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MPS
Xerox is looking to small and
medium-sized businesses (SMEs) for
further growth in managed print
services (MPS) and has launched
a number of new products to help
channel partners meet the needs of
this sector.
Using the definition of 5 to 1,000
employees, it has calculated that there
are 8 million SMEs in Europe and the US
with a combined spend on document
technology products and services of $40
billion. This includes printers, supplies,
software solutions and managed print
services.
To reach this market, Xerox relies on
a network of local dealers and resellers,
retailers and online merchants. It estimates
that 75% of the worldwide office market
is served by the indirect channel. In Europe
alone, it has 22,000 channel partners in 18
countries, generating $3 billion of annual
revenue for the company.
This year, Xerox expects the channel to
account for 50% of its technology business
revenue. By early 2017, it forecasts that
the proportion will have increased to two
thirds of revenue as more channel partners
deliver workflow services and solutions.
Next generation
Xerox is the world leader in MPS with a
market share of 27.8%, according to IDC,
well ahead of its nearest competitors, such
as Ricoh (14%), HP (12.4%) and Lexmark
(9.2%).
In order to maintain its dominant share,
Xerox aims to develop new markets and
in particular to grow its share of the SME
market, which remains largely untapped
and has four times the growth potential of
the large enterprise sector (72% of SMEs
in the US still don't have MPS).
Between 2014 and 2018, Xerox
expects the SME market for MPS to grow
from $14.3 billion to $20.1 billion, as
smaller organisations embrace the benefits
of MPS, including lower costs, easier printer
management, greater productivity, more
efficient processes and a smaller carbon
footprint. Over the same period, the Large
Enterprise MPS market is predicted to grow
much more slowly, from $13.1 billion to
$14.2 billion.
The challenge Xerox faces is how
to adapt its three-stage MPS model for
the channel and their SME customers.
This includes Assess & Optimise (printer
auditing and fleet right-sizing); Secure
& Integrate (the introduction of security
and mobility solutions); and Automate
& Simplify (workflow digitisation and
business process optimisation).
To this end, it has just introduced
four new tools that will enable channel
partners to deliver more sophisticated
MPS programmes. Two (i and ii) will help
resellers meet the needs of the two thirds
of SMEs that don’t yet have MPS, and
two (iii and iv) address the requirements
of SMEs that want to take an existing
MPS to a higher level through workflow
optimisation.
i) NewField IT Assessment Tool.
Partners enrolled in the Xerox Print Partner
Services Programme are being offered a
Pro version of the NewField IT Assessment
Tool at a significant discount from the
open market price. This tool helps a partner
create a baseline of an SME’s existing
printer estate and document spend and
create a roadmap showing how savings of
up to 30% can be achieved.
Elizabeth Fox, Xerox vice president,
Managed Print Services for SMB, said:
“The credibility of a document assessment
can double or triple the win rate and it
captures new pages – pages that might
not actually have ever been a part of what
the customer originally asked for help on.
For a partner, manually collecting data,
Xerox is targeting SMEs with an enhanced channel MPS programme
Xerox targets SMEs
merging it into a spreadsheet and making
that meaningful for clients is challenging
if they are not a specialist. The NewField IT
assessment tools turn an Excel spreadsheet
of data into a high-end presentation that
a management consultant would be proud
to deliver.”
ii) Xerox Enhanced Managed Supplies
Service.
Even well managed fleets may
include devices that are not on a cost per
page or click contract. For customers that
are uncomfortable with a click contract or
don’t have access to a click plan, Xerox is
introducing the Xerox Enhanced Managed
Supplies Service, which Fox describes as
“like MPS but with a transactional model”.
The just-in-time toner replenishment
service enables partners to see when a
printer needs new consumables and place
an order with a distributor for delivery
directly to the customer’s premises. The
service doesn't just cover Xerox devices,
but supports all major printer brands.
Mike Feldman, President of Large
Enterprise Operations for Xerox Services,
said: “One of the things we’ve seen from
our competitors is that they focus solely
on their products and one of the nice
things about our MPS is we recognise it’s a
multi-vendor world and our tools will help
our partners work in that world and allow
them to manage Xerox and non-Xerox
devices.”
iii) MPS Application Programming
Interface (API).
This new Xerox API has a
dual function; it improves the integration of
Xerox MPS tools into the partner’s systems,
and it lets partners integrate their systems
with a client's infrastructure. For example,
meter readings could be integrated into
a standard billing application or into one
that's developed in-house.
iv) Xerox Digital Alternatives (DA).
DA
helps SMEs take MPS to the next level by
converting everyday processes into digital
actions. Xerox analysis shows that there
are five main reasons why people print –
to read, share, store, sign and annotate.
Digital Alternatives provides digital
processes for these actions reducing the
need to print and improving collaboration.
There are
8 million
SMEs in
Europe and
the US with
a combined
spend on
document
technology
products of
$40 billion
