Ahmad Alkasaby, Marketing Director of Saudi Xerox talks about finding the right print management partner

Managed Print Services (MPS) are becoming increasingly popular and there is no question that when it comes to Print management partnering with a reliable solution provider, will yield a more comprehensive print strategy with more benefits.

Print management has moved far beyond fixing machines and managing supplies. Now it’s a key strategic consideration for your business, helping you operate more efficiently, cut costs, streamline processes and provide better service to employees and customers.

Print management providers are raising their game, and offerings are constantly evolving to meet the needs of a fast-changing marketplace. But not all MPS solution providers are created equal, and you should take the time to properly evaluate their print management offerings and find out whether they can meet the needs of your organization.

Saudi Xerox offers industry-leading print management services, to help customers navigate and streamline their end-to-end printing operation. By offering continuous production and machine service optimizations, Saudi Xerox enables printers to bring down the cost of everyday operations, freeing them from constraints of time and the nuisance of scheduling. On the other hand, Saudi Xerox proved itself to be digital transformation champion in the Kingdom helping printers automate their entire process and create added value for their customers. Meanwhile. automation and print management require a whole new mindset and a different approach from customers as well. Saudi Xerox helps printers and companies adapt to the new post covid realities as well as the future.

In order to find out what are the essential considerations before jumping to print management bandwagon we sat down with Ahmad Alkasaby, Marketing Director of Saudi Xerox and here are the excerpts:

Ahmad Alkasaby, Marketing Director of Saudi Xerox

1- When it comes to choosing the right company to handle our print management services What is the first criteria to assess a print management supplier?

How secure is their solution? A large number of organizations said they’d had a print-related data breach. That’s a pretty sobering statistic, and one we all need to be concerned about. Printing breaches could be anything from confidential information lying around in printer trays waiting to be collected, to unauthorized access of documents stored on your network or in the cloud. Not to mention the security challenges posed by the unstoppable rise of bring your own device (BYOD).

Robust security is an absolute must when it comes to a print management solution. Be sure to ask your prospective provider:

How they secure data as it moves from computers to printers

How they release that information securely

Whether or not they can set you up with access controls for different users

Just as important, make sure their print management security works seamlessly with your existing security setup.

2- Digital transformation helps printers drive down the cost

During past weeks printing industry’s heavy weights announced price hike on their products and equipment. Apparently, the price increase which impacts consumables as well as equipment is mainly due to the rise in raw material such as copper, aluminum, plastics, additives, sheet metal and wood, and higher shipping and logistics costs. Another reason is the global chip shortage. Worldwide, prices for many industrial metals and electronics have risen rapidly. Even wood, which is needed for packaging for transport, is in short supply. On the other hand, many paper manufacturers also have already announced price increase by up to 11%.

Meanwhile, Manufacturers say the increase is moderate. Of course, moderate is a vague word and manufacturers and customers each have their own interpretation of the word. But it seems the increase is in region of double digit.  What does all this mean for printers who are already facing shrinking orders and customers? There is no doubt with the printing industry already under pressure and many print service providers struggling to maintain profitable margins, these price increases are likely to add additional stress to the financial picture for many printers.

3- What about reporting capabilities?

Print management solutions shouldn’t take a set-and-forget approach. Your print environment is constantly evolving, so extracting insight from data is crucial for continuous improvement.

In deed You should look for reporting capabilities that are dynamic: analyzing and monitoring usage in real time to help you improve security, accountability and efficiency. Ideally, you should be able to drill down to get to the detail behind the headline numbers and customize reports so they’re directly relevant to your goals and KPIs.

Look into report generation and schedules, as well as delivery mechanisms (e.g. email or dashboard). Also, find out if the print management company has the in-house expertise to turn raw data into business intelligence, so they can add value to your bottom line.

4- Does Print management suppliers in general offer a one-size-fits-all solution or a tailored one?

It’s important when you’re evaluating an MPS solution that you’re getting true ROI – that you’re paying for what you’re using, but no more. A modular approach with flexibility is a must if you’re to fully benefit from the cost savings the solution can deliver. You can add modules as your organization grows and your needs change. And just as importantly, you can remove modules if you need to scale back. This flexible, pay-as-you-go approach optimizes your return on investment and ensures predictable, budgetable costs. Make sure you aren’t being tied down by a rigid contract.

5- How complicated print management solutions are?

Your print management solution needs to balance the sometimes-opposing needs of users and your IT department. Users want easy, friction-free printing anywhere, at any time, on any device. They should be able to access, route, scan and share documents easily and efficiently, whether they’re on-site, on the move, or working from home. But that freedom and flexibility shouldn’t come at the price of an increased burden on your IT department. They want a solution that’s easy to configure and administer, as they add printers and users, and adapt to the changing demands of a busy print environment.

6- Are they scalable?

This is a key question to ask your MPS solution provider. No print environment stands still as a company grows and expands. New users, departments and offices, both at home and abroad, make for a complex setup. Add in new technologies and working practices, such as mobile working and a flexible, scalable approach is a must. So it’s crucial to ask if there are limits on the number of MFPs a solution can handle, and how it will manage multi-site or multi-national infrastructures.

7-  assume cost saving is a crucial feature of MPS, how can I make sure the solution supplier is offering cuts the overall cost of day to day print operations?

Make sure you ask your MPS solution provider whether their offering gives detailed insight into print usage and costs, identifying areas for savings and efficiencies. You should be able to get a detailed breakdown of usage patterns that you can slice and dice any way you want – by user, device, department, print server or office. You can see whether you’re getting maximum return on infrastructure investment (analyzing under- or over-utilised printers), operating as efficiently as possible (with printer locations optimized for workgroups) and achieving economies of scale (ordering supplies centrally and proactively).

8- What if I opt for custom- built solutions developed in-house?

Many print management solutions are developed in-house. On the face of it, that’s great. The downside is that they’re often not full-service offerings. So they’re not as robust as a partner solution that’s backed by industry expertise and extensive, hands-on experience across thousands of customers over many years. Custom-built solutions are often overtaken by the rapid pace of change and are unable to adapt to new technologies or scale with speed and ease. A partner solution is built on industry best practices, and constantly evolves to handle the latest technological advances and working practices.

With so much choice among print management companies, asking the right questions is essential. Getting the answers to your questions will help you make the right choice – for your users, IT department, customers and business.

“As Saudi Xerox, we ensure that our customer experience is focused on smooth transition from current challenges to resilient offerings on value added services, making us a strong and reliable partner on the long run in KSA” said Ahmad.