Simplifying Printing in a Hybrid Work Environment

Installing a print driver seems like it ought to be a simple thing to do, but it never seems to go that way. At least that’s what our customers tell us. But print drivers are part of a computer’s operating software, so it usually means a helpdesk ticket, and most of the time, IT staff has bigger fish to fry. That said, printing issues have always bloated the to-do lists of most IT departments in the best of circumstances.

Then along comes COVID-19.

In April and May of 2020, we asked a group of customers what challenges the pandemic was presenting regarding printing and capturing printing costs. Not surprisingly, first among those challenges was managing printing for work-from-home employees without overburdening IT staff. A year later, it’s an even bigger issue as a hybrid work schedule – a few days from home, a few days in the office – appears to be growing more popular.

Managing printing and capturing print costs is what our Abacus software is designed to do. Ask our customers and they’ll tell you that among office print management applications, it’s great at simplifying printing, tracking job costs and “bill-backs,” as well as keeping printers out of the IT department’s collective hair.

But now Abacus goes well beyond the office environment. In fact, employees can take Abacus home with them without missing a beat.

Once the laptop’s open on the kitchen table, users can request Abacus to find the printer in the spare bedroom, locate the print driver, and add it to the list of available devices in just a few minutes. Like mobile printing or adding a new device through a computer’s control panel, all this happens in the background with no call to IT, no searching for the most up-to-date software or extensions, and no manual software installations.

Abacus makes adding a home printer simple and easy, but the magic happens the next time an employee goes to print a document.

When the billing pop-up appears, it now offers three choices:

1. Print on a home device,
2. Print to a printer in the office for later retrieval, or,
3. Print to a local ARC service center for production and delivery.

Users can flag each print job as personal or work-related with a single check box, preserving privacy while adding flexibility. Best of all, no VPN or other dedicated office connection is needed. Printing and any requested tracking take place over a simple internet connection.

Printing is still a necessity for most of us, no matter where or how we work. But just because it’s important (and costly), it doesn’t need to be complicated…or a resource hog…or an IT nightmare.

At least, not when you use Abacus to manage it.

Want to try Abacus in your hybrid environment? Call us now to talk to an expert – 833-272-8880