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Managed print services gained credibility in mid-2000, and have come a long
way since. Shedding earlier inhibitions, today outsourcing print is getting
rapidly accepted by organizations of all sizes. A leading bank in the country
outsourcing its print infrastructure and accruing defined benefits is a good
example to highlight this trend. With more than 200 branches, it was facing a
daunting task of managing its activities related to print and chose to
outsource. This step led to the bank cutting costs by almost 40%.
The above example is one among many. Companies are divesting its print output
management functions to a third party service provider, mainly because
enterprises in the last few years are outsourcing non-core activities and want
to focus on their core business.
A software usually has multiple versions, and hardware is fast to become
obsolete, so outsourcing peripheral devices has a high degree of value to
enterprises. And with printers being a major component of IT peripherals, it is
a big market for outsourcing. More so, enterprises are increasingly finding it
difficult to manage printing devices.
Experts also believe that hardware costs are escalating, and enterprises do
not want to create fixed device assets that will become redundant as new
technologies come to the fore. Issues related to managing peripheral devices
like printers can be time-consuming. Technology becoming obsolete is another
compelling reason for outsourcing by enterprises. It is likely that a printer
that suited the organizations need perfectly till a couple of months ago, is
repositioned due to new technologies or changing needs of users. This is where
outsourcing scores.
Vendors in the Fray
HP, with its significantly large printer market share, has plunged in the
business in a big way. According to Samir Shah, director, commercial and
enterprise printing business, HP IPG, As part of the balanced deployment
strategy, we provide different services. One, we create print assets of various
configurations and manage them. The other is total outsourcing where HP owns the
assets and manages them as per the client demands.
Clearly, there are many models in print managed services. Companies can
choose to outsource the managing part alone or go for complete outsourcing. SMBs
are adopting the second option more and more, as they do not want to own print
assets. The biggest advantage in total print outsourcing is that the customer
pays for what is printed, hence it keeps the costs low, and the CIO no longer
needs to worry about consumables, papers, device selection, buying, etc.
One of the oldest players in the print outsourcing space is WeP Solutions.
The managed print solutions (MPS) division of WeP Solutions offers a complete
suite of services addressing the printing requirements of mid-market and large
enterprises in India. Wepsols MPS pioneered the concept of managed print
services in India, and has made rapid strides in this area. Solutions by the
company eliminate the pain of asset placement, update, upkeep, and maintenance
for a customer while offering a reliable and scalable service that grows with
the needs of customers. With a pan-India reach, the companys services cover
more than 700 locations, and they can be considered pioneers in the field of
managed print services.
WeP Solutions provides two servicesbusiness and production services. In the
business services front, WeP provides the new printers in the location of the
client on the pay-per-click model. This service does not require any capital
expenditure, as the enterprise does not need to invest in printing
infrastructure. WeP deploys its own assets at premises and the enterprise pays
only for the number of pages printed. Meanwhile, through its production printing
model WeP provides both onsite and off-site services based on customer
requirements.
Another leading player is Xerox Global Services (XGS). The company provides a
slew of document management services to hundreds of clients in India.
Why Managed Services?
According to a global report from market researcher IDC, global executives,
on an average, spend 45% of their time working with documents, while 90% of the
firms do not know how much it spends on document production and maintenance each
year. Moreover, the volume of document output in offices across the globe are
increasing by as much as 21% per annum, due to changes ushered in by new
technologies such as ERP systems, the Internet, Intranets, and others.
Enterprises were taken aback when audits of investments made on acquiring and
managing new printers were undertaken. Different departments within an
organization started having different printers, and in time this led to
accumulation of different print technologies like Inkjets and MFD with no real
justification of having multiple varieties of printers. Also, consumable makes
for more then 80% of a printers costs, and indiscriminate use of printers by
employees added to the cost.
This baffling scenario has forced the management of many enterprises to align
output device management and document workflow into the CIOs kitty. However,
CIOs are hesitant in taking accountability for printers, as they need to focus
on larger IT deployment and management issues. Here, managed services, which
offers a mutually beneficial deal, is the best option. By outsourcing, CIOs have
control over their print infrastructure but the delivery happens through
third-party. The manageability aspect is what is really driving print
outsourcing.
Managed print services will be opted by both large and mid-sized enterprises.
Organizations that already have a print device fleet will outsource maintenance,
and new print purchase decisions will be left to service providers. Total
outsourcing and pay-per-use model, either on-site or off-site would be a
preference with SMBs. What ever be the model, managed print services is here to
stay.
Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in Page(s) 1
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