The Moving Target in Digital Transformation: The Future of Print Infrastructure
When businesses are rapidly shifting everything else to the cloud and printing is lagging behind, it begs the question, has print been forgotten? From my perspective, not at all. It’s unlikely anyone modernizing their infrastructure assumes print will disappear from their workflows entirely. I believe the reason for the delay is much more practical. Today’s print landscape is in such a state of flux that it makes long-term planning genuinely challenging.
Business leaders know that print still matters. But they can’t yet see exactly what the final model will look like, or when the tipping point will be. And while I know this can make it tempting to delay decisions, it also doesn’t make sense to put business progress in a print-related holding pattern. Instead, I think what’s needed is a mindset shift, from maintaining the status quo to embracing adaptability.
Understanding the forces shaping enterprise print
Traditional enterprise print – built around drivers, group policies, and local spoolers – is being phased out in favor of cloud-native models. Cloud is now a top investment priority for businesses, behind only cybersecurity and AI, and print is no exception. Physical on-premises print servers are being replaced with centralized, cloud-based print management platforms that reduce infrastructure complexity and better support remote and mobile printing.
Microsoft’s Universal Print and Apple’s AirPrint are indicative of the trend towards driverless printing, pushing enterprises towards modern IPP standards for secure connectivity. We’re also seeing new chips that are incompatible with traditional print infrastructure. As a result, hardware vendors are winding down support for legacy protocols and drivers, while manufacturers are instead focusing on multifunction devices with built-in cloud services.
Alongside this, identity and access management remain critical, as cybersecurity threats grow increasingly sophisticated. Print workflows still need to be able to authenticate users, but access control is moving to cloud-based platforms like Microsoft Entra ID. Secure print release and user-based tracking? They’re standard requirements now in modern printing. It’s fair to say there are a lot of individual forces putting pressure on organizations to update their printing fleets just to stay ahead of the curve.
How to plan for continuity when the end state isn’t fixed
While I know it’s currently unclear where – or if – the shifting sands of enterprise printing will eventually settle, planning for continuity may feel like an impossible task. If I could give you any advice in such an uncertain environment, it would be this: Two aspects are key — adaptability and deliberateness.
Firstly, you need an approach that allows you to respond to changes without being held back by outdated systems or incomplete data. In other words, you may not be able to fully define your future state print architecture, but you can start laying adaptable foundations by auditing your current infrastructure, usage patterns and dependencies.
Deliberateness means focusing first on changes that offer high impact and low risk — by which I mean, not everything, everywhere, all at once. Don’t rush ahead blindly. Instead, adopt a phased migration strategy that allows you to pilot new print solutions alongside your legacy systems, test new models and avoid disrupting day-to-day print workflows.
Now, yes, some things will always be mission critical regardless of future changes. I’m thinking of secure print, user authentication and compliance requirements — so it’s safe to build your continuity plans around these non-negotiables. You’ll also need to have clear checkpoints for assessing the print landscape, giving you visibility into current and emerging trends. This will help you adjust your roadmap as needed, moving with shifts, instead of chasing them.
Your roadmap for print modernization
- Planning and assessment. Conduct a thorough audit of your existing print infrastructure, including print servers, devices, workflows, and user groups. To prepare for a phased rollout, group users and devices, for example, by location, department, or function. You’ll also need to determine what your goals are, according to priority.
- Phased adoption. Start small with a low-risk user group then scale across the business. Pilot programs like this can test performance and gain valuable user feedback before expanding to additional groups. To support a hybrid approach, invest in a vendor-agnostic, scalable print management solution that works for both on-prem and cloud environments.
- User testing. Pilot programs also enable you to test performance and user experience in a real-world environment. Clearly define your test cases and engage real users to reveal pain points – this means involving regular employees, not just IT teams. You can use surveys or feedback sessions to collect user comments and suggestions.
- Change management. Successful modernization depends on people as much as it does on technology. User trust is critical: communicate early and often about why changes are happening and what the benefits are.
Ready to be ready
My final piece of advice is that when it comes to print, true readiness isn’t about knowing what lies ahead; it’s being “ready to be ready”. When the print roadmap does become clearer, there are going to be those that will move fast, and you want to be among them. Preparing now will ensure agility tomorrow, positioning your organization to act quickly when the shift accelerates. Ultimately, while print may not be the center of the IT universe, it remains a core function that deeply touches workflows, security, compliance, and infrastructure. As the rules of the game change, standing still won’t be an option. But the good news is that you don’t need the perfect blueprint — or a crystal ball — to move forward confidently.
Noah Wiemken
Noah Wiemken is a solutions architect at PaperCut