MPS providers have been thrown many curve balls over the last decade. Covid-19 was just the latest in a string of circumstances and technological transformations facing MPS. These difficulties have disrupted the managed print services industry and they likely won’t be the last. Business automation requirements for vendors have steadily increased, requiring that MPS providers keep up with digital transformation and technology innovations. Industry leaders are being expected to meet the challenges with systems that serve the needs of their business clients who are pushing to transform how they do business.

More than ever before, businesses are changing how their operations and workforce utilize corporate offices. They are fragmenting their employees into hybrid workplace environments spread over multiple venues. Work at home, staggard in office shifts are being deployed along with numerous other variations that make up the new normal of the hybrid workplace. These changes have been coming for some time, however, they have been forcibly pressed into service by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year.

Well before the pandemic, most large and mid-sized brands were on a mission to undergo digital transformation. But what is digital transformation?

Digital transformation is often described as the transformation of business to integrate technologies, processes and priorities that allow for an overall more efficient, competitive and effective operation. source fondalo.com In this article there are some incredible facts about digital transformation that MPS providers need to pay attention to. You must understand the effects of Covid-19 as well as the transformation of business and the hybrid workplace.

Digital Transformation Facts

– more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies that existed 20 years ago, either are no longer in business or are no longer on the list.

– many of the current fortune 500’s did not even exist as companies just 20 years ago.

– as many as 40% of today’s F500 companies on the S&P 500 will no longer exist in 10 years.

– entire industries along with major brands have died because they failed to digitally transform.

How Managed Print Services Providers Must Transform

Recently Quocirca released their Managed Print Services Market Landscape 2021 report. It is no longer a secret what is at the door for MPS. Let’s go through some of the findings of the executive summary from the Quocirca report.

MPS leaders are differentiating beyond traditional print services.

MPS leaders are offering broad service offerings across office and production print environments. They are also delivering on the digital transformation of business process automation. Offerings by MPS leaders that focus on security services and solutions portfolio along with distributed environments and cloud print services are standing out in the crowd.

Slow recovery of office print volumes.

• 77% of those brands who were surveyed indicated that paper is fairly or very important to their business, down 10% from 2019.
• Large companies are more print-dependent than smaller and European counterparts.
• HALF of the respondents reported a decrease in office print volumes since the start of the pandemic.
• As companies continue to reduce print-based processes, it is clear that a return to pre-pandemic print volumes is unlikely.

MPS spend growth is slowing.

• 53% of respondents expect to increase MPS spending in the coming year. This is a drop from 79% in 2019.
• The US remains the most positive about MPS spend, with 73% expecting it to increase, though that’s down from 84% in 2019.

MPS being used to support the new hybrid workplace.

• Outsourced MPS is showing to be the perfect fit for the future hybrid workplace.
• 56% of companies with fully outsourced MPS have provided printers for remote workers, compared with only 42% of those using a hybrid model.
• Provisioning printers for the home worker can combat shadow IT purchasing. This allows companies to control devices accessing their network and data.

On-line purchasing of home printers has filled MPS provider supply gaps.

• While 52% indicated that they used their MPS supplier to procure home printers, 44% indicated that these were purchased online.
• 10% purchased using a B2B online store such as Amazon Business.
• This highlights the changing nature of B2B purchasing. This is particularly through the pandemic where speed of purchase and delivery was critical to ensuring remote workers were set up quickly for home working.

Cloud adoption accelerates.

• As businesses adjust the physical space and infrastructure changes, as well as to adapt to a large number of remote users, cloud-based print management and advanced analytics can play a core role in print environment redesign and deployment.
• 75% of companies expect to see greater use of cloud print management by 2025.

MPS as a digital enabler.

• Companies continue to see MPS as a key component of their digital transformation efforts.
• 37% saying MPS is very important to digital transformation in their organization.
• Companies have accelerated digital transformation programs to lessen the impact of COVID-19.
• MPS providers should be capitalizing on the current climate by assisting brands with business automation processes and workflows and aiding remote collaboration and print management.

Read the executive summary here

What Does This Mean To MPS Providers?

In the current business climate, companies desperately need solutions that further their ability to adjust and manage the challenges of today. They’re facing obstacles with remote employees, fragmented corporate real estate consumption, and the hybrid workplace. Managed Print Services software solutions are the critical components that will enable MPS providers to help their customers digitally transform. Furthermore, it helps automate customer business processes and reduces their overall costs. Automation, end-to-end print fleet, and purchasing management along with actionable data are key to the success of the MPS industry moving forward.

Find out how PowerMPS can help you deliver what your managed print services customers need today and into the future.