As businesses increasingly digitize their operations, cloud print management is becoming a critical area of IT that offers both enhanced efficiency and cost savings. But when is the right time for your business to make the switch? This question is pivotal as cloud technologies continue to evolve rapidly.
According to Future Market Insights, the cloud printing services market is valued around $1.5 billion right now, and it’s expected to hit $4.6 billion over the coming years.
This isn’t too surprising in a post-COVID world. Since the pandemic, there’s been an acceleration of businesses transitioning to the cloud. 89% of businesses are now using multi-cloud solutions, and about a third of organizations now run 75% of their workload through the cloud.
To answer the question, “When will businesses switch their printing from on-premise to cloud?” Well, they already are. So, when exactly should you make the jump, if you haven’t already? That’s going to differ for every organization. Here are a few factors to consider…
Key considerations when switching to cloud print management
1. There’s no need to rush
There’s no need to rush the transition. If your business has recently invested in on-premise solutions, it might be more cost-effective to maximize this existing infrastructure. Cloud print management solutions will continue to evolve and may become more cost-effective over time.
2. The Complexity of Your Print Environment
Especially if you’re the type of workplace already using cloud services like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc. If you’re already in the cloud for most of your operations, it makes more sense to get your print management in the cloud than keeping or purchasing a print server. There’s a lot to unpack here, so it’s worth diving into the benefits of cloud printing in more detail. The short version? Cloud print management is usually more efficient, more flexible, and cheaper to run than on-site print servers.
Real-World Success Stories of Cloud Printing
Case Study: DNEAT
The only time you need to go cloud-based is if your print environment is essentially lawless. This was the case with one of our clients , The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT), a multi-site education facility in Suffolk, England. DNEAT had 10,000 students and no IT team, so you can imagine what their print environment looked like…absolute chaos. They needed a cloud-native print solution, which is where PaperCut came into the picture.
Now, not all organizations are as complex, or chaotic, as DNEAT was. Which brings us to our next point…
Case Study: Cambridge University
Let’s look at another example: Cambridge University . For a long time, they were running Google Cloud Print, until that product got axed. Now they use PaperCut Mobility Print to enable BYOD printing for over 20,000 students. What’s interesting about Cambridge is that not all of the university uses cloud print services, so we’re able to compare performance.
“We have parts of the University that don’t have PaperCut,” says Kelvin Morgan, Cambridge’s computer officer. “These parts are predominantly within the University itself, not the Colleges. They tend not to use print management, and so lose out. Purchasing of print hardware is done on an ad-hoc basis without firstly thinking about their overall need within the department.
“If we look at the unmanaged parts of the University the service offering doesn’t compare to that of what we currently offer within the managed print service,” says Kelvin. “With more centralized purchasing of devices, we can specify the models that we know work with our service. We can then also put in maintenance contracts and agreements for consumables which have us saving money week on week.”
Choosing the Right Cloud Solution
When considering a public cloud, opt for a cloud-native solution designed specifically for cloud environments rather than adapted from private cloud solutions. Cloud-native options like PaperCut Hive are built from the ground up to maximize the benefits of the cloud, including security and ease of use.
Hybrid Work and Cloud Print Management
With hybrid work models becoming the norm, cloud print management offers flexibility. Employees can print from anywhere, using any device, which aligns with the modern workforce’s needs. Organizations adopting hybrid work should consider moving to cloud-native print solutions soon to support their operational model.
