Three Reasons Managed Print Services is Not Dead

When one defines Managed print Services as "toner and service for printers on a single invoice..." MpS is dead.

But if you believe that managing devices and the business process associated with output is MpS, especially as organizations are reducing hardcopy, then MpS never went away.

IT folks hate printers and copiers for many reasons. They're big and hot and dirty, connect to their sacred network, pose a security risk, and that's not all. The biggest gripe is out of all the software and hardware an IT department supports, output devices are closest to the End User. And end-user support is the worst - face-to-face conversations are challenging because they usually start off with the word, "Why doesn't...?" IT techs don't like to be challenged or questioned.

This is a vacuum and your MpS prowess helps you fill that void for your clients.

Anti-MPSr's fail to recognize, managed print services was always our way into the IT realm. Real MpS includes optimizing workflows, working with IT resources, removing challenges associated with moving information not delivering toner, and dispatching service technicians.

Three reasons for Real MpS is not dead:

Print is reducing - MpS helps organizations manage away from print. Be part of the process with your clients. Help them get rid of useless print.

Costs are important - MpS measures hard costs and the costs of getting work done. Optimizing workflows and business processes lead to software. The way of work is in flux, helping your clients understand costs associated with moving information for home-office starts with eliminating the printer. Help them understand.

End-users still want to print - The demand pool is shrinking but will never reach zero. Keeping output management as part of your portfolio is foundational, not a panacea.

MpS is the on-ramp, not the end-all. It shouldn't be thought of as an SKU, it is a process, a journey. Expansive and long-term relationships are built on the MpS agreement as long as the provider understands it is the first step.

Vilifying managed print services and those who support the movement, is short-sighted and adolescent.

P.S. - We killed MpS back in 2011. "...everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back..."