MSP vs MPS–battle for the market
Like fiction by Borges, Baxter C.S. Lewis and countless others, there are worlds that are seemingly the same, but with altered realities. And like so, we find this parallel world of managed service providers and managed print services…the same, but different and no longer co-existing without impacting the other. There is a rising tide and threat of managed IT services providers to into the MPS space.
MSP is a segment of IT services industry, that including outsourced responsibility for providing a defined set of services to their clients either proactively or as they determine that the services are needed, ie a utility model. Most MSPs bill a flat or near-fixed monthly fee, which benefits their clients by providing them with predictable IT support costs. They most commonly offer network and application-monitoring services to e-businesses. Similar to the workings of managed print services.
At the North American MPS Conference in San Antonio, Jason Evans, regional vice president of Buchanan Technologies (MSP) shared some key points about how they are targeting the MPS market.
- Views print as the last unmanaged IT capability
- Managed print follows the existing IT MSP model; i.e. remote management, help desk, outsourced management
- Current customers have no print strategy
- They see the need for managed print and the value
- They are IT for many SMBs
- Customers are asking for help managing print
- Believes that their is a benefit in MPS for existing customers
MSPs are entering this space because they are already an important partner for managing IT infrastructure. They have an established and direct relationship with the IT leadership and with finance, this eliminates many of the barriers and obstacles as trust has already been establish and work proven. It is always easier to ask a proven relationship to extend services then develop a new one. Also, SMBs and enterprise clients alike find MSPs appealing, because they offer a unique conrol point for a collection of services.
What does this mean for traditional imaging dealers and MPS providers? Large MSPs have a huge reach, with the potential to reach hundred’s of thousands to even millions of units under contract in the next 1-3 years. They are not just a threat to dealers, but also to large direct, OEM programs. Successful MSPs will impact the hardware (and consumables) purchase decision. OEMs like HP, Xerox and Dell have created an important leverage point and defense by buying into large IT services companies. Maybe they can see the future coming.
Smaller channel programs have the alternative of joining up with a local MSP team to handle print for them. They also have the ability to provide direct, friendly, responsive and trusted services to SMB customers.
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