With hybrid work a fixture for many businesses across the country, managed print services are evolving to accommodate this new way of working. But what are the advantages of MPS (managed print services) for hybrid workplaces and how can resellers make a profit from it?
While there has been much in the news during 2024 of – usually larger businesses – ordering their employees back into the office on a full-time basis, for many people, hybrid working is still a fixture in their working lives.
With hybrid working largely accepted now, MPS providers have been adapting their provision in recent years to ensure that it can cover such practices effectively for their customers.
Chris Bates, director – print & supplies, UK, TD SYNNEX, says that managed print is a natural fit for hybrid working models. “It’s the easiest way to maintain printers and ensure optimum productivity,” he says. “This applies whether you have hundreds of devices being used remotely or just a handful. Being able to monitor performance and identify and address issues before they become problems and have replacement consumables shipped to users before they run out means the remote worker should always have a functioning device.”
Greig Millar, chief revenue officer at Brother UK, adds: “MPS packages have evolved in recent years and now they seamlessly support hybrid workers with remote device management, automatic supplies replenishment and comprehensive IT support from any location,” he says.
Ian Fox, Xerox channel solutions and services specialist, says that the increase in hybrid working has driven significant development of MPS offerings. “Historically, these have been focused on providing solutions that work in a well-managed and secure corporate environment,” he says. “The hybrid model has created a real headache for IT and procurement teams trying to strike a balance between meeting end user needs while ensuring security and end user productivity in an uncontrolled environment.”
Advantages
There are various advantages of businesses using MPS when they have many hybrid workers, such as simplicity. “Above anything else, end customers want simplicity; they want the provider of the managed service to look after everything – from the on-site maintenance to ink cartridge replacement under one monthly bill,” says Chris. “This is exactly what we provide with our OpenMPS offering. It makes it easy for a partner to offer a managed print service.”
Ian notes that when clients choose Xerox’s MPS offerings they can realise many advantages. “Our focus is on three fundamental pillars: security, sustainability and productivity, and each pillar is applied to the device, fleet, user and document,” he says. “Our latest range of IoT devices is ideal for hybrid workers and SOHO environments, connecting securely to our cloud-based MPS and print management solutions and eliminating the need for VPN or on-premises servers. This enables secure and audited print, the ability to remotely audit and apply device security policies and update firmware and print drivers.
“Productivity is maximised, allowing users to print from any device with scans going directly to repositories such as OneDrive. Toner recycling and service incidents can also be requested and managed from the device’s touchscreen.”
Trends
While hybrid working came of age during the pandemic, more recently there have been various trends that have developed among businesses using MPS with their hybrid workforce as demands change and mature.
“Hybrid working has become normalised and more SMBs are realising that a managed print service is a viable option for them,” says Chris. “These smaller businesses want services that are easy to access and understand and offer good value and for partners, this means that managed print continues to be a good growth opportunity.
“Even so, for many partners managed print can seem daunting – especially if they are not used to pulling together all the different aspects such as monitoring software, security, supplies automation, finance, installation and support. This is why TD SYNNEX developed OpenMPS – to make it simple for partners to offer a managed print service. We provide the tools and expertise and with our support they can take opportunities themselves.”
Ian says that the broader adoption of cloud technologies has made it easier for employees to work remotely, but there is now a greater realisation that quality products are needed. “Print and scan has become an afterthought, and many organisations moved towards a model of supplying unmanaged low-end devices to end users,” he notes.
“Eighteen months later they are realising that the initial investment bears little resemblance to the actual cost of providing this facility. Expensive consumables, unaudited usage and numerous helpdesk calls increase the burden on IT as they try to install and support unfamiliar equipment in uncontrolled and unsecured environments.
“Customers are now looking for more secure and productive offerings to replace the temporary workarounds implemented during the pandemic.”
Greig agrees that security is an important consideration, adding that businesses with a growing number of hybrid workers need greater oversight of their decentralised network. “The expanding surface layer of these firms’ IT infrastructure makes them more vulnerable to would-be attackers,” he says.
“MPS offers centralised security updates to bolster their defenses to minimise vulnerabilities. Print-as-a-Service models also bring productivity gains through reduced device downtime: Brother’s MPS aims to resolve 98% of issues over the phone, with printers back up and running within four hours.
“We continue to see growing demand for cloud print services among hybrid workers and our Brother Cloud Solutions (BCS) can be included as part of tailored MPS packages. BCS can enhance print infrastructure through document digitisation, while ensuring data protection and regulatory compliance.”
Reseller conversations
There are various things that resellers should be highlighting to customers when discussing MPS packages to help ensure customers get the right package. Chris says that offering a complete, all-in-one service is the best way to attract business. “You just need to keep it simple,” he says.
“Having someone else manage remotely deployed devices is much easier for the customer and for the partner it brings in subscription revenues and ensures they get the repeat consumables business.
“There is more opportunity with managed print and one that we encourage partners to take for themselves, rather than hand-off to a vendor or other third party. The first and most important step for partners is finding a proposition they are comfortable taking to market.”
Greig adds that businesses will also be looking to resellers for guidance on where they can make cost savings. “Our cost of ownership calculator revealed that some businesses stand to save as much as £16,535 over three years by switching to Print-as-a-Service,” he says. “Our refreshed MPS proposition also enables resellers to provide tailored support to customers of all sizes to access automatic supplies replenishment, ongoing maintenance support and cloud solutions.”
Ian says that resellers should take a holistic view. “We refer to this as ‘the Power Of the Collective’ and encourage resellers to discuss the bigger picture during their engagements around MPS,” he says.
“Third party print management solutions can indeed provide secure print capability, but can they audit and update device security policies and firmware with the same offering? Probably not. Can they deliver a serverless solution that supports printing from any device? Probably not. Can they provide sustainability reporting that doesn’t just factor in paper consumption but also considers the impact of device power consumption and service calls avoided due to our remote call avoidance technology? Definitely not! Our closely integrated approach provides unrivalled security, sustainability and productivity levels.”
Future
It is expected that demand will continue to grow for MPS among businesses with hybrid workers in 2025 and beyond. “We’re likely to see a renewed focus on delivering hybrid models in 2025, following the introduction of Labour’s new Employment Rights Bill, which is set to make remote working the default,” says Greig. “This presents a timely chance for resellers to engage their customers to identify how tech can help them to support their hybrid workforce while boosting productivity.
“Sustainability also remains an evergreen challenge for businesses. And our MPS Enterprise customers benefit from receiving a full breakdown on how much CO2 they’re saving by returning consumables to be recycled or remanufactured free of charge.”
Ian agrees that demand will continue to increase. “Although much talk has been of a return to office work, research tells us that attendance will not return to previous levels,” he notes. “Hybrid working is here to stay, and it’s time to implement a solution that provides the productivity that workers need and the security and sustainability that the business demands.”
