Many businesses rely on printers to provide physical copies of important documents for clients and customers, or simply to create hard copies to keep on file. But maintaining a printer fleet can represent a challenge for IT teams, one that has only become more complicated as organizations shift to hybrid work models.
Making sure toner levels are full can distract IT staffers from other tasks, and that’s before dealing with help-desk calls related to printing. To keep their printer fleets operating effectively, many small and midsized businesses are turning to managed print services. MPS providers efficiently manage an organization’s document workflow. These services include use and needs assessments to optimize the consumption of supplies and determine appropriate hardware upgrades, automatic toner replenishment, repair services, and document security.
Click the banner below to receive exclusive industry content when you register as an Insider.
Why The Value of MPS Services is Higher Now Than Ever
Though print volume dropped off significantly during the pandemic, the value of MPS services may be higher now than ever. Organizations are looking to manage and secure digital workflows among workers in remote, office and hybrid environments. MPS achieves these objectives while reducing the administrative burden on IT teams. As many businesses return to office settings, MPS can continue to grow with new workflows prompted by the pandemic.
Businesses can benefit in many ways by partnering with an MPS provider. The most overlooked benefit may be overall security. Many business leaders don’t think of printers as computers, but they are, and they need to be secured just like any other endpoint. Organizations that overlook this critical cybersecurity step may expose themselves to costly cybersecurity breaches. By using an MPS provider, an organization can more effectively manage and monitor its printing environment, which adds a layer of protection.
Additionally, the ongoing management of an organization’s print environment can significantly improve efficiency. For example, by monitoring print devices and maintaining them effectively, businesses can find overall cost savings by minimizing downtime, mitigating security risks, streamlining workflows and automating supply shipments. MPS can reduce the drain on productivity that companies routinely experience when toner needs replacing, for example.
LEARN MORE: How managed print services help organization's expand their business.
How To Customize MPS Offerings
MPS can be easily customized to fit an organization’s unique needs. Options such as account delivery management can assist in all print and document management needs. A provider may also manage print devices as a fleet, handling issues such as software upgrades and automatic toner delivery. Additionally, by using software tools, an MPS provider can deliver detailed usage reporting to optimize workflows. Other services, such as a strategic business review, provide an overview of print devices that may be problematic and recommend strategies that can help companies save time and money while eliminating print fleet worries.
CDW provides complete print services with partners such as HP, Brother, Xerox and Lexmark. An SMB can start the process with a discovery call to its account manager, who will help determine whether the customer is a candidate for MPS. After an assessment of the organization’s print environment is made and an inventory of devices is taken, the customer receives a proposal customized to the environment, specific challenges, requirements, goals and budget. Once a service agreement is in place, businesses can wave goodbye to print-related headaches.
This article is part of BizTech's AgilITy blog series. Please join the discussion on Twitter by using the #SmallBizIT hashtag.
