Mobile Printing
Once the interest in printing from now highly capable portable devices was recognized, everyone jumped on the bandwagon to come up with new and/or revamped mobile printing solutions. But there is much to consider when creating the ideal solution for the two main groups of consumers — the enterprise segment and the general public — especially when their behavior is changing at such a rapid rate.
- By Raegen Pietrucha
- 01/01/2012
The Gap Report
It's safe to say that 2011 was an interesting one for the print industry. With that Gap Intelligence's Jake Fishman gives you the top five printing themes, trends and events of 2011.
- By Jake Fishman
- 01/01/2012
Managed Network Services
It’s an accepted fact that progressive office equipment dealers are actively moving down the path of managed network services (MNS). By transferring the day-to-day management of technology to a third-party MNS provider, SMBs are able to move toward a more proactive technology management approach. For office equipment dealers, this is the biggest opportunity for growth since managed print.
- By David Pohlman
- 01/01/2012
Selling MPS
VARs are evolving along with their customers’ needs to seize the MPS opportunity. To grow revenue opportunities, VARs require a new way of doing business, and for managed service providers that already have this customer base, adding managed print to the portfolio will only expand existing relationships and generate profit.
Event Recap
The Imaging Channel’s Managed Print Summit took place July 19 in Las Vegas. Leaders in the technology and managed print field shared their expertise with a crowd of nearly 300 dealers; IT VARs; software, hardware and supplies providers; those interested in building their MPS offering and those looking to enter the arena.
- By Katherine Fernelius, Raegen Pietrucha
- 10/01/2011
MPS & MSP
Managed print services and managed services are two different offerings; however, more and more companies who provide MPS are broadening their offerings to include more managed services, while managed services providers are offering MPS. In both cases, these companies are facing challenges, but they are also seeing revenue increases and more client interest.
- By Raegen Pietrucha
- 10/01/2011
Security & Compliance
Security and compliance is a high-stakes topic in virtually any company today. Get it wrong, and consequences can result in a loss of business for you.
- By Greer Deneen
- 10/01/2011
The Supplies Side
MPS is many things. It’s a tool to deliver efficiency, to manage a budget and to optimize a fleet, but above all, it’s another way to place toner on a page. And whether or not the budget is managed or the fleet is optimized, that page must be a quality page.
Follow-Me/Pull-Printing Options
There is good news when it comes to solutions that can set you ahead of the regular MPS crowd. There is an exploding category of MPS solutions that are comparatively easy to get a handle on while offering a plethora of benefits to the end user: secure-release and follow-me/pull printing.
- By West McDonald
- 07/01/2011
Keys to MPS Success
Not long ago, managed print solutions was less than mainstream. Now it’s recognized as the present and future way to manage hard-copy output, yet it’s still a business practice not fully embraced by many.
- By Ryan Humphrey
- 07/01/2011
Green MPS
In the managed print services (MPS) industry, as in many industries, green, at times, is seen as a way to make gold, but there many reasons besides gold for choosing green practices. So how do you choose the actions in daily living, in corporate structures or in MPS to help guide you in being green the right way, and how do you ensure that you have made educated choices?
- By Sherry Lachine
- 07/01/2011
OEM Strategies
During the first half of 2011, Lyra had the opportunity to speak with some of the industry’s leading OEMs, including HP, Ricoh and Xerox, about their managed print services (MPS) strategies. Each company has different MPS strategies, which are explored in summaries of Lyra’s interviews with executives from each company in this article.
2011 MPSA Leadership Awards
Want to know who the leaders are in the managed print services industry? The 2011 MPSA Leadership Awards would be a good place to start.
Delivering a Clear Message
If MPS is not positioned to the client at a high level on the front end or focused on a discussion centered around potential outcomes for the client, the client may come to his or her own conclusions as to the value of MPS, level of intrusiveness and true understanding of why you are there — potentially resulting in the client simply deciding MPS is not going to provide true value to his or her company.
MPS Sales Compensation
Recently I worked on developing a comprehensive managed print services program with the business principal of a large reseller company. They had multiple locations and a large sales and technical staff. The business principal was absolutely convinced that MPS was the way of the future for their business and championed the effort all the way down the organizational chart. He was charged up and his enthusiasm was infectious!
- By Mark Shelton
- 04/01/2011