**Originally published on October 17, 2019**
Over time, enterprise print environments can turn into big, unwieldy beasts. Printer fleets tend to keep growing. The number of print servers keeps increasing to scale. And then, of course, sometimes you need multiple IT printing solutions to handle specialized tasks.
The larger and denser our print environments become, the more complex they get. That complexity takes its toll on productivity because more things can go wrong. It also ends up costing money. Each time something goes wrong, resources must be diverted to fix it.
Why should you reduce print infrastructure?
You should consider reducing your print infrastructure for a few important reasons:
Unpredictable Issues: Problems with incompatible drivers, GPO printer deployments, and spooler vulnerabilities lead to complications for admins and users.
Excessive Helpdesk Tickets: Anytime an end user has print-related issues, they ultimately call the helpdesk to ask for help. IT staff can sometimes spend up to 40% of their day on print-related tickets.
Incompatibility With Modern Solutions: Print servers are a legacy system that is incompatible with modern print solutions—making improvements to traditional print environments harder to come by.
But how is infrastructure reduction possible in a world where print servers are still the status quo?
If you start taking away print servers, that only increases the strain on the ones that are left. And that will only compound your organization’s printing problems.
Next-gen serverless printing solutions enable you to eliminate print servers without risk or drawbacks. You can have even more availability, scalability, and features while streamlining your print infrastructure.
That’s what leads to the added benefits of infrastructure reduction. You don’t just get rid of unnecessary software and hardware by going serverless. You also get unparalleled ease of use for admins and end users alike. That saves time—and money—in a big way.
Here are a few additional ways infrastructure reduction can enhance your print environment.
Optimize Print Infrastructure
When IT pros think about eliminating print servers, they often focus on the functionality they think they’ll lose. Instead, it’s better to consider all the ways print servers complicate day-to-day printing. Single points of failure. Poor driver management. Complex printer installation procedures. Unreliable deployments with unreliable GPOs and scripts.
When put in those terms, you can see how eliminating print servers can actually remove the many barriers they pose to printing.
Serverless printing solutions provide all the functionality of standard IT printing solutions without all their baggage. With those issues gone, end users have a more stable, predictable printing experience. They don’t need to call the helpdesk for assistance all the time.
Reduce Costs
Streamlining the print environment through infrastructure reduction means less for admins to oversee and maintain. There’s less to upgrade and license. All of that saves ongoing costs. And those savings add up quickly.
It’s also got knock-on effects. When admins aren’t putting out fires and dealing with support tickets, they can spend time making the print environment even more efficient. That leads to even fewer helpdesk calls, which frees up the support staff to focus on further optimizations. Which then makes things even better for your end users.
The bonus of that positive loop? All of that saved time and efficiency becomes another source of cost savings.
Enjoy More Features by Going Serverless
To get more features from legacy IT printing solutions, you typically have to add more solutions to the mix. That creates more to manage and more potential for incompatibility.
PrinterLogic is so feature-rich that you can consolidate your entire print environment in a single software solution. Its centralized Admin Console lets you monitor and manage the entire print environment from a single pane of glass. You can configure advanced printer deployments without touching a GPO or script from a single UI.
The core of our serverless printing solutions can be easily augmented, too. PrinterLogic’s Mobile Printing functionality offers native printing from iOS and Android devices. It even supports guest and BYOD devices through multiple print methods.
And Mobile Printing is just one example of how extensible PrinterLogic can be. Its optional feature set also includes easy Secure Release Printing and Advanced Reporting.
Cost Savings in Action
AAA Carolinas’ experience is an excellent example of how admins maximize the benefits of infrastructure reduction. This large, distributed organization rolled out PrinterLogic to its 2,000 users almost overnight. Migrating eliminated aging print servers, realized cost savings on several fronts, and simplified routine printer installations. Print-related support calls dropped by as many as 50 per week. Read the case study here.
By demoing our on-prem or SaaS serverless printing solutions as proof of concept, you’ll see how a single instance of PrinterLogic can replace unnecessary hardware and software. And you’ll also get a taste of the impressive ROI it can generate in the long term.
To find out how easy and cost-effective infrastructure reduction can be, start your free 30-day trial of PrinterLogic today.