In this era of rapid change, managed print services providers face a clear challenge: adapt and diversify their offering or risk losing out to more agile competitors with broader portfolios. Customer loyalty is dwindling – Quocirca’s MPS Landscape 2024 Study finds that 39% are considering changing MPS provider at the end of their current contract and a further 26% say they will definitely do so. This presents a definite risk for providers in an environment where previous conventions around hardware refreshment are shifting.
There is increasing pressure on businesses to unlock the productivity and performance benefits new-generation technology and workflows can offer. This is disrupting time-based refresh cycles. Among the wider considerations creating a perfect storm driving technology refresh are the imminent end of life for Windows 10, continuously evolving hybrid work environment – with some large organisations now mandating return to work – and general availability of AI-powered laptops and AI applications.
Customer priorities and expectations drive investment
At a general technology level, IT decision-makers are prioritising cybersecurity, AI, and cloud computing investments in the coming year. In the print environment, they are looking at security, hardware refreshes, and workflow solutions. There is significant overlap between many of these, raising the prospect of a larger, more comprehensive technology refresh.
As organisations are prompted to examine their technology infrastructure, there’s certainly an opportunity for MPS providers, but they will need to ensure their offering meets expectations.
Quocirca research shows that IT expertise (rated important by 42%), cybersecurity (33%), and workflow automation expertise (31%) are the top three selection factors when decision-makers evaluate MPS providers. However, there are distinct variations when it comes to business size. For example, mid-sized organisations are more interested than larger or smaller counterparts in IT expertise (with 48% rating it important), while SMBs are more focused on brand reputation than larger businesses – perhaps because they have less time for detailed evaluations and view a strong brand as a signal of trust and reliability.
Match offerings to customer challenges and priorities
The report also indicates several MPS areas where incumbent performance is not matching the importance of that element to customers.
The top three challenges that organisations are experiencing around print management are reducing its environmental impact (38%) – which has risen up the agenda from third place in 2023 – controlling costs (38%), and security (36%). The study found that MPS is underperforming in customer satisfaction in all three areas, and these should be a priority focus.
As MPS providers seek to capitalise on the drive to modernise technology infrastructure, they should adapt their offering and go-to-market messages in five key areas:
- Position MPS as an enabler for transformative services that are linked to business outcomes. MPS remains an effective platform to help businesses innovate and drive digital transformation. Transformational services that help customers future-proof their business include using cloud-based services across print and capture, upgrading hardware for improved environmental performance and enhanced security, and ensuring printer fleets are easily managed across a hybrid work environment.
- Integrate sustainability more strongly into the MPS value proposition. Lowering environmental impact is a key print management challenge. MPS providers must offer sustainable technology solutions that align with their customers’ environmental goals. Demonstrating sustainable practices across their own business, showcasing circularity across the product lifecycle, and helping customers measure and reduce their carbon footprint will resonate with customers and build competitive advantage.
- Prioritise cybersecurity as a critical part of the service. Provide a full suite of security services, including threat detection, incident response, and compliance management across the managed fleet. Continuous monitoring of the printer fleet should be a standard enterprise MPS offering, as well as helping clients achieve regulatory compliance. Conduct regular security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and recommend mitigation strategies. Offer scalable security fleet assessments to uncover security risks across multivendor fleets. This creates opportunities for MPS providers to recommend not only the latest hardware with advanced security, but also secure printing solutions to mitigate security risks.
- Continue to educate and deepen cloud specialisations. While cloud print management adoption is increasing, the prevalence of print servers also continues to increase. This suggests a lack of awareness of the benefits of eliminating or reducing reliance on a print server-based architecture. Emphasise the importance of migration and modernisation alongside support for hybrid cloud print services. Provide clarity around cloud-native technologies such as serverless printing that can further drive efficiency and scalability. Embrace cloud marketplaces in order to expand the customer base and showcase cloud-based services to a wider audience.
- Offer customers a clear path to digital workflow automation. Workflow automation is a key area where MPS providers can demonstrate their ability to add value to a customer’s business. Automated processes can lead to cost savings by reducing paper consumption, eliminating manual tasks, and improving resource use. Although many leading MPS providers are offering workflow automation and information management solutions, there are mixed approaches in the market. Providers that can effectively identify and implement workflow automation solutions as part of a broader MPS engagement are best positioned to demonstrate how MPS is an enabler for digital innovation and not simply limited to the print environment.
Capitalise on AI technology refreshes
MPS providers have a key opportunity to capitalise on AI within the context of hardware and technology refresh cycles. As organisations look to introduce hardware-assisted AI through refreshing PC and printer fleets, providers must ensure that they are in organisations’ plans for such PC and printer refreshes to avoid being sidelined in commercial opportunities.
Building partnerships with businesses offering complementary solutions is an important undertaking for MPS providers. AI expertise may not be readily available in-house, but a partnership can facilitate joint propositions that create value for the customer.
By strategically integrating AI solutions into service offerings, and ensuring they are meeting expectations around cybersecurity and sustainability, MSPs can deliver enhanced value to their clients, differentiate themselves from competitors, and drive sustainable growth.
