By Henning Volkmer, President and CEO of ThinPrint Inc

Top 3 Trends to Drive Productivity and Security in 2020

2020 is set to be a very interesting year for (enterprise) technology. We will see the first experiences with 5G networks, AI in all sorts of forms and shapes will continue to enable new uses cases, but most importantly, we'll see a number of developments in areas that directly impact all of us in our daily lives.  When it comes to optimizing your organizations productivity and security in the coming year, there are three often overlooked topics that should be considered. 

Industry Evolution Making Way for the True Experts

For years, digital transformation has been top of mind for most organizations. However, even the most diligent of transformers recognize that there's still plenty of work to be done to utilize technology to its fullest potential. This is because digital transformation is a continuous process to an ultimate destination. The industry is evolving with technologies being updated, refreshed and utilized in new and different ways. Some technologies might also disappear leaving organizations to scramble to find alternate solutions for problems they've long considered solved.

A good example of this would be Google Cloud Print. After almost a decade in beta it had become a mainstay in education, as well as in private sector businesses. However, we now know that at the end of 2020 it will be gone - with no replacement offered by Google. Fortunately, print solution companies, like the one I represent, are ready and able to step up and pick up where Google left off. As an added bonus, niche print management players can offer far greater value than a free "side project" run by a company primarily focused on other things.

Security Threats That Fly Under the Radar

It comes as no surprise that security has always been important to every responsible member of the technology community. But, events that have taken place over the past 12 months make it abundantly clear that it needs to be an even more important consideration than ever before.

Both vendors and customers need to pay the utmost attention to security in order to safeguard their businesses and build reliable, sustainable growth.

There are a great many techniques available to secure an enterprise IT environment and I'll leave most of these solutions and strategies to the expert in these areas. But, from the perspective of someone who spends a good part of their day focused on print security conversations, I'd like to point out a threat that often flies under the radar. If you are taking security seriously, you cannot neglect the importance of end-to-end encryption of print jobs - even within your internal network. You should also consider the availability of solutions to securely connect printers at remote sites and in branch offices so that you can centralize applications like EMR/EHRs without the need for a costly and complex VPNs. Last but not least, proprietary or sensitive data benefits from an additional layer of security by making users authenticate at the printer before they can retrieve their jobs.

The Cloudification of the Industry

The IT industry has made a big push towards cloud services over the past couple of years. By now, most organization are at least open to the idea of using cloud services, with many having already fully embraced them. Whether it's dedicated applications for managing customer relationships, tasks and projects, or moving traditional server workloads from a traditional data center to a cloud service, there's a cloud solution for just about every use case.

Microsoft's Windows Virtual Desktop offering, released in the Fall of 2019, is bound to be a game changer for how enterprises deliver Windows desktops and applications. This will further push companies to embrace cloud services in a big way. Highly visible and highly strategic initiatives like consuming applications and even an entire desktop as a cloud service will set the stage for a wave of other cloud services to replace infrastructure or functions traditionally consumed as an on-premises function.

One of those functions is printing. The noise around the discontinuation of Google Cloud Print is proof that there's a market for a true enterprise cloud print solution to replace print servers, offer secure printing, eliminate the need to deal with drivers, networks and develop a lot of very specialized know-how. High-quality talent is typically in short supply for most organizations, but printing is also very important to keep vital business processes running smoothly. Cloud Printing is a simple, secure, cost effective way to enable perfect printing while freeing up valuable talent within the organization.

All these and other trends are presenting a very unique opportunity for vendors and customers alike. It opens up the door to revisit past relationships and encounters to see where new alliances can be forged. This is especially true for companies that might have been ahead of their time or were not able to realize their full potential based on the lack of available technologies in the past.

With all the innovation happening as we head into the New Year, the possibilities of new alliances are virtually endless. Team up with a new vendor or partner and build a solution that you couldn't have built a year or two ago. Demand for innovation is stronger than ever and with cloud services and developer programs and APIs, it is easier than ever to build a cloud service of your own, a solution specific to your organization, or a unique offering to sell to your customers.

Whatever your objectives are for 2020, there are plenty technology trends to support them and help you find a high-quality, simple and cost-effective solutions. Even for printing.

##

About the Author

Henning Volkmer is the president and CEO of ThinPrint, Inc., driving the execution of the company's strategy as the leading innovator across print management, enterprise mobility, and improved collaboration for teams. He has established a broad technological background and has been at the forefront of technology trends for the past seventeen years. In addition to holding various positions within the Cortado group, Henning Volkmer served as part of a project team focused on reducing costs in the network infrastructure division with what is now Nokia. Under Volkmer's direction, ThinPrint brand has increased its lead as the premier print management software, while Cortado brand has become recognized as a pioneer business solution, shaping the future of the cloud desktop. Originally from Berlin, Germany, Henning currently resides in Denver, CO and spends his time away from work with friends and family, traveling or exploring restaurants.