Managed.IT - issue 53

MANAGED.IT 33 PRINTING SERVICES By 2021, more than 70% of businesses will be substantially provisioned with cloud office capabilities. So says Gartner in its June 2018 report How the Cloud Office Duopoly Affects Wider IT Strategies . This includes printing services, with Lexmark becoming the latest vendor to launch a suite of cloud services designed to reduce infrastructure requirements for print, to simplify device management and to enhance productivity, security and flexibility. Help of this sort is likely to be welcomed both by larger organisations, in which IT departments prefer not to spend time managing printer problems, and smaller ones that have limited access to in-house IT resources and less budget for print servers and other components of an efficient print infrastructure. For Jamie Bsales, director of solutions analysis at Keypoint Intelligence – Buyers Lab, potential time and cost savings were big factors in the company’s decision to name Lexmark Cloud Services an Outstanding Print Environment Management Solution. “Managing a print environment can be very resource-intensive for IT personnel. There are drivers, firmware, print queues and device configurations to manage, devices to secure, and more. Lexmark Cloud Services is a wide-ranging solution that provides businesses with a simple yet powerful print environment management solution that can save time for IT personnel and cut print costs,” he said. The Lexmark Cloud Services suite has four components: n Lexmark Cloud Print Management with secure print release removes the cost and complications of print servers, print queues and print driver management. Submitted print jobs are held in a personal queue until the user authenticates at a specific printer to release the jobs. This lets the user choose the most convenient printer anywhere in the company, ensures unclaimed documents with sensitive information are not left lying around, and eliminates waste from documents that are printed but never retrieved. For organisations that are challenged with compliance and bandwidth constraints, a hybrid option keeps print jobs inside the firewall, sending only the print job metadata to the cloud to enable analytics. Mobile printing is supported from iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones/tablets; n Lexmark Cloud Fleet Management allows channel partners to remotely manage Lexmark devices installed on customer sites. It gives technicians secure remote access to customer devices through a remote access portal, enabling them to update firmware and security settings on multiple devices; view, manage and configure each customer’s Lexmark devices and apps; troubleshoot issues; retrieve page counts; and easily configure devices; n Lexmark Cloud Connector enables registered users to print from and scan and upload to popular content sharing sites, such as Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive; and n Real-time Analytics gives organisations greater insight into their printing, copying and scanning practices. The dashboard displays real-time statistics on usage levels by individual, business unit, device or office, enabling organisations to identify cost saving opportunities and export data for additional analysis. www.lexmark.co.uk New markets, old values Lexmark is targeting small and medium-sized businesses with an award-winning suite of cloud solutions and a new range of mono printers www.managedITmag.co.uk Twice the appeal As well as launching its cloud services, Lexmark has been updating its hardware offering as it seeks to achieve double-digit growth year-on-year. After updating as much as 90% of its printer fleet with more robust, durable designs last year, it is now extending its offering into new areas with the launch of the Lexmark Two Series for small businesses and workgroups, which effectively doubles the size of Lexmark’s addressable market. Sammy Kinlaw, Lexmark vice president, worldwide channel and OEM sales, said: “We are not simply dipping our toes in the water. This is about taking the power of the brand and the power of Lexmark into the SMB sector. According to IDC, worldwide within the A4 space there were 30 million products sold in 2018. Lexmark’s previous product line competed in about a third of that market. Now, with the introduction of the Two Series, we have a place in two-thirds of that market.” The Lexmark Two Series currently comprises two 34 pages per minute, wireless, B&W devices – the single function Lexmark B2236dw and the multifunction Lexmark MB2236adw (with 23ppm scanning). In the summer, it will be expanded with new colour products. Kinlaw points out that although these are entry-level devices, they are designed to last. “Small businesses can’t afford to waste time or money updating their IT equipment every year. Lexmark intentionally engineered these devices to be tough workhorses, packed with power and speed and built to last,” he said. B2236dw