Tech Talk: How Cloud Printing Simplifies Print Jobs from Anywhere
“Cloud technologies provide the capability to scale up and down easily with demand. This is not something that would have been possible with a traditional data center model.” In this Tech Talk, Louis Ormond, VP and GM, digital solutions at Toshiba America Business Solution, shares how the managed print services company has scaled their cloud infrastructure to provide printing for the hybrid workforce.
Louis Ormond, VP and GM of digital solutions at Toshiba America Business Solutions, joins Neha Pradhan Kulkarni to discuss the strategic bets the print services provider has made in the last few years in terms of delivering secure printing from anywhere. Ormond talks about how cost-effective and sustainable cloud printing is.
In this edition of Tech Talk, Ormond explains how Toshiba simplifies cloud adoption with its proprietary print tech platform. He also shares his two cents on how AI in the cloud can enhance human-machine interaction especially in a work from anywhere world.
Key Takeaways on How Cloud Printing Has Scaled Print Jobs for Work from Anywhere:
- Cloud printing is an enabler of hybrid workforce
- Cloud technologies provide the capability to scale up and down easily with demand.
- There is no heavy processing of print jobs in the cloud.
Here are the edited excerpts from our exclusive interview with Louis Ormond, VP and GM, digital solutions, TABS:
SWNI: Can you tell us about your role in Toshiba America and how has your journey been so far?
Louis: As VP of our digital solutions engineering division, my role is to lead the development teams for the timely delivery of innovative products that exceed customer expectations and provide value to Toshiba. I’ve been with Toshiba for many years, initially as a program manager for the network connectivity of our printing devices. This technology area has been wonderfully innovative in general, and as connectivity becomes ubiquitous, it provides the opportunity for us to deliver an array of helpful client-centric solutions. This includes the more recent services covering cloud technologies for fleet maintenance, big data and AI, and print management.
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SWNI: Printing to the printer of choice, especially across multiple locations, presents distinct challenges for the IT teams. What are some of the strategic bets Toshiba has made in the last few years in terms of delivering secure printing from anywhere?
Louis: We have been at the forefront of delivering secure printing for well over a decade. It starts with the core printing product being secure and continually improving as new networking requirements emerge.
“We layered on this capability while adding solutions, both proprietary and third-party developed, that enhance device functionality and bolster security. This is accomplished through a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) and embedded application capabilities.”
The new twist to all this is a helpful new feature that enables our e-STUDIO multifunction printers (MFPs) to use cloud-based authentication services for customers to log in to the device.
SWNI: How are you trying to simplify the printing process for your customers, the real business users?
Louis: We have all become part of the hybrid workforce. This means shifting from a home office to a shared office and back again, with the desire to do this seamlessly and without having to change how work is completed based on our locations. This is the target audience for our cloud printing solution, Global Print. Using the customary and expected file-print paradigm, users can submit print jobs from anywhere, and print their documents from any enabled printer, easily and securely.
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SWNI: There’s a lot of investment that Toshiba America has done on building a cloud infrastructure to deliver printing solutions that cater to an anywhere workforce. Can you tell us about how cost-effective and sustainable cloud printing is?
Louis: Cloud technologies provide the capability to scale up and down easily with demand. This is not something that would have been possible with a traditional data center model.
“The traditional model is capex intensive and requires the availability of sufficient computing capacity to meet peak demand, leaving that same capacity underutilized for off-business hours. As a print service provider, we can increase the on-demand cloud efficiency since we are aware of historic device printing volumes and patterns and can use this data to optimize the capacity needed as our clients start using the system.”
We have further engineered the current system to be resource friendly in the sense that there is no heavy processing of print jobs in the cloud. We securely deliver client print jobs to uniquely created storage blocks available for download to any enabled printer once a customer logs on through the front panel. This minimizes CPU usage in favor of inexpensive storage.
SWNI: Toshiba has considerable leadership in printing and has now doubled down on cloud-led innovation. Tell us about the shift towards cloud and how Toshiba simplifies cloud adoption with its proprietary print tech platform?
Louis: Our initial entry into cloud technologies was nearly 10 years ago with the launch of e-BRIDGE CloudConnect, an internally developed IoT remote management service. CloudConnect became successful in increasing customer satisfaction while reducing service costs. This has grown to cover Toshiba MFP systems globally and, in many ways, forms the basis of our next-generation cloud services. We are improving field service operations because of this. Gleaning operational data from machines in the field enables our R&D, manufacturing, and quality assurance teams to continually increase the quality and usability of our printing systems.
“Toshiba’s e-BRIDGE Global Print offering applies the full cloud application knowledge of our development teams to provide a service our clients may easily adopt without them having to be familiar with cloud technology.”
For our clients using the system, they will submit their print jobs through the Toshiba universal driver. This mimics the current printing scenario which creates an elevated level of comfort for the user and no headaches for IT helpdesks.
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SWNI: The next big phase in cloud printing is AI. Can AI in the cloud enhance human-machine interaction especially in a work from anywhere world?
Louis: Yes, absolutely. We have already implemented predictive services for our field technicians using machine learning and AI. Using this capability and applying it to printing is something we are extensively researching. AI relies on big data. As we scale the Global Print system, we’ll be able to analyze data patterns to optimize the current system, provide new features, and provide recommendations to users.
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SWNI: What are your picks for cloud printing trends for 2023, which will see maximum investments from the business point of view?
Louis: We fully expect our customers to embrace cloud printing as the preferred alternative to on-premises print infrastructure as an enabler of hybrid workforce efficiency. Like any emerging technology, adoption will take time but should come about quickly as our customers realize the benefits. And the trend toward more cloud applications will continue to grow.
“Cloud-based services have the inherent benefit of being able to expose functionality as web services to other cloud systems and consume web services from other providers.”
Integrating with other cloud services is the key to expanding beyond print and broadening functionality to meet our customer needs.
Louis Ormond leads global product development teams to innovate and exceed goals. He’s known for achieving results in complex situations by focusing on clear execution methodology and communications to maintain team motivation to completion. As vice president at Toshiba America Business Solutions, Ormond seeks new revenue opportunities through regular communications with business teams and reviews of emerging technologies for applicability in product line extensions or new products. During his tenure, he has initiated multiple product development projects and has numerous issued patents, increasing Toshiba’s competitiveness and profitability.
About Toshiba America Business Solutions
Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) is a workplace solutions provider delivering an extensive portfolio of industry-recognized workflow and document management products for businesses of all sizes across the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. TABS supports the diverse needs of today’s professionals through award-winning e-STUDIO™ multifunction printers, label and receipt printers, digital signage, managed print services, and cloud solutions. Toshiba continuously focuses on the clients and communities it serves, is committed to sustainability and is recognized as a Wall Street Journal Top 100 Sustainable Company.
Tech Talk is an interview series that features notable CTOs and senior technology executives from around the world. Join us as we talk to these technology and IT leaders who share their insights and research on data, analytics, and emerging technologies. If you are a tech expert and wish to share your thoughts, write to neha.pradhan@swzd.com
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