Channel Managed Print Services
A review of European MPS programmes
November 2012
Louella Fernandes
Quocirca Ltd
Tel : +44 07786 331924
Email: [email protected]
Clive Longbottom
Quocirca Ltd
Tel : +44 118 948 3360 ext 200
Email: [email protected]
REPORT NOTE:
This report has been written independently by Quocirca Ltd. Quocirca has obtained information from multiple sources in putting together
this analysis. Although Quocirca has taken what steps it can to ensure that the information provided in this report is true and reflects real
market conditions, Quocirca cannot take any responsibility for the ultimate reliability of the details presented. Therefore, Quocirca expressly
disclaims all warranties and claims as to the validity of the data presented here, including any and all consequential losses incurred by any
organisation or individual taking any action based on such data.
All brand and product names are trademarks or service marks of their respective holders.
Copyright Quocirca © 2012
Channel MPS Programmes 2012
November 2012
Channel Managed Print Services
A review of European MPS programmes
Managed print services (MPS) has emerged as an effective approach to reducing printing costs, improving
productivity, enhancing document security and supporting sustainability. With MPS adoption is strongest
amongst enterprises; many vendors are now extending and refining their MPS offerings for their channel partners
to capture the growing opportunity in the SMB and midmarket space. MPS promises to usher the holy grail of
recurring revenue for resellers operating in a highly commoditised market, whilst helping cash-strapped
customers shift capital expenditure spending to more predictable operational expenses. This report provides an
overview of some of the key channel MPS offerings in the European market.
Channel MPS offerings
are rapidly evolving
Service offerings range from basic MPS packaged offerings to flexible modular MPS platforms.
Given the diversity of the printer/MFP channel, these programmes have to address both the IT
reseller, with their low MPS expertise and infrastructure, and the copier dealers, who already have
the resources and experience to sell and deliver MPS.
Volume commitment
plans still prevail, but
pay per print is becoming
more popular
MPS contracts are often based on a cost per page, which requires volume commitments. However,
more programmes are emerging that do not require minimum volumes – for example, Brother’s
MPS programme and Ricoh Click, both of which use a ‘pay per print’ approach. Xerox’s PagePack
contracts are also now more commonly without volume commitment.
Xerox offers the most
comprehensive range of
multi-vendor channel
MPS offerings.
Xerox has a broad channel MPS portfolio, from basic maintenance and supplies contracts, such as
PagePack, to its multi-vendor services for the channel, Xerox Partner Print Services (XPPS). In
Europe, Xerox now has around 200 XPPS partners, having grown from 90 at the end of 2010. It is
increasingly focusing on managed IT service providers, although success so far has been limited to
the US. XPPS has been well received by multi-brand resellers and has helped Xerox expand beyond
its concessionaire channel. In recent months, Xerox has expanded its focus on solutions with a clear
roadmap.
Ricoh has, so far, had to rely on localised MPS approaches in Europe, which have been highly
variable depending on reseller capability. Although Ricoh is now extending its ChaMPS platform to
its European channel through modularised service options, it remains to be seen how well it
engages its reseller base with this approach.
Ricoh is extending its US
ChaMPS strategy to
Europe
Lexmark leads with a
strong vertical solution
focus
Other manufacturers are
taking bigger MPS steps
Although software
solutions can drive MPS
value, few resellers are
actively pursuing such an
approach
Lexmark has renamed its LVP programme to the Business Solutions Dealer (BSD) programme in
Europe, bringing it in line with its US approach. Lexmark is actively targeting the copier channel with
its offerings, particularly those who wish to add to their A3 portfolio with A4 devices. It has been
particularly successful with this strategy in the major European countries, and has a reputation for
strong training and support. It continues to develop its industry solution portfolio, enabling resellers
to customise their products to their customer business needs. This is a key differentiator for
Lexmark.
Companies like Brother, OKI, Konica Minolta and Kyocera are expanding their offerings for their
channel partners. Whilst Brother is restricting itself to a basic MPS lease model, both OKI and
Kyocera are developing their MPS capabilities. Kyocera, in particular, is actively training its channel
to sell MPS and offers a range of options that requires minimal upfront investment.
With many resellers still just dipping their toes in the unchartered MPS waters, it is only the more
mature MPS resellers that are looking at driving further value from their MPS contracts with
solutions – and this tends, of course, to be in the larger SMBs and mid-market organisations. Today,
Lexmark appears to be having most success in this arena, given its long-established focus on
solutions.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly the SMB market represents a huge opportunity for manufacturers and resellers alike to capture incremental
revenue opportunities. In the face of continued hardware commoditisation and shrinking margins, resellers must make
the transition from transactional to services-led approaches. Unsurprisingly, it is those resellers who have invested the
time and effort to train and educate their staff about MPS that are managing this well. While resellers require simple and
flexible tools that limit the infrastructure investment, they must invest in the human resources necessary to take their
MPS business forward.
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Channel MPS Programmes 2012
November 2012
1 Introduction
In a flat hardware market, characterised by falling prices and shrinking margins, printer manufacturers view MPS as key to their
growth. Achieving this for the SMB market is challenging due to the disparate nature of the printer and copier reseller channel.
Experienced copier resellers will be aware of the infrastructure and skills that their company needs to provide to be successful.
However, for classic IT resellers, managed print services are still relatively new. Whilst copier resellers have the experience of
selling contracts based on pages, or ‘clicks’, many IT resellers are not used to selling these types of contracts. This is leading to
the emergence of hybrid resellers who offer such contracts backed by IT expertise.
Up to now, MPS has largely been the domain of larger enterprises, due to established direct MPS offerings from vendors such as
HP, Lexmark, Ricoh and Xerox. However, mid-sized businesses are gradually waking up to the MPS opportunity with the
emergence of more channel-driven MPS packages from almost every vendor in the market. These range from device-centric
offerings, which are typically inclusive service contracts encompassing service and supplies, to some packages including the
leasing of devices and may also include support, depending on the capability of individual resellers.
With cost reduction high on the agenda for most businesses, MPS provides an opportunity for organisations of all sizes to gain
the visibility they need into print costs and enables resellers to develop long term and profitable customer relationships. With
more and more manufacturers simplifying and expanding their channel propositions, MPS is becoming more accessible for
resellers. The barriers to entry for MPS, such as cost and complexity, which may have discouraged resellers in the past, are no
longer daunting – and there is no better time than now for resellers to add value to their services with MPS.
This report outlines some of the key trends in the MPS market for SMB and mid-market organisations, and provides an overview
of the key vendor channel MPS programmes in Europe. This report draws on a combination of desk research and reseller
interviews. Please note that the detail for each vendor programme varies depending on the relative maturity of the programme
and the availability of information in the public domain.
2 MPS Definitions
What does MPS include?
Channel-packaged MPS offerings in the mid-market vary in depth and scale. Unlike enterprise MPS, they do not require an initial
print audit assessment. An entry-level MPS offers a way to purchase printers combined with supplies, maintenance and support
through an all-inclusive contract.



