journey to cloud-native print adoption. With Universal Print and Kofax ControlSuite, organisations can accelerate the transition while securely managing information for print, its capture, and routing with the ability for secure cloud- based print management in addition to the traditional print server solutions. As cloud print management grows, the use of print server solutions may be altered. “Universal Print offers an on-ramp to cloud-based print management as organisations initiate digital transformation programs. The shift to native Universal Print functionality will allow third-party vendors like Kofax to enable their products to manage devices through Microsoft Graph API connectivity, thereby reducing or even eliminating the need for on-prem print servers – realising an even more tightly integrated and seamless user and administrator experience.” Pietro Renda, Chief Marketing Officer, MPS Monitor: “Over the past few years, businesses of all sizes have shown greater interest in adopting a managed print service approach, and, in parallel, the need for cloud-based printing has grown. To reduce costs as a first goal, but also to plan and manage IT resources more appropriately. “While cloud migration showed a significant growth trend over the years, the pandemic had a high impact on how the work is done, shifting employees to operate remotely and creating the need to develop stable and secure home environments. “So, more and more, organisations are migrating to the cloud to reduce IT infrastructure and ensure better control over the distributed workforce. Universal Print in this context plays a central role, both for Microsoft and for the entire print industry. By making Universal Print a standard feature for Microsoft 365, the company effectively targets a broad customer base in large companies and the SMB, bringing users’ print activities into the Microsoft Azure cloud.” Kerry Rush, Product Manager, Sharp UK: “The move to cloud-based services is definitely a major growth area for both IT and print, and it’s an especially hot topic during the pandemic. Microsoft is a front runner in pushing forward with evolution in these areas and Universal Print is a shining example of this. “For businesses that already run Microsoft 365 and Azure environments, this is a quick and easy migration – one that could eventually see on-premise print servers becoming a thing of the past. It will aid our new agile work forces to transition between home and office work with ease. “For organisations that don’t currently operate with Microsoft 365 or Azure, it may take a lot more time and investment to run their infrastructure via the cloud. We also need to consider security and how we can build trust in the cloud. Many customers feel secure knowing that their data is stored on-site in a physical box, rather than floating around in a cloud that they cannot see or touch.” Andy Johnson, Solutions and Alliance Partner Development Manager, Brother UK: “The rollout of Microsoft Universal Print will make it easier for IT leads to switch to cloud-native systems, so we can expect to see a drop-off in the use of server-based print infrastructure. “The switch to cloud provides a number of benefits – it negates the need to buy and maintain servers, it provides better protection against cyber-attacks and helps businesses shift the investment into a monthly opex as part of existing Office 365 subscriptions. “Companies will also be looking to harness far greater flexibility with their print systems through cloud integration. Universal Print allows new devices to be added to print estates almost instantaneously without the headache of installing supporting server infrastructure.” Eric McCann, Manager, Software Product Marketing, Lexmark: “Universal Print from Microsoft is a compelling technology for customers adopting the Microsoft ecosystem for services. We are eager to join Microsoft in this journey and enhance our printers with this capability, while also maintaining our current support for existing customers and/or those who choose not to implement this support.” Howard Roberts, Distinguished Technologist, HP Inc. Office Print Solutions: “HP sees Microsoft Universal Print as an addition to tools that a network administrator has access to rather than a replacement for on-premise servers. “Currently Microsoft Universal Print only provides access to a print path from Windows 10 clients through to Microsoft Universal Print-aware devices that are authenticated through Azure AD. The vast majority of devices on networks often do not have this capability and ability to be upgraded or made Microsoft Universal Print-compatible. This is why Microsoft has created the on-premise Microsoft Universal Print proxy server. “In addition, the standard role of ...continued Hugo Marqvorsen Pietro Renda The move to cloud-based services is definitely a major growth area for both IT and print, and it’s an especially hot topic during the pandemic