For the past couple of months, organizations have been evaluating their annual IT budgets and choosing which projects will take precedence in 2021. Now that the new year has begun, it’s time to start implementing those top initiatives.
And this year, it’s no surprise that the events of 2020 will have an outsized influence on IT priorities. The 2021 State of IT report from Spiceworks Ziff Davis found that 76% of businesses are making long-term IT changes based on COVID-19. Large numbers of survey respondents said they’d be redirecting their IT spending as a result. Instead of concentrating on emerging tech, they would instead concentrate on services that increase their operational flexibility and empower their remote workforces.
Although many organizations have adopted work from home models in response to the pandemic, these models aren’t temporary. They’re actually set to become semi-permanent. Google has already announced that it will keep a flexible work week after the worst is over—and it’s not alone. More than half of the SWZD respondents planned on continuing similar workplace policies.
Where does print management fit in?
Companies aren’t just channeling more resources toward supporting work from home (WFH) employees in 2021. They’re also getting back to basics, like beefing up network security and strengthening core technologies. That means there’s a renewed focus on things like secure print capabilities and more efficient print management.
In the past—even during less eventful years—print environments have often been overlooked as areas of real opportunity. Many companies have stuck with the same print management software (usually Windows print servers) and kept their print infrastructure virtually unchanged.
Unfortunately, that’s prevented them from realizing the cost savings and productivity gains that a more streamlined print environment can bring. Here’s why:
- Traditional print environments just aren’t suited to work from home models. They were originally designed for static wired desktop clients, and that’s the way they’ve stayed for years.
- Conventional print management is not future proof. Its scalability is severely limited—a problem that tends to be solved by adding more and more print infrastructure. Which only creates more scalability problems.
- For all these reasons, print security suffers in traditional print environments. When routine print management is already so complex, adding secure print capabilities or other advanced features only makes the complexity worse.
Better print management should be a top IT priority
All of this makes 2021 a perfect year to implement a superior print management solution. Migrating to a serverless printing infrastructure can address urgent needs, such as supporting your remote workforce, while also meeting ongoing IT goals like increased security, added cost savings and greater efficiency.
So why not put serverless printing with PrinterLogic at the top of your organization’s list of IT projects?
PrinterLogic has a SaaS variant that’s ideally suited to hybrid workplaces that include WFH employees. Unlike traditional print management software, it offers centralized admin control over distributed print environments. On top of easy-to-use advanced features like secure release printing, PrinterLogic SaaS also sidesteps the VPN dependencies that undermine the security of common cloud and SaaS solutions.
PrinterLogic also has a new virtual appliance. This next-gen approach offers more hands-on control without sacrificing ease of deployment and upgrades. Like PrinterLogic SaaS, the PrinterLogic Virtual Appliance allows end users to identify and install nearby printers or print securely from mobile devices. It makes print management more efficient and lifts the burden on IT, helping to achieve long-term cost savings from the moment it’s rolled out.
If your organization is among those that are emphasizing workforce flexibility, tighter security and infrastructure optimization in 2021, PrinterLogic provides a way to hit those important targets with a single solution. Check out this handy guide to determine whether PrinterLogic SaaS or the PrinterLogic Virtual Appliance is best for you.