In today’s digital landscape, the benefits of cloud computing for businesses are clear. Employees can share and access files from anywhere, enhancing collaboration and flexibility, while organisations are able to scale their operations more easily and reduce technology costs.
But, as more companies begin to fully migrate their print infrastructure to the cloud, security is becoming an increasingly pressing priority. Printing confidential documents on a server hosted by a third-party provider leaves managers feeling vulnerable to cyberattacks and potential noncompliance issues.
Learn how your company can reduce its risk while still enjoying the benefits offered by the cloud.
Why is the cloud more secure?
Cloud-based services offer a much more scalable and reliable IT infrastructure than traditional systems.
This modern technology is specifically designed to streamline business performance and support development and growth — a study by McAfee revealed that 87 per cent of organisations reported accelerated operations solely by storing and sharing documents via the cloud. While some business leaders are hesitant to replace traditional, on-premise technology with the cloud, the update actually leads to heightened security across the majority of enterprises.
In traditional print networks, defense policies can become inconsistent. However, cloud architectures are homogeneous, allowing for the uniform application of tiered defense mechanisms to identify, respond and recover from threats. Cloud-based security tools also provide IT teams with the ability to proactively log and monitor user behavior.
In addition to providing constant visibility across IT environments, the cloud’s centralised mechanisms for patching security administration means that users and IT teams are no longer responsible for managing program patches. These updates provided by developers correct vulnerabilities and other bugs in programs, apps and even print devices. Left unattended, these gaps in security can quickly result in breaches and data leaks.
Rather than solely focusing on securing individual machines, cloud-based security policies prioritise enabling and protecting secure communications across systems. As more employees begin to look toward companies that offer flexible or remote work options, safeguarding remote endpoints and the transmission of sensitive data will become increasingly important.
Leveraging encryption keys
Encryption keys are an essential component to upholding enterprise cloud print policies.
Using this technology, confidential documents containing sensitive data can be protected. The only users able to view information and files queued up for printing are restricted by credential-based access. By leveraging encryption technology with private keys stored in the release software, only the individual that manages the selected printer is capable of decrypting and releasing the print job.
Cloud providers generate and manage the keys for encrypting data, meaning that organisations and individual users are not responsible for managing the process. This user-friendly approach means that encryption can easily be implemented across legacy systems without having to spend additional time or resources on integration efforts.
For small-and medium-sized enterprises, Brother offers enhanced print infrastructure security measures using public key authentication for highly secure, scan-to-cloud applications. Select devices offer out-of-the-box compatibility with Universal Print by Microsoft, helping users to further manage their print policies through the company’s cloud services.
These Universal Print-ready devices eliminate the need for on-premises print servers and help organisations to manage cost by lowering energy bills, reducing the administrative burden on IT and decreasing the operating expenses associated with on-premises servers. For teams who already had a Microsoft 365 subscription, they can also access the Universal Print console on Brother printers without the Universal Print connector.
Enable secure cloud printing
With our Cloud Secure Print feature, users are able to send a secure print job to any Brother machine over the Internet — no printer driver required. You can choose to either email a document to the Brother machine for printing or upload a document using a web browser.
With Brother and Cloud Secure Print, you can ensure that confidential files containing sensitive data never fall into the wrong hands. For workforces that are fully remote or hybrid, remote batch printing helps your employees to save time by sending print jobs from another location, and only releasing documents upon demand.
If you’re interested in taking your organisation to the cloud for secure print management, request a print assessment with Brother today to learn more about your options.
