Delphine Clavel, Product Marketing Manager
6 min read
You’ve probably heard about cloud print solutions multiple times before, but why move to the cloud? What’s so monumental about it? And given that you likely don’t want to give your print infrastructure more attention than it’s already demanding, why should you?
As technology changes, so do our expectations for the devices we include in our offices. As more and more Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are at our fingerprints, IT teams are expecting everything from improved customer experiences to efficient processes that bring significant cost savings and less work to their department–so they can focus on the core business.
The answer is simple. Make the effort to move to the cloud, and embrace total infrastructure simplicity and make print easy—to oversee, use, and scale. Decrease user issues to troubleshoot, centralize your print fleet, and transfer IT management away from your team, to your solution provider.
Digital document filing storage and payroll and personnel software are adopted in IT departments looking to simplify their office infrastructure. But one pesky element that remains on-premises is the print servers. Question is– Why is print left behind? Why is it not included in businesses' cloud-first strategy?
Some of the greatest advancements that we enjoy today come from cloud-enabled technology. And it just so happens that cloud-based technology can be applied to our printers, too.
This article will dive into the main motivations for cloud adoption and what it means for your team as you become business enablers and let go of printing management.
Introducing SAFEQ Cloud
SAFEQ Cloud is a cloud print infrastructure service offered by Y Soft. The software offers private cloud and public cloud services, as well as hybrid cloud solutions, all with the help of a SaaS application.
Easy and quick to install, SAFEQ Cloud makes it possible for companies to either outsource the management of their printing solutions or simplify the way they handle it internally – All dependent on whether they want public, private, or hybrid cloud infrastructure.
Cloud-empowering print technology means employees can process print jobs from any device in the office (SAFEQ Cloud allows for desktop as well as mobile printing). The solution enables organizations to migrate their print to the cloud without compromising security and, at the same time, simplifies the entire print infrastructure.
Ultimately, SAFEQ Cloud is a true-cloud software platform that makes printing easier and more secure–for IT and all the users printing.
Why Move to the Cloud: 7 Proven Reasons
The allure of cloud services depends on individual needs, but there will likely be some commonly shared factors. Which of the following motivations do you think would be most relevant to your business?
1. Achieve Significant Cost Savings
Cost-cutting is an enticing motivational factor for any business decision, and the switch to cloud services is no different. Although it may not be the sole driving factor behind a migration, the cloud can cut costs effectively because it enables businesses to cancel expensive and obsolete software subscriptions or driver hosting.
With pure cloud solutions, you get to remove legacy IT systems, which results in eliminated hardware costs too. Let's take servers as an example:
- 66% of organizations with more than 1,000 employees maintain 3 or more print servers, on average 3.
- They spend over $2400 annually to provision each server and another $2000 each for annual running costs.
- Using 3 servers as the average, this means that each organization spends $13,200 annually just to run print jobs on premise.
But moving to serverless cloud printing, already there you'll see a $13,200/year saving.
Plus, with cloud services, there is no need for an upfront investment for hardware or licensing. Companies save on preparation methods—unlike relying on your server where you need to purchase backups in the case of system failure, you can count on the greater cloud to protect you.
Since cloud print solutions are often based on a SaaS model, your business only needs to pay for the licenses it uses and can scale up or down as the business evolves.
2. Enjoy a Speedier Print Procedure
As we progress further along in the age of digital transformation, we all have increasingly less patience for slow speeds. This seems to be true no matter the task—it’s hard to believe that we were ever okay with a webpage taking a minute to load (like in the age of dial-up internet).
Speed is one of the absolute leading benefits of cloud computing. Cloud-hosted services like SAFEQ Cloud have the advantage of running on massive secure data centres that are always benefitting from the latest and greatest hardware updates.
Also thinking in terms of IT admins’ day-to-day, the time spent on troubleshooting user issues with a cloud print setup is nothing compared to managing print on-premise.
SAFEQ Cloud lets you trade in your old-fashioned physical drivers for a full-featured single driver that can handle any and all print jobs. Just imagine the reduction in tickets to the Helpdesk. Almost too good to be true, but not quite.
3. Leverage Recognized Innovation
Working in technology, you know that the last thing that any company wants is to be left behind. We live in a world where being up-to-date on trends isn’t enough. Ideally, your company will be a few steps ahead of industry trends at all times. To do so, the cloud is your answer.
The people behind SAFEQ Cloud work tirelessly to maintain future-proof, solid software that follows the latest security trends and remains ahead of the curve on the latest cloud tech and features. That way, our customers not only get to be pacesetters in their industry, but they can also be confident that the software is always getting better and better.
