Recent research found that managed print services can bring significant savings to businesses compared to traditional printer ownership – but what other advantages are there for SMBs to take up MPS and how can resellers most effectively sell them to customers?
While the UK economy may now be out of recession, times are still tough for many small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in a range of sectors, which means that saving money wherever possible is still sought by managers.
Often the printer fleet is looked at to find potential savings, and recent research by Brother UK found that switching to managed print services (MPS) could represent a five-figure saving over three years, when compared with traditional printer ownership.
Brother UK’s total cost of ownership calculator found that an organisation using five Brother MFC-L9570CDW professional all-in-one colour laser printers, as part of an MPS agreement, could save £16,535 over a three-year period. Customers would also benefit from additional services including automatic ink and toner ordering and installation and maintenance support.
Perhaps unsurprisingly then, demand for MPS among SMBs is rising, which presents opportunities for resellers.
“Demand is rising for MPS among small businesses because they recognise the benefits of contractual printing, particularly when it comes to making their operations more efficient,” says Greig Millar, chief revenue officer at Brother UK.
He adds that recent survey from IDC revealed that 63% of businesses with fewer than 500 staff want an MPS package that includes thoroughly assessing and optimising a firm’s print estate.
Complete service
Chris Bates, business unit director – print and supplies, UK at TD SYNNEX, agrees that demand for MPS is growing among small businesses. “Now, more than ever, they want a complete service – one that includes on-site warranty cover as well as automated ink and toner cartridge replenishment,” he says. “Many customers now also want the flexibility of being able to pay as you go for print, which is why we added a ‘cost-per-click’ option to our OpenMPS managed print service earlier this year.
“Everything in IT is moving towards a subscription model and a lot of customers like the idea of paying only for what they print. It allows them to see exactly what print is costing them. From a reseller perspective, it’s excellent as the whole process is automated and it brings in recurring and profitable income. The whole process is managed through OpenMPS, so it is very easy for the partner to offer the service and manage it.”
Raising awareness
But there are still some SMBs that are resistant to taking up MPS solutions, and this is where resellers have a role to play.
“In terms of what’s driving and what might hold SMBs back from subscribing to a managed print service, in my view, it’s simply awareness,” says Chris. “SMBs like the idea of someone else taking care of their print estate and managing consumable replacements, with everything taken care of under one monthly bill. Partners that actively take the solution to market and extol its benefits to customers do well with managed print.
“I think the secret of success with managed print in the SMB market is to keep it simple. This is why we’ve tried to make OpenMPS as easy to set-up and operate as possible. It requires no up-front investment from the partner and it’s easy to manage on a day-to-day basis.”
Reseller conversations
Greg says there are various benefits of MPS that should be emphasised to potential customers by resellers. “Remotely managing devices is one key benefit of MPS, particularly as IT leads seek to gain greater oversight of their decentralised network,” he says. “MPS allows IT teams to take control of security updates to bolster their defences while protecting sensitive documents.
“MPS also allows them to keep track of device usage and performance to minimise device downtime, which is one of the biggest threats to productivity. With Brother MPS, for example, we aim to have devices back up and running within four hours, with 98% of issues resolved over the phone. For the remaining 2% of cases, we dispatch an expert to fix it the next working day.”
Greg adds that the cost savings of MPS are also clear. “Brother recently launched its MPS calculator tool, which allows users to work out how much they can save by moving to print-as-a-service,” he says. “All businesses need to do is input simple data about their print usage and devices, and they’ll then be given an option to contact a reseller to transform their print estate.
“We recognise the popularity of procuring tech and services on a subscription basis, and we’ve moved to make sure resellers can help customers of all sizes capitalise on MPS. Last year we introduced MPS Essential, which allows small businesses to sign-up to a contract for as little £6.63 a month.
“Businesses can access automatic supplies replenishment, ongoing maintenance support and options to enhance their set-up through cloud solutions.
“For resellers, this means locking in recurring revenue spend from customers and being able to support businesses with the extensive expertise that helps to cement long-lasting relationships.”
