The mobile print software and new business intelligence tools are said to be more “mobile, secure and productive”.
The first, HP JetAdvantage Connect, “enables mobile devices to print to printers on the corporate network”, which works like a PC but without having to open an app or sending an email to a print queue reports . There is no need for a server as this can all be done on a mobile device, and IT can control the same tools “used to configure and manage PC-based print” set-up. This supports Android, but iOS will be supported later in June and other “mobile platforms in the future”.
HP Access Control Secure Pull Print offers a lower cost by making the “print authentication capabilities of HP Access Control available as a stand-alone” and IT can use this to provide “the same monitoring and protection features for print jobs coming from mobile devices as they do for print jobs coming from PCs”. HP Access Control 15.2 has “been updated with support for the latest security protocols” and “the ability to use pull printing across IT environments with multiple domains”. There is also an app for Chrome, which has been updated so that it can be used with the Google admin console.
Business intelligence tools have been introduced for customers of HP’s MPS, allowing the customer to make “informed decisions” in partnership with HP Inc “to ensure that their printer fleet is optimised for productivity, security and cost effectiveness” while the HP Device Control Centre Offers “interactive fleet management with real time device status and location information”.
HP Instant Fleet Insights brings improved “reporting and analytics capabilities”, using “device data such as service history, firmware versions, fleet composition, and device usage”. For existing MPS customers, these tools are free. HP JetAdvantage Insights is an easy to use cloud management tool that offers “access to printer fleet data for customers with self-managed or partner-managed print environments” which helps with efficiency, but at present is only available to US customers, although in future there may be more availability.
Edmund Wingate, Head of JetAdvantage Solutions at HP Inc, commented: “Our customers need print infrastructure that gets their employees working even more efficiently. Today HP is delivering new tools for IT managers to improve mobility, management and security so that printing is fast, reliable and sure to boost productivity.”