MPS: It makes sense

Alok Bharadwaj
Senior Vice-President, Canon India

It is time to jump into the world of managed print services. According to Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice-President, Canon India, the managed print services market continues to experience explosive growth. The research firm IDC, APEJ estimates managed print services market at US$530 million in 2010 and is estimated to reach $990 million by 2014. Another study conducted by Photizo Group names Asia-Pacific as the fastest-growing MPS region, with six of the top ten fastest growth countries, led by India.   

As the technology is redefining the way, the businesses are being transacted the solutions software services are becoming increasingly a lot more critical to the success of the businesses. That realization is occurring more and more as India is getting more globalised. Competition across the world and therefore the best practices in the organizations need to be in line and at par with the best in the world. More so in the large corporates because the whole competitiveness is the more sustainable edge for any country and for that matter any country would stick to pursue.  

Time has come now where organizations are beginning to look at the end objective of every business process they are looking at how they can make it more cost effective. They are also looking at as to how they can make the process more efficient. “Managed print service is not merely a cost-saving formula, it is a new paradigm, it is a whole new way of looking at print, copying and documentation activities that happen in any organization. We feel that this is the best proposition that can be offered to the large corporates as well as in the mid-segment and in future to the small enterprises whereby the organizations can make themselves more efficient, cost-effective and can better control the whole printing environment and architecture and make their whole operations secure and more confidential and that is the need of the hour. And that is the reason the Canon is now pursuing MPS to be one of our critical strategies,” says Alok.  

"India presents huge growth opportunities for MPS as large businesses continue to use paper and traditional means of storage and there is an increased need for automation within enterprises. IDC predicts that enterprises spend 10% of their revenues on document products, management and distribution," says Vipin Tuteja, Executive Director - Marketing, Business Support & International Business, Xerox India.   

V Balakrishnan,
Head - MDS,
Ricoh India Limited

“MPS market is expected to grow exponentially in India over the next three to five years. There have been various estimates by research agencies on the volume of demand.  Without getting into a debate on the value, I reckon, MPS will form between 35% to 40% of the total revenue generated by print devices - HW, SW, Consumables and Services,” says V Balakrishnan, Head - Managed Document Services (MDS), Ricoh India Limited. 

Ashwini K. Aggarwal,
Domain Observer & Industry Person

According to Ashwini K Aggarwal, Domain Observer & Industry Person, “Managed Print Services is another arena where the enterprise IT has started seeing immediate gains because print resources are acquired randomly in the organization - and are substantially underutilized.” 

MPS is now at a reckoning stage in India. Most print majors - HP, Xerox, Canon, Ricoh and Lexmark - are sharpening their GTM and wetting their feet in this opportunity.  In fact, almost all the major players are reorganizing to take the paradigm shift. 

“The advantages of managed print services can be enormous. The managed print services model is cost-effective because it offers enterprises a way to make the most of their capital by fulfilling their IT needs,” says Alok.   

In India, CIOs have long been focussing on making IT a driver for growth and bring down operational costs.  However, printing was an afterthought when it comes to managing IT costs.  But this is changing fast as CIOs understand the cost implications, complexity and the risk involved in operating an unmanaged print environment.  Managed Printing Solutions (MPSs) are increasingly being recognized as a strategic business tool to manage IT costs and to improve workflow efficiency. 

Managed Print Services for SMEs 

Going by the recent trends, it seems that managed print services are no longer the preserve of large organizations as SMEs are looking to this model to lower costs. As a matter of fact, those who don't have the manpower, equipment or experience to build out their IT offerings are prime customers for the services of an MSP. 

An increasing number of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are coming to grips with the managed print services model, thanks to its ability to cut costs and reduce the need for capital equipment - both hardware and software. The reason for growing adoption among the SMEs is not far to seek. The managed print services model with its contract-guaranteed levels of performance has the potential of offering a much more permanent solution to the cost-sensitive SME market. 

In the recent times, a greater adoption of managed services within the SMB segment in India is being witnessed. To maximize opportunities for themselves as well as to address unique needs of different SMBs cost-effectively, service providers are offering managed print services  

Verticals

Nitin Hiranandani,
Director, Managed Enterprise Services,
HP IPG

Almost all sectors have witnessed a growing demand for managed print services. The key industry verticals that are adopting Managed Print Services include banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, broadband, rentals, BPO,  education,  hospitality, manufacturing, logistics industries, etc. “We expect all key verticals like IT, BFSI, government, retail and Telecom to adopt managed print services as the benefits become apparent,” says Nitin Hiranandani, Director, Managed Enterprise Services, HP IPG.  

Opportunities for Channel Partners

Vipin Tuteja,
Executive Director-Marketing,
Bus.Support & International Bus.
Xerox India

As the organizations matured, they have long ceased to look at printing as a discretionary expense and pays in the long run like any other IT asset. Therefore, Managed Print Services is and will continue to gain more visibility among organizations. This offers a huge market opportunity for resellers who are looking to expand into the printing enterprise market.  Nitin says, “There is also a need for resellers to move away from a transaction-led business model to a value-added business model. As the industry leader, HP is well equipped to help our partners analyze, implement and maintain a suitable printing environment for their customers.  We have been able to prove anywhere between 15-30 per cent savings in Printing and Imaging costs with our 'Managed Print Services' offerings.”

V Balakrishnan is of the opinion that Managed Print Services provide resellers with a great platform to provide value-added services. Today, time is ripe for channel partners who are willing to become managed services providers. In the past, they had to make significant investments in software, hardware, training and personnel to become MSPs. However, with the emergence of third-party vendors who are responsible for the delivery of helpdesk and management/monitoring services, it has become somewhat easy for the channel partners to scale up their businesses without increasing their investment.  

Though offering managed print services may be easy today, channel partners need to ensure that they are providing the right managed print services.  

Finally...

The MPS market has evolved over the years, and today it has become a core business process in every enterprise. Enterprises, which have not yet leveraged MPS, are looking at it as a potential business enabler. There are several factors that have led to the growth and the need for document management. One of the prominent factors being observed in the document management space is that most of the medium and large organizations are consistently on the lookout for ways to cut costs and increase profits. However, very few of these enterprises access and manage documents (the lifeblood of business processes and a key source of costs).

For more contact: Deepak Singh 
edit@varindia.com