Basic HTML Version
20
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
MPS
...continued
in importance as a criteria
for partner selection. Data is
pretty clear that price erosion is
occurring and that customers
may be having a harder time
making a choice. Thus, they
default to price as key point of
difference.
Q.
What are the main factors
businesses consider when
choosing an MPS provider?
Does it all come down to cost?
A.
We continue to see that
reliability, price and flexibility
are the top three partner
selection criteria. Customers are
placing more weight on price
today than in years past, but
reliability continues to be the
top factor in most segments.
Q.
If cost is important, do
manufacturers have a built-in
advantage over the channel?
A.
OEMs do have the ability to be
the most price-aggressive on a
per unit basis. This is why savvy
channel providers have always
competed on different value
pillars. Our research continues to
support the fact that price is not
the only motivating factor in the
buying decision.
Multi-vendor or
homogeneous fleet?
Q.
Are MPS customers happy
to standardise on equipment
from a single vendor or do
they favour a multi-vendor
approach?
A.
The entire notion of multi-
vendor support really sprung
from the customers’ desire to
protect existing investments
or functionality. Our research
indicates this is especially so
in enterprise customers, while
small customers don’t seem
particularly attached to their
devices (aside from brand
preference).
Q.
Does this extend to
production print as well? Or
do businesses prefer to keep
the print room separate from
office printing?
A.
Absolutely not!
Overwhelmingly, CRD customers
have unified their contracts.
Q.
Does standardising on
equipment from one supplier
make it more difficult to
change supplier at the end of
a contract?
A.
Not really, but multiple lines
of business do make you more
sticky with your customers.
Print optimisation
or business process
improvement?
Q.
How successful have
MPS providers been at
expanding existing MPS
agreements to incorporate
elements of business process
improvement?
A.
This is an area that we are
watching more closely than
ever. Sadly, we haven’t seen
channel providers be as good
at expanding into business
process and workflow offerings
as we had hoped might be the
case. In some cases, strong
MPS providers are quite happy
with the money being made in
MPS, while others don’t feel
comfortable that the business
model is as repeatable.
Q.
Is this something that
tends to occur in 2nd or 3rd
generation contracts or is it
becoming a feature of first
generation contracts as well?
A.
We are certainly seeing
customers really asking for
this, at least in the larger
accounts. That is, customers
are becoming more outcome-
focused, so attacking an entire
business process is more
attractive (and perceived as
higher-value). However, we see
a gap in what providers are
offering and what customers
say they want – still.
Q.
Are SME customers
interested in this aspect of
MPS or do most just want
device consolidation and
optimisation?
A.
Most MPS customers are still
very interested in cost reduction
and control. This could be
because of a true desire to
reduce costs or because there
is a lack of awareness anything
else is possible.
MPS & page volumes
Q.
Is MPS accelerating the
decline in print volumes?
A.
MPS isn’t impacting the
number of pages being printed;
so much as it is impacting how
much customers are paying for
the pages they are printing.
Q.
Are solutions and services
compensating for lower
hardware and consumable
costs or is the print industry
eating itself?
A.
After living on all sides of
this equation for the past 10
years (customer, dealer and
OEM), I prefer to think of it as
right-sizing itself. This is the new
reality we have to live with.
Q.
What are some of the
tactics suppliers are adopting
to make up for falling
hardware/supplies revenue?
A.
We are seeing OEMs take
many different approaches.
Generally, these involve
expansion into adjacent
markets or entering new
markets. Some are focused on
business as usual, clamping
down on costs to leverage
existing investments.
MPS & print technologies
Q.
Has the rise of MPS
influenced the design of
modern print devices in any
way?
A.
We believe that the broader
trends of transparency and
standardisation have had more
to do with influencing modern
print devices than MPS.
Q.
Has it encouraged the
use of remanufactured and
compatible supplies by MPS
providers?
A.
Yes. This has primarily been
driven by independent providers
who are very profit-minded.
Q.
Are business inkjets an
attractive option for MPS
providers? If so, why?
A.
We are bullish on the new
page wide array technologies
from Memjet and HP. While
overcoming laser-bias will
be very difficult, the quality,
speed and costs quickly match
mainstream laser technology.
Q.
What challenges
does BYOD present to
MPS providers and their
customers? And how are they
being addressed?
A.
Centralised management
strategies continue to be difficult
when applied to the world of
the decentralised office. Skype,
Webex and readily available
broadband access make
teleworking more than possible
– it’s become preferable in
many situations. However, the
cost-benefit barrier remains
difficult to bridge for SMEs.
MPS & security
Q.
Is data security a big driver
for MPS adoption?
A.
It is becoming a bigger part
of the picture. While security
is at the forefront in traditional
IT sales, security isn’t an
overriding decision point.
Most remain very fixated with
operational costs.
Q.
Do MPS and associated
security solutions mainly
protect against inadvertent or
accidental mis-use of data or
can they also thwart thieves?
A.
Well, we’ve heard quite a few
stories of toner thieves losing
their franchise.
To find out more about
Transform 2013 Europe
or to register to attend,
please visit
http://europe2013.
photizogroup.com