Cloud Print Adoption Accelerates But Security Concerns Remain
May 16, 2024
Article, Cloud, Cloud print
Cloud print adoption has increased over the past year, with 69% of respondents now using a cloud print management solution, up from 55% in 2023. However, Quocirca research shows that businesses are not fully committed to a cloud-only print environment, with print server deployment continuing to increase.
Quocirca’s Cloud Print Services Landscape 2024 explores adoption rates, key market and customer characteristics and primary barriers to adoption.
The study reveals that almost three quarters (74%) of respondents are taking a hybrid approach to print management using a mix of on-premise and cloud. However, only 4% currently manage their print environment fully in the cloud, and 16% believe print will be fully managed in the cloud for print by 2026.
Despite the evidential cloud transition, 58% of organisations still plan to install more print servers in the coming year. This figure rises to 68% of those operating a multivendor fleet.
Data protection concerns are the top barrier to cloud print adoption (cited by 32%), followed by functionality (25%) and cost (24%).
These findings suggest that is a paradox in the cloud print environment. Despite accelerating adoption, we are also seeing more print servers being deployed and continuing concerns about security. It seems that providers are not positioning cloud-based solutions strongly enough and are failing to articulate the significant administrative and cost benefits cloud print management delivers.
Despite around three in five respondents planning to deploy more print servers, customers are strongly aware of the difficulties surrounding traditional on-premise print management. 49% say the IT administrative burden of managing print drivers is a top challenge; 42% cite the complexity of print driver deployment; and 38% note risks around outdated print drivers.
Cloud print management solutions can address all these challenges, and providers should be leveraging this to deliver more cloud print solutions. For distributed working environments that need to be both agile and closely monitored, cloud print management makes a lot of sense.
Security, functionality, and cost are key customer concerns
Protecting company data remains the top barrier to cloud print management adoption, although it has dropped from 36% in 2023 to 32% in 2024. A quarter of respondents are concerned about the perceived loss of functionality when switching to cloud print solutions, and this rises to 28% for the largest companies.
Cost is a key concern for 24% of organisations, rising to 32% for smaller businesses. The same proportion is worried about performance, consistency across multi-vendor fleets and data governance/sovereignty concerns.
Cloud print service providers must focus on addressing these areas of customer concern and articulating the cost, efficiency, and agility advantages of moving print management to the cloud. Many earlier concerns have been resolved through, for example, advances in universal print driver sophistication and improvements in cloud print functionality, but there is still work to be done to convince buyers.
Quocirca’s Cloud Print Services Landscape 2024 contains in-depth buyer and supplier recommendations, accompanied by detailed analysis of offerings from:
OEM Vendors: Canon, Epson, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba America Business Solutions, Xerox.
Independent Software Vendors: Celiveo, LRS, Microsoft (Universal Print) MyQ, NT-ware (uniflow/UniFLOW Online), PaperCut, Pharos, Thinprint (ezeep), Tungsten Automation (formerly Kofax), Vasion (PrinterLogic), Y Soft.
Download a complimentary executive summary and purchase the full report here.
