3 June 2024
With rapidly rising inflation exacerbating already-existing challenges for the education sector, leasing technology currently appears to be the most cost-effective route.
Managed Services can create opportunities for organisations to gain competitive advantages.
Printing can equal as much as 15% of a company’s annual spend and establishing processes to reduce cost while optimising performance frees up valuable time, money and resources. Print-related cost can be attributed to:
-
Purchasing, leasing or renting office printers, scanners, photocopiers, multifunctional printers or fax machines
-
IT support and engineer maintenance to maintain technology.
-
Print management software and licences.
-
Consumables, including ink, toner, paper, staples, finishing materials etc.
-
Electricity used to run these devices, which are often the largest office power consumers.
-
Outsourced printing
What are Managed Services?
Managed Workplace Services is the practice of outsourcing the management responsibilities and functions of an area of expertise to establish a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses.
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a company that remotely manages aspects of a customer’s technology infrastructure or systems, typically on a proactive basis and under a subscription model.
Managed Workplace Service providers usually deliver IT and Print services, as both of these areas of a business require specialist knowledge, skills, capabilities and technology to deliver effectively – all of which are not typically viable for an organisation to deliver in-house.
Reasons Why You Should Have Managed Workplace Services
Managed Workplace Service providers use their expertise and resources to deliver technologies, software and solutions which are provided ‘as a service’. In doing so, organisations are able to leverage the specialist knowledge and expertise built up by the MSP which can be invaluable in overcoming common challenges and inefficiencies.
By analysing the specifics of day-to-day operations and identifying overspending, Managed Print Services can bring complete transparency to the way a company uses documents. From this, solutions can be tailored to an organisation, helping to minimise costs and keep them under control in the future.
Regardless of the size of an organisation, Managed Workplace Services will add value to operations by streamlining the way documents are used and managed.
Major Benefits of Managed Workplace Services
Reduce Cost
Industry research shows that companies can realise cost savings of as much as 40 percent by transitioning to Managed Print Services, while case studies have shown an even greater saving over the course of a long-term contract.
A lot of the focus for driving cost out of the print environment is on printing technology. By automating consumable management, reducing redundancies, pushing print jobs to the most commercially viable devices and establishing print policies to control usage, the overall cost of printing to an organisation can be significantly reduced.
Increase Productivity
Incorporating Managed Workplace Services frees up the IT departments time by removing the burden to assist in all 1st or 2nd line print queries that can be fixed remotely by a MSP. This allows the IT department to focus their attention on more important issues.
The remote monitoring, automated meter reading and Just-in-Time (JIT) consumable delivery service from Managed Print Suppliers ensures your document infrastructure runs smoothly, increasing up-time, productivity and efficiency. Problems are often resolved before you even knew they existed.
Increase Security
In today’s digital world we live and work in, and especially with the new GDPR legislation being introduced in May 2018, it is surprising how many companies still don’t have effective control over the security of their data and documents.
Providers of Managed Workplace Services can help ensure you keep your information completely secure, with the use of the latest technology for enhanced authentication, encryption and virus protection. From government approved hard drive removal to Secure Release print management, there is a range of solutions that can be tailored to solve various insecurities.
Minimise Waste
A lot of print output that is produced in many office environments is non-essential printing – the production of pages that, for whatever reason, are simply discarded, recycled, or left abandoned at the device and never even used. Studies have indicated that businesses could reduce paper consumption by as much as 50 percent by simply eliminating non-essential printing.
Managed Workplace Services help to reduce wastage through a variety of means. Setting print policies such as double-sided mono printing as the default setting, for example, can have a significant impact. Rationalising a print fleet by reducing the number of overall devices and optimising the machines for their intended usage can also dramatically minimise waste.
Improved Workflows
Companies who gain access to a range of innovative technology and the best software and hardware available in the marketplace from independent Managed Workplace Service Providers can streamline their document processes and workflows.
Apogee’s 1-Touch™, for example, can be tailored to existing workflows to automate common document processes at the touch of a button. Similarly, Apogee’s Zapp™ allows staff and visitors to print from devices or MFDs via their smartphones, without needing to load any apps. Integrating such technologies as part of a Managed Workplace Services solution can really simplify and modernise business processes.
Mobile Workforce
To drive digital transformation, organisations need to support an ever increasing mobile and collaborative workforce by making their products and services accessible anywhere, from any device, at any time.
Connecting smart devices to print devices allows technologies to blend and staff to take advantage of multi-functional device capabilities while on the move or when at client meetings. No longer should location be a restraint to your print and document requirements.
Transparency
Traditionally, clarity over print usage and associated costs has been notoriously difficult for organisations to understand. An unmanaged print environment means devices and consumables are often bought and administered at department level, with no overall responsibility to create a connected technological environment. Staff end up not being able to use different technologies in different offices, increasing load on IT tickets and support requests.
Managed Workplace Services enable organisations to track and report on print usage. A fixed payment to cover all service, maintenance and consumable requirements not only provides total transparency, but also allows companies to predict future costs and budget accordingly.
Apogee Managed Workplace Services
Apogee is Europe’s largest independent provider of print, document and process technology and outsourced document services. Their reputation as the first choice provider for multi-vendor print technology and service is built on the unique approach taken to Managed Workplace Services.
Leveraging Managed Workplace Services from Apogee provides complete peace of mind that your document infrastructure is securely and reliably being handled by leading industry experts. With an optimised print environment, you can be sure that you are benefitting from maximum efficiency and productivity, with minimal wastage. Apogee’s market-leading Managed Workplace Services provide:
-
Unique pro-active remote monitoring of your document technology and infrastructure
-
Full control and accountability over SLAs, with all service operations delivered in-house
-
Pre-emptive fault avoidance and automated toner supply
-
More than 30% of faults fixed remotely
-
Nationwide on-site servicing and support
-
Fleet management to maximise performance
-
Independence allows Apogee to offer best-of-breed software and hardware
-
Industry leading Professional Services team of 40+ specialists
Managed Workplace Services in Your Organisation
Does your company currently leverage Managed Workplace Services to optimise your print and document operations? If not, then you may be missing out on some of the significant opportunities and benefits discussed in this article.
Get in touch with Apogee today by completing the contact form below to start your journey to digital transformation and optimise your organisations performance.
