Questions to ask print management companies

Print management has evolved into something far more comprehensive than device repairs and supplies. It’s now a strategic consideration for businesses of all sizes, and with a strong print management strategy in place, your business can operate more efficiently.

Given the complexity of the modern print environment, you’ll likely need assistance from a managed print services (MPS) provider. With so many on the market, choosing the right one for your needs is tricky, but the following questions will help you narrow the field:

Can you offer the flexibility, integration and scalability we need?

Your print setup is unique, which is why you’ll need to find an MPS provider who can adapt to your environment.

Any solution provided will need to integrate tightly with your existing IT setup in order to minimise disruption to users, but it should also be easy to scale as your business grows.

Is your solution secure?

Security is on the minds of all businesses in the digital age, and with 63% of organisations claiming they’ve suffered a print-related data breach, a robust approach to security by your MPS provider is non-negotiable.

Find out how they secure the data that moves from your devices to printers, how it’s released and whether or not you’ll be given tools to control access on a per-user basis.

Printing breaches come in many forms, from confidential data being left on printer trays to unauthorised access of documents stored on the network or cloud. It’s something you simply can’t leave to chance, which is why you should get this question in early.

What reporting capabilities will you provide us with?

There’s no such thing as ‘set-and-forget’ in modern printing; you need to be able to harness the data your infrastructure generates and use it to your advantage.

Reporting capabilities you should expect an MPS provider to offer include the ability to monitor print usage in real time (to aid with security) and the ability to drill down into the detail of your document workflows to ensure people are working efficiently.

Will our solution be tailored?

No two print environments are the same. For that reason, your MPS provider shouldn’t be inclined to provide a one-size-fits-all solution for your business.

Look for providers who offer a flexible approach to MPS that enables you to add functionality and capabilities as your business grows and your needs change.

They’ll also need to demonstrate a desire to help you identify cost-savings and tailor the solution further so that it can offer a measurable return on investment.

How approachable is it for end users?

If you implement an MPS solution that’s too cumbersome or complex for your business’s needs, users will bear the brunt.

Ask any prospective MPS providers how easy their solution will be for end users. Will adoption be smooth, and how much hand-holding is on offer during the implementation?

Equally, you need to be confident that your IT department won’t experience an increased burden on their services as a result of the new printing environment; it should be easy to configure and manage as users come and go and the demands of your printing change.

Is it future-proof?

The final question is perhaps the most important.

The last thing you want to do is invest in an MPS solution only to find that it’s superseded twelve months later by something that requires a complete overhaul of your printing environment.

Ask your MPS provider if their solution is best-of-breed and future-proof and steer clear of systems that are custom-built, because they’ll almost certainly be overtaken by the rapid pace of change in printing.