Though technology has helped us work smarter, not harder in so many different areas of our lives and our businesses, somehow the latest upgrades and transformations don’t always make their way to the print room. Why do printers and print management get overlooked when it’s time to put together the organizational strategies and business plan? Why aren’t printers part of the digital transformation process for so many organizations? That’s probably a topic for another post!
What often happens in many companies is that print operations have been split up through the years. Maybe the IT department handles security, the office manager assigns coding or user rights, and the purchasing department orders paper and toner, etc. Or, maybe each department manages their own printing needs separately. In many cases, there is no unified ownership of print operations management. A big result of this is a lack of incorporating print technology into overall business operations, a lack of data pertaining to printer use & printer costs, a waste of paper and other resources, and often, a lack of information security.
Managed Print Services – What Does it Mean Anyway?
Managed Print Services are services provided by a print/business equipment provider that help an organization by analyzing the data associated with the existing print services to determine how devices are utilized, the volume of printing, supply usage, technical needs and issues, security status and more. From there, a MPS provider can properly assess solutions for ongoing needs, optimize the print environment, improve workflows and ultimately take the burden of print management off the employees’ plates.
Benefits of Managed Print Services
- Save Employee Time
- Lower Costs
- Increase Productivity
- Reduce Environmental Footprint
- Enhance Security
So How Exactly Can Managed Print Services Drive Efficiency?
When you give experts who understand not only the the equipment but also how people manage, use and share documents the keys to your print environment – experts who know how to look at big picture in a holistic way – they can make recommendations to optimize processes and eliminate downtime.
Let’s face it, you most likely have some amazing team members but is print management their core area of competency? Probably not. In most instances, dealing with printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines falls into that “other duties as assigned” category and your employees might even resent those tasks. Especially when it takes them away from their key objectives.
Though your internal team may have the best of intentions, they may assume that a “printer is just that – a printer.” The truth is, print technology has improved dramatically over the last few decades. An MPS provider has the expertise to maintain a technologically “smart” print environment and maximize its capabilities. After assessing the data from your organization, the MPS provider can recommend customized programs that meet your specific needs.
The right MPS provider can work with your organization to simplify your print environment, minimize costs and downtime of printers and copiers, ensure that you have the supplies you need (but not more than you need), and create automated workflows that used to eat up your workers’ valuable time.
“We got something better and it costs less,” said Dwayne Magee of Messiah College regarding their improved print environment implemented by the team at Higher Information Group. In addition to streamlined workflows and processes and increased sustainability, Messiah College saves $42,000 per year on their high-volume print environment!
Read the case study here.
