Technology trends in managed print services

With digital transformation hot on the agenda for both small and large enterprises around the world, you simply cannot afford to ignore the trend. While going completely paperless is not an option for most organisations jumping on the digital transformation train, thanks to Managed Print Services (MPS), you can operate all of your print-related tasks, budgets and associated analytics in the cloud from a single platform. This enables organisations to save time, minimise costs, reduce their carbon footprint and improve information security drastically, with ongoing on-demand support and maintenance included too.

As new technology innovations continue to disrupt different markets in the digital economy, MPS technology innovations are just as agile to ensure that your digital transformation efforts extend across the entirety of your business operations.

With this mind, let’s explore some of the latest technology trends and benefits you can expect from MPS for your business.

What are Managed Print Services?

First things first, you might be wondering what Managed Print Services are and how they can benefit your business. Well, in a nutshell, Managed Print Services provide organisations with an end-to-end solution for controlling, monitoring, automating, securing, conserving and servicing printing tasks and devices.

Toshiba MPS, for example, adopts a dedicated, long-term approach to streamlining the entire document process. This includes data capturing, document archiving, document workflow, data security, and environmental management. You can rely on Toshiba Managed Print Services for devices that print, copy, scan, and fax, and for the maintenance of printers as well as management of consumables. The full operating costs incurred in printing and document infrastructure will also be tracked across the organisation with real-time access to dashboards and forecasting tools for your network of devices. With this enhancement, you will enjoy dedicated proactive account management, output management solutions, enhanced security, consolidated billing services, green-office advice, and the convenience of a single point of contact.

How is all of this achieved? Read on to find out.

Real-time monitoring and automation

From managing costs and document workflows to maintaining device operations and preventing security threats, you can do it all with real-time threat detection, automated monitoring and built-in software validation.

In any enterprise environment, the following print-related issues can be resolved through innovative technology solutions:

Device operations management

The operational status of print, scan, copy and fax devices, and their related consumables, can be automatically managed through a centralised tool that monitors device performance, paper, ink and toner levels, as well as user-driven output volumes.

This provides management with insight into which devices receive the most and least activity, which users or departments print the most and the total cost of this printing, as well as automatically alerting management when paper, ink or toner levels are low.

Document workflows

With the help of your MPS solutions provider you can customize document workflows that enable you to:

• Digitise document capture and routing capabilities;
• Automate manual, paper-based processes;
• Scan and digitise paper documents using character recognition software; and
• Integrate your MPS system with your Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and other enterprise systems for added functionality.

Information security

With automatic threat detection capabilities, you can rest assured that any suspicious activity or hacking attempts are immediately flagged and stopped. Further to this, to prevent confidential information falling into the wrong hands, you are able to hold sensitive documents in a secure server that can only be accessed by authenticated users.

Cost management

With a real-time view of incurred costs and the ability to effectively automate cost recovery and expense management processes, management can ensure that unregulated, unnecessary or costly print jobs are flagged and suspended according to pre-determined print policies. A tightly controlled budget can be set up to cover electricity usage, paper cost, ink and toner costs, human resource costs, and time - costs that can easily shoot through the roof if left unmanaged!

How to implement Managed Printing Services in your organisation

The Toshiba MPS process entails the following steps:

• Audit: this step provides an understanding of the overall cost of ownership regarding your print and document environment.
• Design: we design a solution that cuts printing costs, secures your documents, conserves resources and maximises control while streamlining your operation.
• Implementation: an easy transition with minimal disruption is achieved through the installation of innovative software, hardware, and development services and solutions.
• Management: we provide continuous support through the comprehensive maintenance of your fleet resources based on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreement (SLA).
• Review and Continuous Optimisation: we ensure that services are regularly introduced from the implementation stage forward in order to meet the SLA.

You can find out more about Toshiba’s leading Managed Print Service here.