5 reasons cloud printing may be on a desk near you soon February 25, 2011 08:42 by John Sollars
Users of HP Inkjet Printers and also the new Generation of Lexmark Inkjet Printers have a new generation of Web
-connected options. HP and Lexmark are changing the way we present documents. Instead of boring single-purpose devices, a modern multifunction printer can print any document from nearly any device, anywhere you have an Internet connection. It’s a quantum leap forward in terms of flexibility, and every successful business owner knows you need to stay flexible and adapt to the needs of your customers.Web-connected printers may seem like a luxury, but here are a few reasons to consider upgrading your office printers to the cloud:
1. Convenience
Running a simpler, smoother, and more efficient business is the prime reason to launch your printers into the cloud. Whether your work demands traveling across the country or just across the street printer drivers and network cables are the last thing you want tying you down. Web-connected printers allow you to print nearly any document from any device with an Internet connection. The advent of printer apps means that you can automate routine tasks, to the press of a button.
2. Confidentiality
If convenience is the most seductive feature of cloud printing, confidentiality is the most unnerving; keeping sensitive data secure on a physical server is troublesome enough without worrying about bouncing it back and forth between the cloud.
Surprisingly, printing confidential data via a cloud printing service such as HP’s ePrint Enterprise is just as secure as printing across your company network. Employees printing from a Blackberry benefit from accessing a permanent, secure tunnel into your business VPN, where the HP ePrint Enterprise server operates behind your company firewall.
3. Control
Have you ever been confused about which printer is which on your office network? Here in our office we have three separate printers for different tasks, and I for one an always printing the ‘wrong’ document on the ‘wrong’ printer (much to everyone's disgust!).
Establishing a cloud print server within your office network allows you to control the who, what, when, and where of document printing within your business, ensuring that employees will never waste valuable time and ink on botched print jobs. One of the most interesting and Orwellian features of HP’s new ePrint Enterprise service is a rule-based access control system (RBAC) that dynamically changes whether a “Print” button appears in an employee’s Blackberry mail client based on contextual clues like current location, the format of the file in question, and your enterprise print policies.
4. Compatibility
Let’s be honest, trying to keep every computer in your office updated with the latest device drivers is an exercise in frustration. Mixing Mac OS, Windows and Linux machines (not to mention smartphones and tablets) on the same network with multiple printer configurations is a recipe for disaster.
Sending print jobs to the cloud bypasses the compatibility issue entirely; the rendering and rasterization functions typically handled by the print drivers on your desktop are taken care of by the print server instead, allowing you to print anything from any device, anywhere without having to worry about print drivers.
5. The Cool Factor
To be frank, cloud computing is the future for small business. HP’s ePrint Enterprise service falls right in line with SalesForce.com and Google Apps as business software with service-based contracts that you can easily set up and scale to accommodate rapid changes in your business needs.
The idea of a paperless office has long been killed off and we all still deal in documents, investing in Web-connected printers allows your business to be more flexible and efficient than competitors who don’t have their heads in the clouds.
2 Responses to “5 reasons cloud printing may be on a desk near you soon”
February 25, 2011 10:49
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February 25, 2011 13:16
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