Be Ahead of the Game: Give Your IT Department Tools to Encourage Innovation

As much as some folks like to brag about their ability to multitask, we all know by now that multitasking just isn’t efficient. Our brains prefer to focus on a single task rather than be pulled in different directions.

That applies to IT departments too. When IT staff are busy leaping from one urgent task to another, it can be hard for them to work efficiently.

A dysfunctional print environment only makes matters worse. The very nature of print management and printer support often forces IT departments to operate in response mode, which can be a huge resource drain in and of itself.

Sometimes it can seem like everything about enterprise printing is working against you. But inefficiency generally boils down to three major print-related contributors:

• Basic troubleshooting and routine printer support. This usually takes the form of printer installation requests or vague “I can’t print” messages from end users. In many organizations, managing the print environment is a lot like babysitting.

• A heterogeneous print environment. Supporting multiple brands and models of printers makes it way more challenging to manage printer drivers and troubleshoot printing problems. Complexity is the enemy of efficiency.

• End-user frustration. When employees feel like they’re being forced to waste time and overcome printing hurdles, they tend to file unnecessary helpdesk tickets. And that just compounds the existing printer support headache.

There are a couple things your IT department can start doing right away to get back on top of things.

• Give the IT team time to explore new technologies. The status quo is probably holding you back. One advancement worth exploring is serverless printing, which streamlines the print environment in multiple ways. 

• Look into advanced printing features. Depending on their ease of implementation, ‘bonus’ features like mobile printing or secure release printing could make your end users more productive. And therefore more content.

• Simplify your print infrastructure. Reducing your printer fleet and eliminating print servers cuts down on IT overhead. That gives IT staff the freedom to concentrate on future paths to optimization.

• Train IT employees in print management. If just one or two admins are responsible for all things print-related, maybe it’s time to familiarize other staff members with that area. Training can also introduce helpful new perspectives.

Distilling these tips into one simple piece of advice would run something like this: Empower your IT department with the right tools to innovate.

All the good intentions in the world won’t amount to much if your current printing solution keeps you in the weeds. If your IT department is constantly diverted by printer support, there’s simply no way to get the time you need for things like training, researching new technologies or brainstorming different approaches.

PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure is what provides that first vital push over the print management threshold. Its centrally managed direct IP printing eliminates print servers—and all their hassle—while consolidating management in a single admin console.

From there, your IT department can then easily roll out features like mobile/BYOD printing. Or a self-service printer installation portal that gives end users the ability to identify and install printers all by themselves. That’s how the benefits of PrinterLogic’s serverless printing build on each other, delivering additional time and cost savings at every step.

Those cumulative benefits are exactly what the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District in Texas had been searching for.

Before migrating from Novell iPrint to serverless printing with PrinterLogic, their IT department was swamped with thousands of printer support tickets each year. Now they’re in the single digits. They’ve eliminated multiple print servers and are directing reclaimed print-management time toward IT optimizations and improvement. Check out the case study here.

After years of being behind the 8-ball, Lamar CSID is now ahead of the game. Just like you could be.