Lower expenses, increase security with managed print services

When was the last time you had to file an IT ticket for help with a printer? Or had to walk across the office, or to another floor, to find a printer that was functioning properly?

Printers are an often-overlooked element in a company's IT infrastructure. They're not seen as mission-critical as servers, PCs, and other networked devices; workers don't interact with them all day, every day, as they do with PCs. Generally speaking, we send a document to the nearest printer as needed, and we hope that it will be waiting for us in the output tray when we walk over to retrieve it. If that doesn't work, we look for a different printer and repeat the process.

The problem with this approach is that it doesn't take into account the number of times any given printer needs maintenance, the costs of consumables like paper and toner, energy usage, and the efficiency of the printer fleet as a whole. Many companies have a heterogeneous glut of printers - some networked and some attached to employee PCs - where each requires specific toner and maintenance. The end result is that every dollar spent on printing requires another nine dollars in management costs.¹

Offloading the headache

Cloud computing is growing in popularity, because organizations of every size have found that hardware purchase and maintenance isn't their core mission. Capital spending for equipment that depreciates rapidly and generates an unpredictable maintenance load simply doesn't make sense when you can leverage best-in-class infrastructure that's being managed by someone else.

The same applies to printing, even though there's no escaping the need for hardware on-premises. A managed print service (MPS) agreement offloads the burdens of phasing in and maintaining printers, allowing you to scale your print environment as your business evolves.

In a recent report, Transparency Market Research cites numerous benefits to managed print service engagements:

• More accurate allocation of costs
• Lower IT workload
• Reduction in printer fleet
• Reduction in paper usage
• Enhanced authentication and security
• Reduction in energy consumption
• Improved efficiency

With MPS, the provider tailors a print solution that incorporates the latest advances in security and efficiency. Older, lower-performing devices may be consolidated in favor of high-output, multifunction printers that generate cost-effective pages in color and monochrome. Fewer printers means fewer maintenance headaches; the provider ensures that devices are running reliably and that problems are fixed quickly.

According to ALL Associates Group, companies that embrace MPS may save nearly $500 a year in printing costs per full-time employee.² This includes savings from paper, consumables, and energy, plus reduced end-user interaction time.

Partnering with HP MPS

The potential savings - in terms of bottom-line dollars and improved productivity - make MPS a very compelling proposition. Managed print services from an undisputed leader in the printer category like HP can reduce operating costs by as much as 30 percent while cutting energy consumption by up to 40 percent.

HP MPS, through its comprehensive network of service providers, can include:

• A full assessment of your IT environment
• A custom-designed printer fleet solution
• Procurement services for acquiring new hardware and retiring outdated equipment
• Help with implementing the new printers and transitioning business processes
• Ongoing management and support
• Document and workflow services to improve processes and get more work done, faster

HP works with thousands of resellers around the world to deliver and service custom MPS solutions. Your solution can be custom-tailored, thanks to HP's decades of trusted leadership in the printer market and vast portfolio of secure printer options.

With HP MPS, you can replace older printers, copiers, and fax machines with energy-efficient multifunction devices that are optimized for performance and security.

HP MPS offers end-to-end services and solutions to transform your print environment. With multifunction printers from HP, you'll reduce your company's environmental impact by using less paper and electricity, while HP's centralized, fleet-wide management features help increase uptime and productivity.

To learn more about managed print services from HP, please click here.

¹ ALL Associates Group, February 2015.

² ALL Associates Group, HP, 2017.