Do printer servers spark joy for your law firm?
It’s a weird question, I know. It’s just that, I’ve been binge watching Marie Kondo on Netflix lately, and if you’re not familiar with Marie, she’s an organisation guru who helps people simplify their lives by asking if the material stuff they’ve been hoarding around their homes brings them joy. If not, out it goes.
Since the global COVID-19 pandemic, law firms offices around the world have been participating in a kind of Marie Kondo exercise of clearing out physical office spaces in favor of the new era of hybrid work. Turns out, distributed work sparks a lot of joy for a lot of people. And what’s not to like? Reduced office space means a reduction in real estate fees, office supply costs, and hardware maintenance.
So back to my first question: do printer servers spark joy for your law firm?
In recent years, many law firms have been shifting as many services as possible to the cloud, as a more efficient and cost-effective way of providing services to their users and in a way that is suited for Work From Anywhere. However, printing is still very much a legacy service that relies on hardware and software that is rooted in the firm’s data center and requires regular updates, configuration changes and maintenance. Print server outages are likely to cause anything but joy in a Law Firm. So is it time we got rid of them?
As more and more law firms adopt hybrid work policies, the expectation of IT will be to provide workflows that enable secure and efficient Work From Anywhere, and a simplification of server infrastructure.
Serverless printing is a hot topic right now, as it enables firms to improve their printing efficiency and reduce costs, especially around their IT footprint. By installing print queues directly on users’ desktops, supporting self-service for connecting to print devices, and automatically applying print queue defaults, firms can benefit from the pros of a centrally managed print infrastructure without many of the cons.
While cost reduction is a big benefit of serverless printing, an even bigger benefit is flexibility. Traditional print servers limit attorneys and staff to printing from specific devices in specific locations. Not great for Work From Anywhere! Serverless printing allows printing from any device, including mobile phones and tablets, while also ensuring that the firm’s security protocols are being maintained. As more and more law firms adopt hybrid work policies, the expectation of IT will be to provide workflows that enable secure and efficient work from anywhere, and a simplification of server infrastructure.
At nQ Zebraworks, we’re developing a Serverless PrintQ to spark joy. Leveraging our innovative Queues technology, our solution enables print from multiple locations, across any device. Print jobs can be held in our Queue until an authorized user authenticates release from any compatible device. Efficient, secure, streamlined – a clean user experience that supports IT efforts to reduce complex print-server infrastructures and empowers Work From Anywhere.
It’s pure speculation, but I think Marie Kondo would love how our solution simplifies printing in the era of hybrid work – leading to less printed paper, fewer servers, and less clutter all around.
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