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The economy is having a profound effect on many industries, and the MPS market is no exception. Although the current economic climate certainly presents a challenge, a down economy can also bring many benefits to the MPS sector. The technologies that enable MPS are vastly improving and enabling companies to provide better services for their customers. Customers recognize that business models are starting to change. They are thinking about their past purchases, which were traditionally transactional, and recognizing the shift toward managed services. The ways that customers are being charged and the types of services they are paying for are also changing. Partnerships are flourishing, competition is becoming fiercer, and customer behaviors/desires are changing. What is MPS? The definition provided below encompasses InfoTrends’ idea of what a true MPS agreement should be. Continuous improvements are what differentiate MPS today from traditional copier services (e.g., break/fix, ongoing supplies replenishment). Professional and Managed Print Services are services-led offerings that help companies solve their pain points (typically surrounding management costs and/or document processes) by delivering continuous improvements, particularly related to an organization’s print, copy, and document environments. The Perfect Storm InfoTrends continues to believe that an MPS “perfect storm” is rising. The economy is having a profound impact on organizations as they strive to cut costs. More and more businesses are seeking ways to streamline their operations, and this means a great deal of opportunity for managed print services. Vendors are coming out with devices that can help businesses compete in the MPS market. Traditional copier/A3 vendors are beginning to move into the A4 space by delivering multifunctional peripherals (MFPs) and printer-centric devices. Meanwhile, printer vendors that have traditionally played in the A4 space are moving into the A3 space. Some companies are creating partnerships to ease this transition. Office equipment dealers have been offering a balanced deployment of A3 and A4 devices, and most customers appreciate this balanced approach because they want both types of devices in their offices. At the same time, however, having this balanced approach requires management to provide the most optimized environment. The big threat to A3 and A4 manufacturers alike is the competitive forces that are driving both sectors. A4 devices are capturing A3 pages in balanced deployments, and A3 manufacturers are offering competitively-priced supplies. MPS is about capturing all the pages within a customer’s environment, whether they are from A3 or A4 devices. Are You Suffering from Marketing Myopia? The late Theodore Levitt (1925-2006), a marketing executive turned economist and a professor for Harvard University, coined the term “marketing myopia” in the 1960s. Simply put, marketing myopia is an inability to see the big picture, an unwillingness to acknowledge it, or a lack of understanding about what to do about it. According to Theodore Levitt, the attributes of Marketing Myopia are as follows:
As is the case with so many industries, vendors really have to see the bigger picture and understand what is going on behind the scenes to take full advantage of the MPS opportunity. InfoTrends’ report Understanding the Future of MPS provides archive and forecast data to provide a better overview of the MPS market and its future potential. It also addresses the challenges of MPS engagements and provides an improved process for those interested in implementing it. For more information on this and other InfoTrends reports visit our online store or contact Robyn Wuori at +1 ext. 103 or e-mail . |
