Four Benefits of Managed Print Services (MPS) for Schools and Colleges

As part of our ongoing Case Study series with Craven College on their deployment of Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed IT Services (MITS) within the Education Sector at Apogee, we wanted to delve deeper into Four Benefits of Managed Print Services (MPS) for Schools and Colleges in the UK Education Sector.

Printing has and will remain an integral and necessary component of day-to-day operation for all education organisations, whether schools, colleges or universities. Through key stages, 1 - 3, and onward to higher education, with multiple campuses involved, printing infrastructure and its daily maintenance and upkeep can be burdensome to operations and the internal IT department. These burdens caused by the current print infrastructure can not only be mitigated but essentially eradicated by engaging with a Managed Print Services (MPS) provider such as Apogee.

Managed Print Services (MPS) enable schools, colleges or universities to control their printing costs alongside optimising their IT and Print environment. Throughout the UK education sector, there is a growing demand for more effective and efficient print solutions that combat cost and help achieve sustainability goals. A constantly evolving educational environment, spurred on by the increasing demand for technological improvements and transformation, requires solutions that enable digital transformation for how they operate.

For over three decades, Apogee has provided Managed Print Services (MPS) to the Public Sector and, more specifically, the education sector. Our unique and indispensable experience within the Managed Print Services (MPS) industry allows Apogee to provide the knowledge and skills needed to guide the deployment and implementation of the right solution for your education organisation. Our modular approach to Managed Print Services (MPS) and our Managed Workplace Service (MWS) offerings adapt specifically to your needs, whether in primary or secondary schools, to colleges and universities. At Apogee, we understand that the varying requirements for your school or campus differ from any other, and we provide a solution that differs from any other.

Educational institutions that proactively utilise a Managed Print Service (MPS) reduce printing costs, maximise productivity, and ensure data security and regulatory compliance. But most importantly, employing a Managed Print Service (MPS) provider delivers a reliable and accessible print environment for all students and faculty. Gareth Dixon, VP of Craven College, highlighted this transition speaking to Apogee when he said, "We're finding that every curriculum area that we work in has got an increase in dependency upon technology. So having a reliable technology base on which to operate from has proven essential."

Below we have compiled four benefits of Managed Print Services (MPS) for schools and colleges.

Benefit #1 – Control Of Your Printing Costs

The first in our four benefits of Managed Print Services (MPS) for schools and colleges centres on reducing and controlling your printing costs. Reducing and controlling your printing costs becomes even more applicable to the education sector, which relies on a limited operational budget for technology and device investment. Gareth Dixon, VP of Finance at Craven College, succinctly explained this issue facing schools, colleges and universities when he explained to Apogee, "In my opinion, we don't get paid as much as we should do from central government, and that makes a large capital investment unaffordable. Technology can also cost money when you're least expecting it. With Apogee, we know exactly how much we'll be paying for the next four years."

There are several facets to how a Managed Print Service (MPS) provider can help control printing costs. Through the utilisation of Managed Print Services (MPS), a specialist, such as Apogee, can manage all your document capabilities, and costs can be significantly reduced due to this. Your print fleet can be overhauled and improved by removing unnecessary devices and technological services that are not fit for purpose but create inefficiencies for your workforce and workplace. By eliminating these inefficiencies in your IT estate, cost reductions of 20% to 30% can be achieved.

Your organisation can make further savings and thus gain greater control of your current printing costs, as Managed Print Services (MPS) enable all your print needs to be delivered under contractual agreements. These contractual agreements can include a one-off monthly fee to cover all remote monitoring, toner and consumables, delivery and engineer maintenance. These agreements allow your organisation to have complete control over print costs and, therefore, effectively budget or forecast accordingly depending on the needs of staff and students.

"Technology can also cost money when you're least expecting it. With Apogee, we know exactly how much we'll be paying for the next four years."
– Adrian Lawson

Benefit #2 – Maintenance with Service Excellence

Apogee's Managed Print Services (MPS) for schools, colleges, and universities are defined by the 'Service Excellence' we provide through our maintenance and servicing provided to an education establishment's print estate. With 200+ engineers cross-trained across all of Apogee's Managed Workplace Services (MWS) offerings, it is the ideal way to ensure that the maintenance and up-time of your print infrastructure remain reliable and superior for your students and faculty. At Apogee, the provision of our 'Service Excellence' for print maintenance and up-time is a vital element for all education organisations in the UK sector.

Apogee provides remote monitoring through our Managed Print Services (MPS), automated meter reading and just-in-time consumable delivery service. These benefits from our Managed Print Service (MPS) solutions ensure your document infrastructure runs smoothly, increasing up-time, productivity, and overall efficiency. This increase in efficiency and productivity is a crucial element for any education organisation, one that can only be achieved through our dedicated team offering exceptional maintenance with our 'Service Excellence'.

"we literally couldn't have done the project without Apogee, we've only got a small team"
– Adrian Lawson

Benefit #3 – Enhanced Security

Security for your print infrastructure is the third of our four Managed Print Services (MPS) benefits for your school, college, or university.

As part of a Managed Print Service (MPS), Apogee can identify security risks within your print infrastructure through the initial investigation and assessment of your current print structure. With HP's innovative products and Apogee's thirty years in the Managed Print industry, we have the experience and expertise to mitigate future security risks with a tailored plan while rectifying current security issues. Ponemon's 2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small and Mid-Sized Businesses showed that a staggering 61% of companies surveyed had faced a cyber attack in the past 12 months, while 54% of these companies suffered a data breach involving employee or customer information.

By utilising Apogee's Managed Print Services (MPS), whether in your school, college or university, the security of your print infrastructure remains a priority, a fundamental tenet of working with a Managed Workplace Services (MWS) provider. It was why Adrian Lawson, head of IT management, decided on the Apogee solution; he explained, "I was looking for best of breed, something reliable, something secure. It really needed to guarantee the performance over the duration of the contract."

"I was looking for best of breed, something reliable, something secure."
– Adrian Lawson

Benefit #4 – Reduce Waste and Environmental Footprint

The final benefit of our four benefits of a Managed Print Service (MPS) provider in the education sector is reducing your print infrastructure's waste and environmental footprint.

Every organisation is responsible for reducing its environmental footprint and waste. Reducing the amount of paper used, the quantity of electricity utilised, and the print consumables your organisation uses are all part of a sustainable workplace, but one which is even more critical in educational organisations. Schools, colleges and universities are keenly suited to adapting green initiatives, as students are increasingly voicing their growing concerns over environmental issues like climate change and renewable energy. Engaging with a Managed Print Services (MPS) provider such as Apogee can assuage these concerns from students over environmental impact.

By providing a Remote Monitoring system within your Managed Print Service (MPS), your organisation can identify and track levels of print usage. Through Remote Management of your Managed Print Service (MPS), your school, college or university will ideally be aware and better positioned to intervene and reduce its environmental footprint.

Furthermore, by engaging with a Managed Print Service (MPS) provider, Print policies can be introduced into your document workflows to reduce wastage. Mono, double-sided print defaults mean less colour and less paper is accidentally used, while follow-me printing ensures print jobs are only released when users log into the device and select the print jobs themselves. This can save up to 20% of print output, which is typically left at print devices, only to be discarded insecurely.