Purchasing: Payment schemes vary as customers may either purchase devices outright or lease them from a financing
company. Leasing enables organisations to shift capital to operational expenditure. Businesses then pay a monthly fee
based on predicted monthly print volume, which covers the cost of the equipment, any leasing costs, supplies, service
and support.
Print volume commitment: Some contracts require a monthly or annual print volume commitment, where unused
pages are still paid for. Where minimum volumes are required, an overpage charge is generally applied, which is a cost
for each page beyond the minimum page volume. Alternative approaches are contracts that do not impose minimum
volumes, where users only pay for what they print. These contracts may still require a commitment to a service
contract for a minimum period.
Additional services. These are dependent on the reseller capability and may include assessment services, device
consolidation consultancy or document workflow solutions.
The following table describes the key differences between a basic MPS and value MPS approach. Services that offer flexible levels
of service enable MPS to easily scale to support business growth, something that can be challenging for mid-size businesses.
Target market
SMB
SMB & midmarket
Category
Basic:
Maintenance, supplies and
support
Value:
Assessment, optimisation
and management
Description
Hardware, supplies, service, support,
finance based on cost per page
Channel requirements
Minimal investment: Simple and quick to operate:
No software, no audits, no complexity
Assessment of print volumes,
environment, workflows and cost
Some investment: Print audit tools, multi-vendor
support, remote monitoring
Figure 1. MPS definitions
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Channel MPS Programmes 2012
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Quocirca believes that the following capabilities offer mid-market businesses the strongest opportunities for cost saving and
productivity improvements.
Features
Automatic meter/counter reading








Automatic error notification
Automatic toner/ink management
capabilities/supplies ordering
Usage reports



Customer portal/web interface
(for customer and service provider)

Remote management e.g. automatic software
upgrades, remote configuration


Benefits
Reduced time associated with manual meter reads
Greater billing accuracy
Automatic invoicing
Predict equipment failure, improve uptime
Less user intervention
Proactive maintenance and replenishment
Improved inventory management
Optimise hardware usage through more efficient data collection and
analysis
Better device utilisation and management
Warn of device reaching end of life
Improved customer experience, ease of use, fast and efficient way to view
device usage
Service provider can analyse customer reports on demand to improve
service levels
Improved customer response time
Maximise service engineer utilisation
Figure 2: Recommended MPS capabilities
3 Market Trends
1
Printing is far from dead in the SMB market. A recent Quocirca study amongst 150 SMBs (50–500 employees) in Europe revealed
that 56% of respondents view printing as critical or very important in supporting business activities. Many of these organisations
are also seeing a continued growth in colour print volumes, which translates to higher expenditure on consumables. Indeed, the
study showed that reducing costs and understanding usage are the top print management challenges for SMBs today (Figure 3).
Figure 3. What is your level of concern in the following print management challenges? (Significant or very significant)
With SMBs struggling to manage print costs, lower energy usage and reduce time spent on printer admin, the time is ripe for
vendors and resellers to promote the MPS opportunity. Certainly, there is some appetite for moving to MPS contracts amongst
SMBs. While today the majority (60%) of SMBs and mid-market organisations currently purchase printer hardware and
1
consumables on a transactional basis, almost 40% of respondents in Quocirca’s study plan to lease printers as part of an MPS
contract in the future. Currently, around 20% of smaller SMBs (50–249 employees) use a basic MPS compared to 45% of larger
SMBs (250–500 employees). Unsurprisingly, larger SMBs are most likely to be using (25%) or planning to use (19%) a full MPS.
© Quocirca 2012
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Channel MPS Programmes 2012
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Figure 4. Is your company currently using or planning to deploy a managed print service?
This is positive news for resellers as they transition customers to a contractual approach to buying ‘printing’ rather than
‘printers’. At one end of the scale, this could be a simple single branded, basic service that essentially wraps hardware with
services and support; at the other, this could be an end-to-end approach that includes assessment, optimisation and on-going
management. However, is there still room for improvement? Around 50% of SMBs in Quocirca’s survey had no knowledge of
MPS, indicating that the market still lacks education on MPS; the concept, approach and benefits.
4 Competitive landscape
The overall MPS landscape is characterised by printer/copier manufacturers, systems integrators, software infrastructure
vendors and consulting/audit firms.

Printer/copier manufacturers: These programmes are tied to vendor product offerings and include assessment, design,
implementation and support services. Vendors may also offer channel MPS programmes through reseller partners
where capabilities exist. Vendors in this category include Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Ricoh and Xerox.

Systems integrators/resellers: These are often a channel to market for printer and copier vendors and may offer MPS
as part of a wider desktop service offering or green IT service strategy. Vendors in this category include Atos Origin, Cap
Gemini, CSC and IBM.

Software infrastructure vendors: These provide software tools for assessment and optimisation of the print
environment. Examples include Asset DB, PaperCut, PrintAudit and PrintFleet.
The maturity of services in the above categories varies significantly and it can sometimes be confusing as to what is exactly
covered by different vendor offerings. MPS programmes targeted at the office environment include the following:
Figure 5: MPS vendor landscape
Please note that the above list of MPS providers is not intended to be exhaustive, but highlights some of the key players in the market.
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Channel MPS Programmes 2012
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5 Vendor Profile: Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta has made strong inroads in the direct MPS market with the launch of its Optimised Print Services (OPS)
programme in 2011. This modular programme combines consultancy, hardware and software implementation and operation.
The OPS concept comprises four areas – fleet, process, finance and security. Within these areas is a catalogue of service options
available to its direct clients. Konica Minolta is now extending its OPS concept to its channel, offering a scaled down version of its
vast OPS menu of services.
Managed IT services
Konica Minolta is also striving to penetrate the IT space through a number of acquisitions of managed IT services providers. This
includes All Covered in the US, Serains in France and Koneo in Sweden. In the US Konica Minolta has developed a strong
programme through All Covered to help dealers penetrate the IT services market. Through Konica Minolta, All Covered will
provide help desk support including application support, password resets, mobile device support, after hours help desk for e-mail
protection, anti-virus protection, patch management, application update management, 24 x 7 monitoring and alerting for server
and service availability, server preventive maintenance, cloud backup for both workstations and servers and software licensing
monitoring.
In this scenario, All Covered does not invoice the customer; instead it invoices the dealer for monthly activities in each covered
account. The dealer, whose contract is with the customer, can then add their own margin. Through such a programme, Konica
Minolta has provided its US dealers with a no risk program that captures incremental revenue.
This is a smart move for Konica Minolta – with many of its competitors are focused on the enterprise segment of the market, this
approach provides Konica Minolta the opportunity to deepen its presence in the SMB market. Quocirca is seeing more Managed
Service Providers (MSP) emerge that are looking to include printing within their portfolio of services. Although this trend today is
stronger in the US than Europe, there is likely to be more uptake of such services over the next few years as other manufacturers,
such as Xerox, repackage their MPS offerings to target MSPs.
European channel MPS strategy
Konica Minolta is heavily focused on its indirect channel which has coverage in 27 countries. Konica Minolta has been actively
transforming its channel strategy over the past few years to enable its partners to deliver basic print services across its full
product range – encompassing A4, A4 MFP and production printers. It is focusing on resellers who can deliver value to their
customers and has pulled away from the typical volume resellers such as PC World in the UK and Rue de Commerce in France.
Konica Minolta has two approaches for the channel to embrace a contractual rather than transactional sales approach:
ClickPack
This is targeted at the IT reseller channel and is live in the UK and France. It will be rolled out to other European countries later
this year. For the first time, it is providing IT resellers with access to its bizhub portfolio. Devices in this portfolio must be sold
through a ClickPack contract. This is based on a leasing model and uses a contract management system which handles quotation,
invoicing and administration. Konica Minolta provides resellers with a USB tool to firstly analyse the printer fleet, then calculate
the cost per page, services and rent related to the proposed equipment. A reseller can set their own CPP and add their margin
and generate a quote for between 3 and 5 years via a web portal.
The web portal generates a customised sales proposal, handles the credit application, prints the lease agreement and initiates
the installation request. The customer can also use the portal to view print usage, technical alerts and order supplies. Billing is
handled by the finance company which sends quarterly bills that combine the equipment rental with the printed page costs. No
volume commitment is required as customers only pay for actual usage. Servicing can be carried out by either Konica Minolta’s
direct service organisation or by the dealer itself. The billing is handled by the leasing company. ClickPack now extends to
software solutions, including a range of document management software.
In France, the programme was tested by 5 dealers which include Buereautica, ID21, Kiwi Informatique. All Konica Minolta
resellers are eligible for marketing ClickPack if they have a network technician and there is no minimum purchase required.
According to Konica Minolta France, by selling a ClickPack contract a dealer can increase its margin by 25% from a transactional
sale to 40% on the equipment sale and related service (maintenance, spare parts and consumables) and 15% on the cost per
page. In France it is already seeing an increase in the average selling price on longer contracts. Konica Minolta offers a range of
sales training for resellers in collaboration with third parties which includes a free two day training course.
OPS Indirect
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Konica Minolta is extending its core OPS services to its indirect channel, specifically those with some competency in MPS and
solutions provision. Depending on the maturity level of the reseller, Konica Minolta can offer its consulting and monitoring
services to its channel partners. At a basic level, customers are given access to the OPS web portal which provides analysis of
print usage, device status and consumable status. At an advanced level, reporting, automatic notifications and proactive
provision of consumables for Konica Minolta devices is offered. Partners are given the opportunity to provide extra chargeable
services to gain full knowledge of their customers’ printer fleet – whether it is Konica Minolta only or a mixed brand
environment.
Konica Minolta provides full training and support (class room and web-based) for technical and sales staff as a pre-requisite to
becoming a certified OPS partner. To achieve OPS partner status, a reseller needs resources that include an OPS account
manager and OPS specialist to cover pre-sales and sales roles. This is backed by continuous support from regional Konica Minolta
OPS teams.
Service summary
Approach
Description
Product Portfolio
Cost per page
Contract length
Billing
Vendor responsibility
Click Pack

