What is Managed Print Services?
MPS is a solution to your company's printing needs, whatever the scale and nature of those requirements. In an MPS model, a third party manages your organisation's printing operations and other document-based workflows.
This may mean:
- Providing print hardware
- Refreshing consumables such as parts and toner
- Offering maintenance
- Providing support
- Developing a long-term print strategy
- With the aid of data analytics, MPS providers can tailor their offerings over time to better suit your business's needs.
- Check out our blog post to get more detail about the nature of MPS and what it means for you.
How much does printing cost your company?
The answer to this question may be surprisingly hard to determine, as visibility around printing costs tends to be low. Getting a clear look at the true cost of printing and then taking the necessary steps to reducing unnecessary spending can be difficult goals to accomplish internally. This is where a Managed Print Services (MPS) provider can enter the picture.
How can managed print service help your business?
MPS programs can take several forms. When printing is purchased as a service, Brother and our extensive group of solutions partners can provide a lineup of offerings tailored to your company's requirements, including:
Leasing for a fleet of devices
On-demand support and service
Proactive maintenance
Centralised management of all printers and multifunction devices
Replenishment of consumable resources such as toner
A single point of contact for all print needs
Is Managed Print Services the right solution for your company?
Take the MPS QuizWhether you're searching for a new way to manage existing hardware or want a partner to take care of every aspect of printing, there is an MPS feature that can match your needs, including the following:
Bring costs under control
Companies running their own print functions may not have an accurate or detailed picture of the associated costs. An MPS approach begins with assessing the ideal print processes for a company, then moves on to implementing the new model, giving organisations the right number and type of devices, in the right locations.
Ongoing monitoring of the new print environment, using real-time centralised data analytics, can predict disruptions before they impact your business. This analysis can also determine where new workflows may be effective. Adding automation and cutting down on the amount of manual processes can save time for employees and help them get back to providing value.
Enable staff to focus on business processes
When companies, especially SMEs, handle their print management functions in-house, team members often waste their time waiting for printers to become free, or dealing with hardware breakdowns.. When a printer needs service or maintenance, it can slow whole departments down.
Print management software changes the way print jobs are handled around the office, allowing personnel to use any device connected to the network. Important documents will get printed on schedule, and bottlenecks can be detected and resolved.
Improve flexibility through up-to-date technology
Brother and our Managed Print Service partners can do more than manage existing print workflows - they can help companies add new capabilities such as mobile printing, document management and workflow automation. For companies employing team members who are remote most or all of the time, cloud-based printing interfaces are essential ways to centralise printing.
Today's printers can be fully connected parts of a company's ecosystem, provided the right technologies are in place to unify them. This is growing more essential over time as decentralised corporate structures become more popular and prevalent, replacing the old single-office model.
Support green initiatives and reduce environmental impact
Organisations seeking to become more efficient and environmentally responsible can take steps in this direction by taking more direct control of their printing ecosystems. Careful management of printers and other devices can result in more oversight and elimination of wasteful printing.
Furthermore, Brother and our MPS partners who consult and assist with the selection of hardware can help organisations select energy-efficient new printers and multifunction devices to cut down on overall consumption. Disposal and recycling of consumables and technology are also subject to improvement.
Boost the security of your print network
One of the considerations that comes with a more connected and digitally enabled print network is the question of security. A connected printer is a device that is potentially vulnerable to intrusion, but an MPS brings the experience to keep unauthorised users from logging into the print network.
Protecting intellectual property depends on having a solid knowledge of print security. MPS programs can incorporate physical controls such as ID card readers on printers to complement digital security. This level of control over who is authorised to print can also help cut down on waste.
What size business can use managed print services?
The flexibility inherent to the MPS model ensures value cases for organisations of every scale and description, from companies seeking to unite multiple offices to SMEs looking for enterprise-level service, so no matter your needs, you'll find a match.
No matter how many pieces of hardware a company needs, there is a tailored solution that will meet its requirements. Organisations going through periods of expansion can consult accurate forecasts about their future requirements to ensure they always have the right level of service, and know far in advance how large a printing budget to set aside.
Time for a print assessment
Your organisation can take a more efficient and effective approach to printing solutions and the related workflows, but this process can't begin until you determine your best course of action.