As a service provider, Y Soft provides solutions that make life easier for IT teams. Our focus is not on offering advanced features for print management –because why offer the features (that make your infrastructure complex and give you more to do) when we can do the work for you? We've made SAFEQ Cloud a zero-management platform that always works. We take care of the platform management and leave the core business to you.
Need proof? In 2022, SAFEQ Cloud won the HP Workpath innovation award.
We were also awarded MPSA's Best Innovation Award the same year.
4. Achieve Higher Scalability
With every company comes the possibility for growth. And while that’s something that every organization wishes for, one of the realities of business is that what comes up can also go down. Recognizing the possibility of business fluctuation will take you further than living in denial.
Fortunately, cloud-based services allow for easy scalability. Not only are you able to get more storage space, servers, and licenses at the touch of a button, but you also have the option of only paying for what you use. With SAFEQ Cloud, you get to accelerate your digital transformation and cloud journey—at your pace, your way. Our SaaS model lets you scale up or down as your business matures.
5. Stay Protected with Cloud Security
Security is always top of mind, now more than ever. After all, it seems like we’re often hearing news stories about major companies experiencing data security breaches and data loss. Nobody wants it to happen to them—we’re not sure what’s worse, the PR or the disaster recovery itself.
There are many different ways to keep a business’s operations secure, but keeping up with the necessary security patches required for every application can be an overwhelming task. Companies dodge a lot of risk by choosing a cloud service that offers real-time reporting and security features (like pull printing) suitable for even a Zero-Trust environment.
With secure cloud services like SAFEQ Cloud, your security tasks are always properly prioritized and taken care of for you.
Security is a sensitive topic, so no hard feelings if you want to be sure about the legitimacy of our security claim. To give you rest assured, take a look at the following customer story with Intracoastal Realty and find out how they used SAFEQ Cloud to simplify their infrastructure and protect their data from the strong elements of their hurricane-prone office location in North Carolina:
→ Intracoastal Realty Customer Story
6. Take Advantage of Cloud High Availability
Availability is one of the most significant advantages of cloud computing. In a nutshell, cloud services are available all day, any day, from anywhere. This means that, in most circumstances, employees can choose to work from any location with any device (smartphone, tablet, computer, etc.).
SAFEQ Cloud is hosted on AWS in five different locations with three availability zones per location. Safe to say, your cloud print infrastructure is always available to you.
7. Amp up Integrations
Cloud computing software like SAFEQ Cloud comes with well-defined APIs and is, in general, easy to integrate. APIs allow for simple, flexible, and transferable connections that can latch on to just about any application or platform within a business. APIs are easy to use and help with interoperability—one of the most important parts of modernizing IT systems.
Print: An Overlooked Application
While most companies are aiming for a complete migration to the cloud, there is one element that they tend to overlook: print servers. To become fully cloud-first, make sure to get your cloud print journey started - And yes, it’s fully possible even without Google Cloud print (which was discontinued in early 2021—RIP).
Although it’s often overlooked, moving your print to the cloud is a strategic decision. Not only does print represent a considerable cost for many organizations, but it has also been known to clog up the IT helpdesk, with a great number of service requests estimated to be due to printing.
So, why move to the cloud? So your IT team can let go of print management and enjoy an advanced cloud printing solution that gives you full control of the print environment – all from one pane of glass. That way, your team can transform from a back-office support department to a full-fledged business-generating frontline unit.
FAQs on Moving to the Cloud
Is Moving to the Cloud Safer?
With simplified end-to-end encryptions, zero-trust policies, and advanced data centres, moving your print environment to the cloud is safer than keeping it on-premise. Cloud software complies with strict protection and safety regulations, made to protect both users and data alike.
Which is the Most Significant Benefit of Cloud-Based Technology?
While there are many benefits to leveraging cloud-based technology, a chief advantage is its imminent degree of flexibility. Businesses can scale services to fit their needs and requirements, customise applications, and access cloud solutions from anywhere with a wifi connection.
Discover more benefits here → 5 Reasons to Move your Print Infrastructure to the Cloud
Final Points
So, there you go. If that’s not an advocacy speech for moving your print to the cloud, we don’t know what is. But if you need a closer look at the platform, that's cool, too! Get a free demo of SAFEQ Cloud today.
We’re firm believers that the best opinions to get inspired by come from the people using the product. To take the next step in your journey, head over to our Podcast episode with Tom L. from Ambiq, where he walks you through his experience when migrating his print environment to SAFEQ Cloud:
