Print.IT Reseller - issue 62

01732 759725 18 MPS Michael Coulson, Managing Director and Founder of ManagedPrintCompare.com has more than a decade of experience advising sole traders, SMEs and larger entities on their MPS needs. He argues that the MPS market is in rude health and believes that a combination of tech and innovation and focus on the end- user, will only drive this forward MPS: It’s time to innovate or die The rise of the SME In the UK alone, small and medium-sized enterprises (any business with fewer than 250 employees) make up more than 99% of businesses. In 2018, there were 5.7 million SMEs recorded in the UK. “This shows that business is becoming smaller, more nimble and niche,” Coulson stated, adding: “With that comes the responsibility of the managed print service industry to adapt to support that. With so many new and ambitious businesses out there, it’s a golden opportunity that many in this industry are likely to miss unless they adapt. “It’s always been clear that it is more cost-effective to have managed devices for printing, scanning and associated essential tasks but a recent report from Verified Market Research, suggests that we are on the cusp of an industry undergoing somewhat of a resurrection.” The stark facts The report ambitiously values the managed print services market at USD 30.57 billion in 2017 and states that it is projected to reach USD 58.86 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% from 2018 to 2025. Contained within the report are many plus points, including: n The fact that MPS improve the whole document environment n MPS free up IT resources n MPS offer a reduction in energy consumption “These are undeniably great things, but this isn’t a given and should act as a warning we should all heed,” Coulson warned. “What’s needed in this sector is innovation. Often cited as a much-loved buzz word, this isn’t simply the way MPS are marketed, but the way it is delivered too. A more customer-centric, tech- inclined approach is needed.” He continued: “It should also be noted that there is a real precipice here too. Force a digital transformation too quickly and you can run into problems that are very real. Talking a prospect into reaching for a digital solution too quickly may be a dangerous tactic too. Dragging a company into a world they don’t understand too suddenly may put them off the MPS model altogether. A balance needs to be struck and therefore a more thorough approach is also needed.” A generation to capitalise on This, of course, is essential if the industry is set to grow among millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996. However, rather than a demographic now within the workforce, to fear, Coulson believes they should be embraced. “What this means is that many millennials who have risen through the ranks of corporate giants are now the managers and buying decision managers of the future,” he said. A recent study by the Pew Research Center stated that at companies where managers show sincere interest in millennials as people, the organisation sees an eight-times improvement in agility, and a seven-times increase in innovation. “One thing which millennials value Coulson says that frankly, our industry is at an impasse. “Managed print services has a real challenge on its hands and at the moment, not enough is being done. In an industry where so much adaptation has occurred, it could be seen by many as a surprise that managed print services might be the print industry’s re-emerging success, but only if we react to the challenge that a changing business world is presenting us with. Always there in the background, the industry is ripe for a much-needed new wave of thinking.” In the past, corporate giants have dominated, but now, says Coulson, thanks to an altogether more entrepreneurial world where the SME is king, we are seeing things change. “Larger entities served their purpose in the 1980s and 90s, but since then the era of the daring underdog entrepreneur has taken over. Put simply, the landscape has changed and the old methods are crumbling,” he said. Continued... Many millennials who have risen through the ranks of corporate giants are now the managers and buying decision managers of the future