If MPS is
the New Game in Town – What are the Rules?
Managed
Print Services (MPS) really is the new Black – or is it a Colour? Either way
you look at it, MPS is the new buzz word for office printing. Office equipment
dealers may claim to have been providing MPS for decades…if on site service
and/or page price contracts is the benchmark. But new data driven demands for
smart device monitoring software which provides alerts on maintenance,
consumables, and pages printed have lifted the bar. Is that it? Not quite,
according to Print Audit, customers are now expecting high device availability
as a given. The other part of the MPS journey is measuring and managing the
output. Indeed, having an output strategy is really the key to driving down
costs as well as reducing carbon footprints. MPS providers need to bring this
sort of value to the customer and get away from just competing with web based
shopping carts.
Hardware
vendors are doing it tough, unit numbers are down by 17% according to IT
researcher IDC. Everyone is scrambling to come to grips with this emerging MPS
offering and rapidly reposition themselves as the MPS provider of choice – but
what exactly is MPS?
The Photizo Group* believes that Managed
Print Services represents a disruptive business model which will affect all
aspects of the value chain, including manufacturers, distribution channels and
other service providers. Firms that make the transition to a professional
services led business model will achieve a significant competitive advantage
over firms, which retain the traditional hardware centric business model.
Understanding the evolution of this new business model is critical to all
participants in the industry, including end users….
Managed
Print Services Market in Asia Pacific Will Grow to US$1 Billion by 2012, Says
Springboard Research – IDC Research also predicts
the US$1 Billion MPS market to be exceeded in the next couple of years.
Print Audit
in Australia
is seeing enterprise customers seeking better value from their suppliers, not
just better box prices. The hardware vendors and independents really need to
step up to the mark to deliver real end-to-end Managed Print Services, it is no
longer enough to provide availability via device monitoring and supplies
management, today this is now viewed as a me too service.
End users
are seeing the downward price pressures on smarter devices, are now expecting
more from the MPS provider, and they will choose based upon the value
proposition. Regardless of the hardware supplier, the new measurement emerging
is the Effective Page Price (EPP) which is a whole of life costing over the
lifetime of the device, and now extrapolated across the entire fleet. Infotrends suggest 90% of organisations do
not know what they are spending on print. More and more customers want accurate
visibility to the hidden costs of office print, and the MPS provider is now
expected to provide this transparency.
Whilst
every manufacturer has a device management offering, they do not see very much
data from other brands. This can be troublesome as nearly all organisations
have a mixed brand fleet and are really seeking a MPS partner with independent
reporting tools who can not only manage the existing operation, but also create
value by driving down the EPP even further by managing document output. This is
commonly achieved by routing sizeable print jobs away from the less efficient
convenience devices onto more EPP MFD’s. Conversely, there is a good business
productivity case for the local USB printer, but to truly drive down costs and
deliver value a common sense approach to the job routing is necessary. This is
clearly where the would be MPS provider needs to demonstrate a better
understanding of the customers environment and cost profile to provide a better
solution.
To address
this rapidly evolving market dynamic, tightly integrated and easily deployed
tools to provide measurement and management of the document output environment
are a mandatory component of the effective solutions providers toolset. While many new software developers are
attempting to leverage the opportunity, the critical nature of having a
reliable, well established, and highly experienced partner is essential. Print Audit’s recently release Version 6 (PA6)
has won Bertl’s Best in this category for 2009 already! The greatest value
delivered is the Rules based print output, this allows businesses to direct the
printing to the most EPP device, and there is a great environmental effect here
as well. It is all about changing peoples behaviour, PA6 can be either strict
or suggestive the company policy will determine the rules.
Cost
management is still the common and key focus across verticals and countries,
said IDC. Brand independent, Print Audit is able to provide complete
monitoring, billing, and asset utilization data across an organisations entire
fleet. This allows the MPS provider access to all device data.
Rationalisation is often touted
as the means to cut printing costs, this does not always lead to savings. Print
Audit recommends getting a better understanding of the existing print
environment and managing the devices and document routing for real end-to-end
MPS effectiveness – in other words better Asset Utilisation will help customers
get the most out of what they have already invested in.
In a flat hardware market characterised by falling prices and shrinking
margins, printer manufacturers view MPS as key to growth. Achieving this for
the SMB market is challenging due to the disparate nature of the printer and
copier reseller channel. Whilst copier resellers have the experience of selling
contracts based on pages or "clicks", many IT resellers are not used
to selling these types of contracts but convergence has led to the emergence of
hybrid resellers who offer such contracts backed by IT expertise…and (with the
data available today) there is no better time than now for resellers to add
value to their services with MPS..:Louella Fernandes, Principal
Analyst, Quocirca
In summary, the old standard
quick fix, low cost proposal won’t resolve the customer’s strategic issues and
that fact will be quickly recognized by the customer’s senior management staff.
MPS is the new ‘solution’ term and has become the ‘in’ industry phrase, but to
deliver real value to the proposal and differentiate yourself you will need to be the
supplier that addresses the customer’s long term cost and management strategy.
Barry Mortimer
Managing Director
Print Audit Australasia
References
IDC Research
Springboard Consulting
Ian Grayson IT News
