Lexmark cloud now allows third-party management and more

Lexmark has announced its updated Cloud Fleet Management system to allow customers to collect data from networked third-party printers.

The company also expanded its app catalog, made premium apps free to partners and launched touchless printing to avoid contact with office equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, Lexmark’s partners could easily access Lexmark printers to update their firmware and more, but third-party printers were inaccessible. Now, Lexmark partners can also access networked third-party printers and collect data, giving them valuable insight into their customers’ printing infrastructure.

Also in this update is an expanded premium app catalog. Plus, Lexmark now offers free access to premium apps for partners, allowing them to deploy apps onto machines remotely.

According to Brock Saladin, Lexmark senior vice president and chief revenue officer: "Lexmark designed these apps to enable our partners to bring customized workflow and other solutions to their customers, and now we are providing even the premium apps to our partners at no cost."

Finally, reducing touch points is a key business initiative amid the coronavirus outbreak. To meet this need, Lexmark has added touchless printing to Lexmark Cloud Print Management and on-premise Lexmark Print Management. Instead of pressing a key to initiate printing, a user simply walks to the printer and scans their badge.

After three seconds, the printer will immediately begin printing the documents saved in the queue — the three-second delay allows the user to cancel the job before printing starts.