Scores of Australian businesses have been moving from local, or on-premise storage solutions to cloud-based services in recent years. It’s a trend that looks set to continue. An IDC White Paper published in November 2022 revealed that, “Australian public cloud spending is expected to increase in size by 83% and grow from A$12.2 billion in 2022 to A$22.4 billion in 2026" ¹.

There are a number of factors driving the move to cloud-based services, from budget considerations to the scalability and security. But there are different types of ‘clouds’ and it’s important to understand which solution will work best for your business.

There are three main types of cloud-based services: public, private and hybrid. Each service offers slightly different benefits depending on business requirements. Let’s look at the different cloud services on offer and consider how uniFLOW Online, the award-winning, cloud-based print and scan management solution, can benefit your business.

Private Cloud

Private cloud refers to infrastructure that is dedicated to a single organisation or group. Private cloud services can be hosted on-premise or provided by a third-party vendor. They tend to be more expensive than public cloud, but can provide greater control, customisation, and security.

Hybrid Cloud

As the name suggests, hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private cloud services. Hybrid cloud allows businesses to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness of public cloud services while maintaining local control over certain data though private cloud services. Hybrid cloud can provide the best of both worlds, but can be complex to operate and costly to manage.

Public Cloud

Public cloud services are sold by third-party vendors, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Public cloud services are typically more cost-effective and require less maintenance.

What sort of cloud does uniFLOW Online run on?

uniFLOW Online is a public cloud-based print and scan management solution hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform. It is used by a wide range of customers, from small and medium-sized businesses to enterprise and government customers, to efficiently and securely manage print and scan jobs.

At a time when business users want flexibility to print and scan anywhere, anytime, uniFLOW Online delivers the goods. uniFLOW Online works with various devices across multiple locations. It is quick to install and set up. And it offers great insights that can help your business reduce print and scan costs and improve your sustainability credentials.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that uniFLOW Online users enjoy.

The benefits of cloud printing

When it comes to cloud printing, users want to print from anywhere, anytime and from any device without the need for any physical connections. uniFLOW Online is a public cloud print and scan management software service hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform, driving cost-effectiveness, scalability, security, and flexibility in print environments.

Serious cost savings

As uniFLOW Online is hosted in the public cloud, it is a very cost-effective print and scan management solution. uniFLOW Online eliminates the need for expensive, on-premise infrastructure costs such as print servers, IT support and office space. The system runs on a universal, cloud-based print driver that is updated three times per year to ensure customers have access to the latest features and functionality.

Unlimited scalability

Because uniFLOW Online is a public solution, your business can quickly and easily scale the solution to suit your changing circumstances without the need to invest in additional infrastructure. If your business grows and you need to provide access to 100 new staff, no problem. In fact, there is no limit to how many users you can have with uniFLOW Online.

Impressive security credentials

uniFLOW Online is highly secure and delivered as a pure Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) built natively on the Microsoft Azure Web Service platform. The system features layered security strategies that are consistent with Microsoft’s Zero Trust principles. All data is stored locally in Australia in Microsoft Azure data centres that provide maximum security by encrypting data to industry-standard protocols. It is also protected by Australian privacy legislation. Finally, NT-ware, the Canon group company that develops uniFLOW Online, is an ISO 27001 certified business, giving you that additional peace of mind.

As flexible as your business

Flexibility is critical to success and uniFLOW Online is more than capable of adapting to your unique circumstances. For example, the system allows for location-based print and scan configurations, meaning you can have one set of rules for your main office and another set of rules for other locations. When a user travels between those locations, their permissions will update automatically based on their location. Locations can vary in print submission pathways, security features, or network set-up, including Zero Trust environments.

As you can see, public cloud printing offers many benefits for businesses, including cost-effectiveness, scalability, greater security, and flexibility. And as one of the world’s first true cloud-based print and scan management solutions—and a 5-time winner of the prestigious Buyers Lab BLI Pick Award—uniFLOW Online brings a lot to the table.

For more information on cloud printing for your organisation, visit the uniFLOW Online product page or get in contact with us today.

¹ IDC/Microsoft Report November 2022.