Every morning, it’s the same routine. Our two terriers spring into action at some indecent hour to take care of urgent business, bringing my long night of dreaming to an end. Today, when they broke my slumber, I awoke with memories of early summer 1985 in the suburbs of Chicago. Michael Jordan had just been named Rookie of the Year. Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” blared from every radio, the Live Aid concert was on every TV set, and “Back to the Future” was in every movie theater.
More importantly, I had just finished high school and used my graduation money to buy my first PC: the much-coveted Commodore SX-64 executive computer. This portable (or, at 26 pounds, “luggable”) miracle, coupled with a 300 baud modem and a dot-matrix printer, would unlock the world of computing to me and give me the tools I needed to dial into bulletin boards, write term papers, and most importantly play games in glorious 8-bit color.
Why this dream, and why today? Probably because my son’s graduation is coming up next week and we have been mulling what laptop he should take to college next year. He’s already got his gaming needs covered, but for classwork I assumed he would want the fastest laptop with the biggest hard drive he could get his hands on. As usual, I am behind the times. “Nobody installs software on their PC, anymore, Dad. All I need for class is a Chromebook or a wireless tablet. As long as I can get to Office 365 and Google Docs, I’m fine.”
He's got a point. Throughout the last two years of Covid, students, workers, and even global enterprises have embraced Cloud computing as a way to easily deliver the data users need to stay productive. Cloud computing is a natural enabler for other workplace trends like work-from-home and hybrid working.
It’s not just for PC applications, either. Major applications like SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Workday, and other enterprise software platforms offer a Cloud-based approach to streamline IT environments while improving the security of critical business data. By offloading the cost of building and maintaining data centers, organizations free up resources to better focus on the core business.
This same rationale applies to IT functions like print management software. When considering whether to move print management functions to a Cloud environment, organizations need to ask themselves:
- Do we need to print to or from destinations outside our network, like remote branches, third party suppliers, or home offices?
- Which applications generate our business-critical documents and where do they run?
- How are we ensuring the security of our network, documents, and print infrastructure?
- Would it make sense to outsource the management of our print environment?
In the coming weeks, LRS will be hosting an online webinar to help customers smoothly transition to a Cloud-based future. Click the links below to reserve a spot in one of our live events or download a copy of the recording after the webinar is complete.
21st June 1pm US Eastern Time https://www.lrsoutputmanagement.com/about-us/join-us-here/event/finding-your-path-to-printing-from-the-cloud/
22nd June 1pm UK Time https://www.lrsoutputmanagement.com/about-us/join-us-here/event/finding-your-path-to-printing-from-the-cloud-emea-timezone/
Recording https://www.lrsoutputmanagement.com/about-us/join-us-here/event/finding-your-path-to-printing-from-the-cloud-recording
Cloud computing is here to stay. Just ask my son, my IT administrator, or LRS customers around the world. But please don’t ask me personally until I’ve walked the dogs and started my second cup of coffee.