In March 2020, Microsoft first announced the private preview of its cloud-based Universal Print service. It entered Public Preview a few months later, and then a year later, it was generally available for Office 365 customers. However, users in India have so far been deprived of Microsoft's cloud-based printing solution. But that's set to change this month.
According to Microsoft 365 Roadmap page, Azure tenants residing in India will get Universal Print service this month. However, the roadmap page doesn't mention the exact date when the feature will be available. The service will be available both on the web and on Windows.
For those unversed, Universal Print service is essentially a fully cloud-based centralized print management system that eliminates the need for on-premises print servers and gateways. Since the feature kills off the printer drivers, users won't have to ask their admins to install them on their organization-managed device. With Universal Print capability, Windows Server print functionality has moved to the cloud. Admins will find a dashboard for printers on Azure.
Several printers currently support the feature natively, including Brother and Canon. The service works with other printers such as Epson, HP, and Sharp, but you'll have to use a Universal Print proxy application to get the job done. You can learn more about the Universal Print ready printers here.
Source: Microsoft 365 Roadmap
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