Managing one print environment can be hard enough. Managing several at the same time can seem downright daunting. And for managed service providers (MSPs) whose cost structures are highly sensitive to extra investment of time and resources, every second spent struggling with a print-management issue has the potential to weigh heavily on the bottom line.
MSPs have another fundamental concern: customer satisfaction. Unlike an organization where print infrastructure is managed in-house, an MSP’s end users can decide to contract with another provider at any time. That puts particular importance on retaining existing customers and attracting new ones, which means that quality of service has to remain uncompromisingly high. Ongoing printing problems, even minor ones that might be tolerated elsewhere, can put an MSP out of business.
The catch here is that, in addition to facing more than the usual number of challenges, MSPs also have a unique set of print-management requirements. Ideally, they want a single, uniform print-management solution that allows them to deliver a core suite of services to their customers while also providing a consistent management experience. Yet MSPs’ customers can have very different environments and a wide variety of printing needs, so any solution also has to be versatile enough to accommodate these disparities.
Bearing that in mind, a print-management solution that’s optimized for MSPs should meet the following criteria:
Powerful: Admins have access to a comprehensive suite of printer- and driver-management tools, including advanced features.
Intuitive: Profile settings as well as automated deployments and installations are easy to configure with granular precision.
Versatile: The solution integrates seamlessly with any environment without sacrificing reliability, functionality or ease of use.
Robust: Single points of failure and WAN dependencies are either reduced or eliminated completely, ensuring maximum uptime and uninterrupted printing.
Centralized: The MSP is able to fully manage the print environment for every customer, no matter how distributed, from a single pane of glass.
Consistent: The administrative experience is the same across the entire customer pool, regardless of differences in printer fleets or printing habits.
Streamlined: Administrative tasks are as efficient as possible and don’t require multiple interactions when one will do.
Scalable: The print-management solution effortlessly adapts as the customer’s print environment shrinks, expands or evolves over time.
Another thing to consider is that any print-management solution that is truly geared toward MSPs should also offer opportunities to add value. For example, one customer might want secure printing capabilities, whereas another wants to implement cross-platform mobile and BYOD printing. An MSP who’s able to provide this kind of added value in a cost-effective way—that is, with minimal physical infrastructure and low administrative overhead—is going to be much more attractive to those customers.
PrinterLogic meets these demanding MSP criteria
Although traditional print-management solutions like print servers would find it impossible to fulfill all those demanding criteria, PrinterLogic’s enterprise print-management solutions are able to meet them without reservation.
Our next-generation software uniquely combines the simplicity and reliability of direct-IP printing with the power of centralized management, enabling MSPs to manage the print environments of their entire customer pool from a single web-based console. This also gives PrinterLogic core capabilities like eliminating print servers, advanced printer deployments without the need for GPOs or scripts, self-service printer installations, and seamless integration alongside virtual solutions.
That’s not just theoretical. MSPs like Helion Automotive Technologies and Strata Information Technology have implemented PrinterLogic’s low-footprint, on-premises software solution for their customers in very different sectors. Helion, for instance, focuses on the automotive industry, supplying 650 car dealerships and their 28,000 employees with core IT services. Strata IT, on the other hand, draws some of its largest customers from the healthcare industry.
In each case, both MSPs saw a massive reduction in the time spent on print management after implementing PrinterLogic. Strata IT immediately experienced an estimated 50% drop in print-related support tickets, whereas Helion has leveraged PrinterLogic to cut 20 hours off each of its regular print-server migrations. The two MSPs also cited increased customer satisfaction as a result of their increased responsiveness, the reduced number of routine printing problems and the improved visibility into new areas of the print environment, such as consumable costs.
The next-gen features you expect from a next-gen solution
PrinterLogic also offers a SaaS counterpart called PrinterLogic SaaS (formerly PrinterCloud). This zero-footprint, cloud-based solution offers feature parity with PrinterLogic’s proven on-premises software, giving MSPs and their customers the option of a flexible, enterprise-grade print-management solution that is infinitely scalable and incredibly cost-effective. Pioneer Technology is just one MSP that is using PrinterLogic SaaS to further its “cloud-first” philosophy and retain a competitive edge among its peers in the banking, healthcare and retail industries.
And when it comes to adding value, both of PrinterLogic’s solutions are able to provide native pull printing and mobile printing capabilities along with comprehensive print auditing tools. This kind of advanced functionality is increasingly sought after by organizations that are looking to harden their print security, provide tightly controlled but full-featured printing to their BYOD users, or gain insight into printing habits for the sake of cost-cutting and efficiency.
Sign up for a full-featured demo today to experience the advantages of PrinterLogic’s next-generation centrally managed direct-IP printing. You can test our solution at no cost for 30 days and see how it can transform print management for you and your customers.
Tom joined the product team at PrinterLogic after moving to So. Utah from Portland, Oregon. He's held various executive, product management and marketing positions at HP, Symantec, and other software firms. Tom received a B.A. in Communications from BYU and completed a summer executive MBA program at Stanford. Off the clock, he enjoys landscape photography, exploring off-the-beaten-path locations in the desert southwest, and weekend trips to Las Vegas for live music, especially jazz.