The move to cloud printing was already a thing before COVID, but in 2020 things quickly went from “That’s interesting tech” to “Get on the cloud! Go! Go! Go!” The shift to remote and hybrid work took everyone by surprise, and even though employees are slowly drifting back to the office, many businesses still need cloud print solutions that can handle the new hybrid office where 40% of their staff are working from home in their sweatpants.
So how do you make hybrid printing cost-effective, user-friendly and secure? That’s what we’re diving into today.
Optimizing remote printing solutions for a hybrid office workforce
The three big challenges here are accessibility, security and management. Users need to be able to print to any device, whether they are in the office on their home network. They also need to do it safely, and sysadmins need to be able to track and monitor all print activity, just like any regular office. There’s an inherent tension between accessibility, security and management needs to be untangled. And to do that, you need a few things:
- Cloud-based print solutions
- Authentication controls and end-to-end encryption
- Mobile and BYOD printing
- Remote, centralized print management
- Full visibility and auditing
Let’s break these down in more detail.
Securing print in a hybrid world
Security is the thing hovering over the whole hybrid office debate. Over 45% of organizations experienced a security incident due to remote work during the pandemic. So if you want to print safely in a hybrid environment you need to enable (at a minimum secure print release , end-to-end encryption on all devices, and robust access controls and permissions. This sounds daunting, but all three of these can be setup and monitored through print management software, like PaperCut.
Adapting to BYOD
If you want to go down the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) route, you’re going to need a solid Mobile Device Management (MDM) strategy. That means a print solution that supports multiple operating systems and gives sysadmins control over user access, endpoint security, driver deployment and troubleshooting. If a staff member leaves their tablet on a train, you need to be able to lock it out of the network remotely. That’s the level of granular control we’re talking about.
Your MDM strategy should set out security requirements for users, acceptable use standards, and define which devices and operating systems actually have printer support. You’ll also need a water-tight network infrastructure, with VLANs or separate SSIDs to isolate BYOD devices from the main network. Some of this is general hygiene stuff, but for print network authentication (either with LDAP or SSO) it’s best to go with dedicated print management software.
Simplified remote print management
Hybrid printing without centralized control is chaos. And you don’t want chaos. The ideal setup is one dashboard that allows sysadmins to monitor, manage and troubleshoot all printers and devices remotely. That includes everything from driver deployment to endpoint firewall updates and security patching. To minimize system downtime, you should also implement remote monitoring tools that can detect issues such as low toner levels or paper jams. Check out our blog for more detail on this one.
Self-serve printing
If your organization provides supplies for home office printers, consider implementing some kind of supply management system, and maybe reimbursements or stipends to make sure your staff have all the printing gear they need. This is one of the hassles of the hybrid workplace: you need to maintain consistent, compliant hardware standards across not just the office itself, but employees’ homes as well.
Of course, the best hybrid networks manage to combine security with robust user features, so that users themselves can take control of their printing (rather than pestering IT with endless tickets and emails). This might take the form of a cloud-native app (like Mobility Print) or a driverless web browser (also known as Web Print ).
Leveraging analytics
Analytics become even more critical in hybrid work environments. This is because your IT team is working at a natural disadvantage: half of their network infrastructure isn’t even in the building anymore. As such, it’s important to analyze user behavior and printer patterns to optimize printer deployment and reduce any unnecessary printing. Ultimately, auditing and reporting features help you make decisions about printer numbers, locations, settings and user access. They’re also great for picking up unorthodox or unauthorized printing on the network.
Optimizing hybrid print costs
It’s usually a good idea to implement hybrid print quotas and page limits to keep your hybrid environment under control. Again, this comes back to analytics and visibility: the better view your sysadmins have, and the more they know about your users’ print habits, the more effective these sorts of policies will be. You should also set some basic print settings, like automatic duplex and B&W printing, to save on resources and energy. All of these will go a long way to optimizing your hybrid printing costs.
Pro tip: encourage the use of digital workflows and document management systems to cut down on printing all together! If you’re not already using some combo of Slack, OneDrive, Google Docs or Dropbox, get on it.
Handling compatibility issues
Compatibility issues are part of the game when it comes to hybrid work. The best thing you can do is get ahead of these problems by choosing device- and OS-agnostic solutions, like PaperCut. By going with a popular cloud print platform, you’re already reducing compatibility issues down the track. You can also deploy universal print drivers that support multiple printer models and brands. This simplifies the process for users and maximises the number of compatible endpoint devices.
Ultimately, hybrid work and remote work environments are as secure as you want them to be. It comes back to centralized admin control, good visibility and (as always) education. The more informed your employees are about this stuff, the safer and smoother your hybrid office is going to be.
For more info about leveraging cloud print management in remote work environments, check out our blog .
