Another Managed Print Services Announcement: Canon UK

In an article by Written by Fleur Doidge, at CRN, Matthew Searle, channel partner director at Canon, describe Canon's MPS approach - albeit thin on details.

Apparently, the Canon UK MPS strategy is built around it's UniFlow software.

"... uniFlow lets Canon resellers monitor and control a wider range of variables that affect print while keeping costs within bounds. Information collected can be fed through to break-fix, allowing printer fleets to be maintained well and maximise their useful life..."

“It goes right through to those who manage the print fleet on an outsourced basis,” said Searle. “Another part of our [MPS] offering is follow-me-print.”

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The release is very short on detail and has a "we do MPS too..." feel to it.

ITEX 2009 - Where did all the A3's go?

3/2009

How do you define "copier"?

My definition is, "...any output device whose design and manufacturing heritage includes walk-up copy functionality, a healthy amount of copies each month, and 11x17 media handling - defined in our industry as A3 devices. There was a time when to be a copier, the unit simply was not connected to a computer. Makes sense.

When I attend shows and meet people for the first time, give them my card, and nine times out of ten, a smirk comes over that person's face. Soon to be followed by, "what the heck are you doing here? Don't you know everybody here sells copiers?"

Samsung Rolls Out Managed Print Services - Press Release

Seoul (Korea Newswire) March 25, 2009 09:20 AM --

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading brand in the world of consumer electronics and information technology, today announced the strategic road-map of their Managed Print Services (MPS) platform which will provide their European channel partners with the necessary management information & billing software tools to create unique MPS offerings for their customers.

“Samsung has designed this MPS platform to enable its channel partners to create customized hardware and software solutions to meet each customer’s individual business needs,” said Graham Long, Vice President of Samsung’s European Printing Operation. “This will enable our channel partners to develop more strategic relationships with their customers through ongoing service and consultancy.”

MPS offerings can help channel partners to streamline a customer’s printing infrastructure - from diagnosis and remote management to ongoing tracking of the effectiveness of the printing environment and automatic consumables ordering. As such, Samsung has developed a range of software to support this type of functionality:

· Assessment Consulting Tool (ACT): The first step towards achieving a more efficient printing environment is to diagnose how a company is currently running their printing infrastructure. Samsung’s new ACT is a USB device which can be plugged into any networked PC and automatically assess a company’s current printing environment. The ACT rapidly scans status information and IP addresses and reports on how many prints each printer and MFP has produced. The ACT has full multi-vendor capability, so is ideal for use in mixed fleet environments.

· Cost Simulation Tool (CST): After assessing the printing environment with ACT, the CST compiles data which shows how much a company’s current printing infrastructure is costing. It then runs a cost simulation to demonstrate to customers how much money they could be saving with a MPS solution. This tool helps channel partners to quickly and accurately respond to customers with data and recommendations on their printing environments.

· SyncThru™ Admin 5 device management solution: Designed to help IT managers in companies manage their printing devices, SyncThru™ Admin 5 device management solution has an easy-to-install plug-in architecture. It offers simple management with a dashboard for quick monitoring and also provides dynamic printer group summary information on machine usage and performance. The service is also customisable to allow IT managers to design alert management processes as well as personal profile setting, ensuring that they get the information that they need to effectively run their printing infrastructure.

· CounThru™ 2 Pro managed print service solution: CounThru™ 2 Pro managed print service solution is a powerful tool which allows the channel partner to remotely manage printing devices for customers and can monitor supplies and outputs from hundreds of devices in real-time. Eliminating the need for an on-site manager to oversee printing devices is especially cost-effective for partners with multiple customers in dispersed locations, such as banks and insurance companies. Channel partners can use this solution to monitor and manage an entire printer fleet for companies ranging from small-to-medium businesses to enterprises. This service compiles a clear picture of realtime printer status and consumables usage, making it an effective tool for tracking usage and allocating print spend, as well as for forecasting consumables budget and identifying printer faults.

Looking to the future, Samsung is creating an innovative, full-service offering to enable channel partners to:

· Perform an initial needs assessment
· Deliver the equipment and consumables
· Perform the repairs
· Provide the technical support
· Offer long-term tracking
· Bill on a per-page or per-seat basis
· Cover existing assets, if required, or allow existing assets to be covered by a third party

“At Samsung, we are focused on developing a successful MPS business for our channel partners,” said Graham Long. “MPS will play a vital role towards the achievement of our goal to become a leader in the printer market by 2012. The tools that we are announcing today are the foundation of our MPS offering and demonstrate our commitment to developing this further.”