Boost IT Efficiency with Cloud & Never Touch Drivers or Servers Again

Having to install printer drivers and keep them up and running may be among the most tedious aspects of working in IT. Add to that the fact that every manufacturer’s specific printer models require dedicated drivers and servers. This easily leads to a tangled web of hardware and software, not to mention the overwhelming task of maintaining it.

For IT departments, a streamlined solution to their printing woes can free up their time and boost efficiency in their everyday work. But what would that look like? We’re talking about cloud printing solutions.

Cloud-based printing software with a global print driver makes IT efficiency certain. A full featured printer driver ensures IT professionals don’t have to install printer drivers, regularly update them, or get bogged down with routine maintenance of them.

If you’re looking to streamline your IT department or move on from the existing, frustrating model of printing, a cloud-powered print solution is your answer. In this post, we will cover how a cloud-configured full featured print driver can boost your IT team’s performance.

Print Drivers: A Never-Ending Install, Configure, Update Loop

When you download and install printer drivers to set up your print ecosystem, it’s the first step in what can eventually feel like a never-ending cycle. After the print drivers, you have to set up the print server and then configure the printer settings — and that’s not the end of it.

Every time a new device is added to the network, you’ll have to install the printer driver on it. To compound these issues, whenever the printer manufacturer upgrades its software, you’ve got more work to do.

Before your printer drivers become obsolete, you will need to manually update the printer driver of every device in your network or configure the server to update the drivers remotely.

Doesn’t this process seem like a lot of work and hassle just for the simple function of printing documents?

Using printers with many drivers is an old and labor-intensive way to get minimal rewards. There’s a reason most IT helpdesks end up spending a significant amount of time every day on print-related tickets — and that reason is the inefficiency of the existing model.

To give your IT department a break from printer requests, you can switch to a more efficient system. That’s why many workspaces are leaving behind the multiple-driver model and embracing newer alternatives, like universal printer drivers and cloud print drivers like our Full-Featured Single Driver.

What is a Modern/Global Print Driver?

Imagine if the answer to all your printing woes came in the form of cloud-based software. SAFEQ Cloud comes equipped with a modern print driver designed to streamline your print infrastructure by moving it to the cloud.

The most attractive aspect of modern print drivers is that they are model and brand-agnostic. They are compatible with most printers, making them perfect for a workspace with printers from various manufacturers.

This solution only requires a web connection. Through the cloud, modern print drivers format documents, including finishing options, and send them to the chosen printer. There’s also no need for additional hardware, like printer servers, when using modern print drivers like the one you’ll find in SAFEQ Cloud.

To get an idea of what that looks like, in practice, a modern, full-featured single driver simplifies print management and boasts features like: 

• Location awareness
• Automated driver provisioning on endpoints

• Automated update process for all users

By streamlining your print infrastructure, you can free up your IT department to focus on critical tasks and boost the productivity of other employees in the office.

Modern VS Traditional Printer Drivers

Over the years, the method of relying on multiple print drivers has caused IT departments many headaches. By switching to a modern, full-featured print driver, you can eliminate those problems. Here's how modern printer drivers prevail over traditional ones:

• While you have to manually install traditional drivers repeatedly, modern drivers need you to install the client software only once.
• Traditional drivers have to be manually updated, but modern drivers automate the update process for every user.
• Instead of constant monitoring and on-site troubleshooting, modern printer drivers offer a centralized print administration hub without the minutiae of print management.
• End-users enjoy more flexibility, and IT help desks no longer need to slog through repetitive printing assistance requests.

SAFEQ Cloud VS the Universal Print Driver 

When upgrading your organization’s printing infrastructure, you will come across terms like ‘modern print driver’ and ‘universal print driver.’ These solutions are not the same thing. Think of a universal print driver as an intermediate step between traditional, multiple-driver solutions and the modern, cloud-based single driver.

It’s important to note that the term “universal” is not entirely accurate in this context. Universal print drivers are single-manufacturer drivers — which means they allow end users to complete printing jobs on all devices from a single manufacturer.

While more convenient than maintaining multiple drivers for different devices, universal drivers do have some shortcomings that become apparent when working in a multi-vendor print environment.

What sets the modern, full featured print driver apart from universal print drivers is that they are, in fact, more universal in their application. They offer a single solution that can handle multiple networks and domains.

Even if your workspace uses printers from multiple manufacturers (a mixed fleet of printers), using a single cloud-based driver will not require harrowing levels of printer maintenance. 

Get Rid of the Servers Too

Print management models in the modern workplace are being disrupted in real-time. The traditional modes of print management are on their way out, and they are taking print servers with them as they go. Honestly, we will not miss them.

There are several drawbacks to relying on traditional print servers as your go-to printing solution, especially with the advent of more efficient cloud-based solutions.

For many organizations, investing in a print server isn’t the best use of resources due to the following reasons:

• Associated Costs: Buying a physical server requires an initial investment, followed by regular expenses for its maintenance and upkeep.
• Needs Expertise: Server maintenance is a specialized discipline even within IT, and most small-to-medium businesses may not have an employee with the required level of training and know-how.
• Single Point of Failure: A server-based printing infrastructure relies entirely on the print server’s performance. If the server crashes, then all printing functions grind to a halt.

Meanwhile, a serverless print infrastructure completely relieves your IT department of the responsibility of maintaining such systems. This means no worrying over software patches, updates, and feature deployment.

With your server migrating to the cloud, you no longer have to worry about storing expensive hardware in your office. Whether you use a private or public cloud, the costs of maintaining a serverless printing system are lower than using a physical server.

Oh, and last but not least—serverless solutions are far more flexible and scalable than traditional ones, making it less of a pain to run office printing.

Boost IT with One Driver & Serverless Printing

Switching to cloud-based printing helps improve the IT department’s efficiency in a number of ways. Also, with the reduced workload from handling printer maintenance, the IT department becomes more agile and responsive to issues that need their urgent attention. Features of cloud-based printing systems that help boost your IT team’s performance are:

✅ Centralized administration
✅ IT automation
✅ Convenient and quick accessibility
✅ Tighter (and proactive) security management
✅ Scalable according to requirements

Cloud-powered printing solutions add value to your business by letting your IT team affect important changes throughout the organization. A simple decision about your preferred printing solution can become an agent of positive change for your business.

FAQs on SAFEQ Cloud’s Print Driver

Q1) What is Serverless Architecture?

Serverless printing is an approach to managing printer fleets without maintaining a physical server on the premises. This does not mean that no servers are involved in the printing process. A cloud service provider instead outsources the servers and maintains or hosts them online.

Q2) How Does a Full-Featured Printer Driver Work?

A full-featured print driver makes the task of print management much simpler by performing a suite of functions, including:

• Offers advanced print options and formats printing jobs for any brand of printer.
• Enables print roaming even with multiple print queues based on individual manufacturers’ print drivers.
• Connects end users to available printers at their location. 

Final Points

The key to unlocking greater IT efficiency begins with freeing your IT team from having to install printer drivers. Adopting a cloud-based printing solution might seem like a small change, but it can have a big impact on your organization’s performance–and your IT department’s ability to tackle the mission-critical differentiation projects ahead of them.

Need a better look at the full-featured print driver in action? Book a demo and a free 30-day trial of SAFEQ Cloud and see what it means to let your print soar in the cloud.