6 business benefits of managed print services
Managed print services is a system of managing an organisation’s print fleet that promises to cut costs, boost productivity and overall efficiency in the business.
Businesses spend up to 15% of their annual budget on printing and related costs. Managed print services outsource the management of your entire print environment to a team of highly qualified printing specialists. They assess the state of your print fleet, make recommendations that will optimise the fleet, and finally, oversee your new fleet while you continue to run your business.
Many business owners still aren’t convinced that they need managed print services. They might think their print fleets don’t cost them much and that they can manage them efficiently in-house. Unfortunately, the slow decline of an inefficient print environment isn’t always apparent until professionals have assessed it. However, the benefits of managed print services are clear and numerous. Here are six irrefutable ones to start off with.
1. Fewer printers
Big businesses tend to buy more printers than they need in the belief that if every department has its own printer, there will be less congestion in the print fleet. This isn’t always the case. A managed print services assessment will determine precisely how many printers an organisation needs and where they should be located to maximise accessibility. Having fewer printers in your business, and only ones that you need, is already a considerable cost saving.
2. Better security
Most of the multifunction printers on the market come standard with security features such as pull printing and antivirus protection. But managed print services can offer an added layer of document security that is controlled remotely. Your MPS provider can control which employees have access to which printers at which times and encrypt data sent from devices with predetermined security clearances. Most importantly, they can spot security breaches as they happen and fix them remotely.
3. Predictable print costs
Part of a managed print services assessment is determining the exact amount that your organisation needs to print. They use sophisticated metrics to arrive at a cost per page which is so accurate that you can confidently work it into your budget every quarter. This figure includes everything related to your print fleet from paper, ink and toner to maintenance fees. Most businesses tend to overspend on printing because it isn’t measured or controlled and MPS is the most reliable way to remedy this inefficiency.
4. Proactive error resolution
Your MPS contract gives you access to a dedicated team of trained technicians that monitor your print environment remotely. When something goes wrong, they can resolve it before you’ve even noticed. This includes restocking consumables such as paper, ink and toner before they run out. Taking a proactive approach (instead of a reactive one) to error resolution saves valuable time and dramatically reduces your maintenance costs.
5. Reduced strain on IT resources
Most businesses leave the management of their printers to their IT department. IT heads and technicians spend countless hours tending to paper jams and debugging printers – this time could be better spent elsewhere in the business. By outsourcing your printing needs to print experts, you free up your IT department’s time to allow it to find new ways for the business to innovate through technology.
6. Improved efficiency
Printers are like information highways that transmit the flow of data in and out of an organisation and between workers. By optimising these machines through MPS, you also optimise other parts of the business. Human resources, billing and client processing are simplified through automation.
Security policies are made more practical through remote management that can control mobile printing, pull printing and device permissions. Resources are optimised through an accurately calculated cost per page and predictable consumable use. MPS can streamline an entire organisation and improve your bottom line just by changing how your printers are managed.
Visit our managed print services page to find out more about this revolutionary innovation.