Basic MPS

Pay-per print, no minimum volumes, automated meter
reads

Sales portal to generate contract and on-line credit
approval request

Full KM bizhub portfolio

Reseller defined

3-5 years

Customers invoiced periodically (quarterly or biannually), based on actual usage with no minimum
volume or fixed fees

Consumables, automated meter reads, support,
warranty, recycling
Reseller responsibility

Deliver and install hardware
Rebates
Supplies and service


N/A
Services portal
Solutions support

Full access to KM’s solutions portfolio
OPS Indirect

Value MPS

Based on enterprise OPS tools

OPS suite can be hosted or on-premise




Full KM bizhub portfolio
Reseller defined
3-5 years
Variable










Training for OPS sales model
Training for OPS system
Market collateral
Service and support (if required)
Deliver and install hardware
Maintenance, training, consumables
N/A
Services portal
Automatic supplies replenishment (KM devices)
Full access to KM’s solutions portfolio
References
1
MPS: An SMB Priority http://www.quocirca.com/reports/610/managed-print-services-an-smb-priority
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About Quocirca
Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology and
communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the views of buyers and
influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-world practitioners with first-hand
experience of ITC delivery who continuously research and track the industry and its real usage in the markets. Through
researching perceptions, Quocirca uncovers the real hurdles to technology adoption – the personal and political aspects of an
organisation’s environment and the pressures of the need for demonstrable business value in any implementation. This
capability to uncover and report back on the end-user perceptions in the market enables Quocirca to provide advice on the
realities of technology adoption, not the promises.
Quocirca research is always pragmatic, business orientated and conducted in the context of the bigger picture. ITC has the ability
to transform businesses and the processes that drive them, but often fails to do so. Quocirca’s mission is to help organisations
improve their success rate in process enablement through better levels of understanding and the adoption of the correct
technologies at the correct time. Quocirca has a pro-active primary research programme, regularly surveying users, purchasers
and resellers of ITC products and services on emerging, evolving and maturing technologies. Over time, Quocirca has built a
picture of long term investment trends, providing invaluable information for the whole of the ITC community.
Quocirca works with global and local providers of ITC products and services to help them deliver on the promise that ITC holds
for business. Quocirca’s clients include Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, O2, T-Mobile, HP, Xerox, EMC, Symantec and Cisco, along with
other large and medium-sized vendors, service providers and more specialist firms.
Details of Quocirca’s work and the services it offers can be found at http://www.quocirca.com
© Quocirca 2012
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