This month at ENX, we get a chance to speak with OKI Data’s Tim Brien about MPS. We discuss practical tips on how to make MPS model work for your business, as well as tackle the larger issues of how MPS is changing with new technologies. Wherever you may be in the spectrum of MPS offerings, there is an abundance of ideas on how to elevate your MPS program to the next level.
Tim Brien
1. What are the 3 most compelling reasons why dealers should offer MPS to their clients?
Brien: Dealers should consider offering managed print services (MPS) to their clients for the following reasons. First, it’s a great way for dealers to expand their business model from printer-only sales to an all-inclusive offering. Second, MPS allows for additional discussions into different technologies such as document storage, disaster recovery and security, which provide support for the complete document life-cycle. Finally, offering a complete structured MPS program mitigates the risk of clients seeking a competitor’s services because the dealer becomes a holistic, single-source provider.
2. What are some strategies to make the transition into MPS smoother?
Brien: A few strategies that will make the transition into MPS smoother include leveraging relationships, attending industry events, and establishing an effective sales model. As a dealer, it’s important to take advantage of the resources and relationships you have with large-scale partners — this will shorten your time to market. Industry events will help strengthen relationships with key stakeholders and are perfect venues for education and networking. Additionally, MPS consultants can assist with in-depth transition strategies as well as compensation plans and basic infrastructure.
3. What kind of infrastructure is necessary for a company to be successful with MPS?
Brien: In order to become successful with MPS, a company will need a dedicated sales team focused on MPS because it is a longer sales cycle than that of traditional hardware or service sales. For example, once an account is “won”, sales will need to support remote monitoring, toner delivery, and supplier fulfillments on consumables and parts. Additionally, sales will be responsible for the ongoing communication of all MPS accounts, which involves quarterly or semi-annual reviews with each customer. Lastly, a company should equip the sales force with the proper tools to execute business, such as a proposal generation tools and data metrics.
4. In your opinion, what is the biggest game changer to come along in the MPS arena to date?
Brien: The biggest game changer for the MPS arena is the enhancement and sophistication of remote monitoring tools. Now more than ever before, dealers can easily check-on an account for support needs.
5. What are the effects of smartphones, tablets, and the cloud on an organization’s document management and output needs?
Brien: The full extent of smartphones and tablets has not yet been fully realized; companies are still determining whether they will embrace a “bring your own device” (BYOD) model or whether they will issue their own devices. That said, the BYOD trend will likely lead to increased sales opportunities and the extension of MPS into the complete document lifecycle which allows a dealer to incorporate mobile device management and cloud-based tools (i.e. SugarSync.com, Box.com, and Salesforce.com). Overall, mobile devices are a major part of an overall MPS strategy, and must remain so in order to maintain profitability on the account and allow access to documents from any device.
6. And how can these devices be incorporated into an MPS plan to turn a profit?
Brien: The incorporation of mobile devices into the workplace is both a positive and a negative – it’s a negative if an MPS provider does not give the tools that allow the end user to fully integrate mobile devices into the document access and print stream throughout the corporate network. If printing documents is not an easy and intuitive process the user will not print. That being said, enabling true mobile printing and cloud based document access for mobile devices should be an opportunity for additional software and service revenue. The current market is showing a reduction in print volume and revenue because of these devices but as with the introduction of any new technology, it also brings the potential of new revenue streams. Turn those unmanaged devices into a revenue stream and take your MPS program to new levels.
7. What are some of the best software solutions that can help take MPS to the next level?
Brien: Cloud based-document management solutions will certainly take MPS to the next level. They allow companies to easily access data and important documents anywhere, anytime, anyhow.
8. Where do you see the future of MPS going? How will it evolve, what will it encompass?
Brien: In the near future, MPS will become a subset of managed services, as more solutions will be added, allowing dealers to go deeper and wider as a single-source provider to their clients. MPS will take over hardware, and BTA dealers will expand their footprint to manage the network and infrastructure. In most cases, effectively implemented MPS programs will reduce the number of hardware units within an office, assuming the company employs proper optimization practices. Finally, with the implementation of cloud-based solutions, more embedded solutions will be required and devices will have an improved user interface. This is why companies like OKI Data Americas are investing in new technologies to make the user experience easy and intuitive.
9. How do you predict the growth of MPS will impact technology in terms of hardware?
Brien: The growth of MPS will require several updates to hardware devices. First and foremost, as the popularity of cloud-based solutions continues to grow so will the need to embed these solutions into hardware devices. Additionally, the interface will need to be easy-to-use and intuitive, while meeting industry standards.
10. Lastly, can you share any tips on how to differentiate your MPS offerings from the competition?
Brien: In order to stay ahead of the competition, clearly define your service level agreement to customers, explaining the extent of your MPS offerings as well as the ongoing level of support and strategy. Many MPS programs in the market are simplistic in nature and showing the true differences will allow your customer to make an informed decision. Remember that MPS is all about “Managing” your customer’s fleet. If you keep your customer informed with quarterly reviews and are continuing to introduce new technologies, they will see that you are offering more of a partnership that is focused on their long term productivity.
