As the global trend towards cloud based solutions increases, enterprises are starting to look to the cloud and software as a service (SaaS) for answers to all of their problems.

With printing being an integral part of day to day business across most enterprises, cloud print management definitely provides answers to many of the problems that organizations encountered with traditional enterprise print management.

When searching for options to store their files and documents, enterprises are often presented with two primary options: on-premises infrastructure and public cloud.

In general, storage using on-premises infrastructure involves hosting data centers, servers, and associated hardware, on site, at the workplace, hence “on-premise”!

Usage of the Cloud, on the other hand, involves the storage and access of files and documents through the internet, typically stored at multiple remote locations owned by cloud service providers (CSP).

When looking at both on-premises and cloud storage options from a security standpoint, the general notion is that on-premises is much more secure, as an enterprise can control, tighten, and administer security measures as they wish.

However, can the same be said about the cloud?

The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation which came into force in May of 2018, highlighting issues pertaining to data collection, processing, and privacy for individuals residing anywhere in the European Union.

Organizations dealing with the collection and processing of personal data must now demonstrate GDPR compliance, as non-compliance could lead to hefty fines! GDPR brings about several challenges for enterprises with respect to operating in public cloud computing environments.

With cloud computing taking over the IT world, enterprise cloud printing is not far behind.

Gone are the days when firms needed to install personal printers for each employee, create wired connections between PCs and printers, and then finally struggle to solve print driver compatibility issues.

Today, many companies have moved their IT operations into the Cloud. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2020, non-cloud based companies will be as irrelevant as non-internet companies are today.

The reasons why the upward trend of companies moving towards the cloud has never been clearer. Cloud computing offers unique reduced IT expenses and improved efficiencies. This shift has changed many legacy IT environments and business systems.

We all know that the cloud and virtualized desktop infrastructures improve workflow, reduces costs and frees up IT resources, but what about printers and printing paper?