Managed Print Services Overview
Every office prints. Printing is as natural and non-negotiable to a business’s processes as breathing is to a person. And, like breathing, it often goes unnoticed in the background. That’s why most offices don’t notice that they’re printing entirely too much. However, imagine if almost one-third of the documents printed yesterday were never printed. With managed print services, that doesn’t have to be imagined. Such services make those savings a reality.
Printing expenses are one of the few common blind spots in a company’s budget. Managed service providers help eliminate this blind spot so offices can save money and increase productivity.
What Are Managed Print Services?
Managed printing is the outsourcing of an office’s printing environment to an external specialist. These specialists have access to a wider range of skills and hardware which businesses can access at a fraction of the cost of investing in these things themselves.
Managed print service providers install the precise hardware and software necessary for a specific print environment. In addition, they provide on-site service, maintenance kits, supply delivery, and quarterly reviews to help a company keep track of their printing habits. Depending on a client’s needs and budget, managed print services can be minimal or comprehensive.
How EBS Manages Print Services for Its Clients
Edwards Business Systems approaches managed print services with a two-step approach designed to maximize productivity and minimize output expenses:
1. Strategy Development.
No two businesses or office environments are the same. Therefore, Edwards Business Systems sits down with potential clients to open a discussion about the unique challenges, needs, and goals which the client faces.
Evaluating the current printing environment leads to better insights about problem areas, performance benchmarks, and expectations for estimated savings. From here, a team of printing specialists drafts a master blueprint to implement an ideal printing and imaging infrastructure. This blueprint outlines everything from where each device is installed, to the expected output of individuals, departments, and offices.
2. Optimization.
Once the infrastructure is deployed, Edwards Business Systems uses usage metrics to help offices strike an ideal balance between productivity and output costs. By providing a quarterly analysis of usage, an office gains awareness of workflow processes, necessary functionality, and the various requirements of users which may not have been visible before. This allows an office to fine-tune its document processes for productivity and cost savings.
How Clients Benefit from Managed Print Services
Clients gain numerous benefits by using managed print services. Rather than wasting precious time and resources with experiments on the best tools and processes, managed print services direct businesses to tried-and-true methods the first time. Clients benefit from managed print services by gaining:
1. Total Visibility on Consumption and Expenses.
Most businesses have no idea what they spend on printing, or where their consumables like paper and cartridges go. Since MPS solutions are metered, providers like Virginia Business Systems keep track of usage so clients will know exactly how much inventory they’re using each month. Additionally, solutions such as printing tracking eliminate unauthorized use such as employees printing off personal documents or excessive papers.
2. Increased Security and Compliance.
Many industries have strict regulatory compliances which are not optional. Healthcare, financial, and technologically-centered institutions need to protect employee and consumer data, trade secrets, or internal communications. MPS providers like Virginia Business Systems use name brands with stellar reputations for device security to help keep documents safe.
3. Access a Printing Environment That Scales.
The managed print services benefits for large and small companies include being easy to scale. For small businesses and startups, MPS solutions provide the ability to adopt robust printing infrastructure for which they would otherwise not have the budget. For large companies, a managed print service can assist with the transition to a paperless office or introduce specialized capabilities to augment current infrastructure.
4. Less Downtime and More Efficiency.
Employees lose countless hours dealing with broken printers, and in-house IT professionals have better things to do than fix yet another paper jam. Managed print service providers bring their own professionals and dedicated support to free business employees for high-value activities which generate revenue. Additionally, MPS technicians are trained to service the devices deployed, meaning that everyone spends less time dealing with a printer that doesn’t work.
EBS Helps Streamline Printing Needs
Every business needs to print, but that doesn’t mean printing needs to be wasteful. However, for many clients, taking control of the print environment represents a significant – if not insurmountable – challenge. With the increasing amount of data and documents which the modern business is expected to rapidly handle, staying on top of the printing environment can represent a critical operational advantage.
Managed print services benefits the client by balancing productivity and costs associated with printing. Edwards Business Systems provides bespoke solutions for a variety of unique printing environments. Reach out today to start a conversation with an MPS specialist.