10 Things To Consider When Choosing A Managed Print Services Provider:

By Author: AAA IT Services
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When it comes to jumping into the market for a Managed Print Services (MPS) company in Memphis, it can be quickly overwhelming when trying to figure out what is important to look for in a provider. You want to make the right decisions for your business, which is understandable. Here are a few things to take into consideration when trying to select the right MPS Company to be your partner:

1. Fully Integrated Services
Look for an MPS that offers fully integrated services. One of the benefits of using a MPS is to save your company both time and stress by making the daily processes easier. You don’t want to hire a MPS that only handles one printer that happens to not be compatible with any other technology in the office. You want a full service that will take care of it all so you can focus on your business. You want an MPS that manages every aspect, from audits to management and maintenance of printers, faxes, all in one machines and so on, as well as any other related function. This will ensure that you get your money’s worth and that your entire office's resources are managed effectively, rather than trying ...
... to micromanage things separately.
Here are a couple of other questions that are note-worthy for this section:
- How can the solution integrate with your current IT infrastructure?
- How much of your existing investment will it leverage?
- Will it connect seamlessly to the cloud applications that are used in the organization?
- Can you print from mobile devices easily?

2. Cost Effective Solutions
Look for cost effectiveness. One of the key reasons for using a MPS is to save you money.A good MPS will offer affordable solutions that help you save money rather than waste money, only charging when money needs to be spent. Don't be lured by false promises and flashy companies offering the world, rather stick to the Memphis businesses with proven results, happy customers and realistic costs.

3. Dedication to Good Customer Service and Full Technical Support
Evaluate their support and customer service. To hire a MPS is to start a relationship. Before choosing who to jump into bed with, complete an evaluation of their reliability, level of support, and their manners. In terms of customer service, you may want to look at whether or not they provide personalized attention to detail and ongoing support. The attention to detail helps tremendously with the communication process and reduces any frustrating moments of confusion between parties. Also evaluate their technicians to make sure they are skilled and experienced. They should be able to diagnose and fix all common and less common issues with printers, faxes, and other systems.

4. Not One-Size-Fits-All. Analysis is Needed
Make sure they conduct an analysis of what you need. One thing that MPS should NEVER be considered as: a one-size-fits-all solution. Every company has different needs and the solution should fit accordingly. Ask the potential providers how they size up what your needs are. It would be helpful if you do your homework beforehand and take notes on what your current solution is. Here are a couple of questions you can ask yourself when preparing:
- What kinds of devices do you use?
- Are they lease or purchase?
- What are your company’s actual print requirements every month for all repairs, services, etc?
- Is the cost of that distributed among several office locations or are they buried in the expenditure of the company as a whole?

5. Scalability and Longevity?
Determine if the solution is scalable and will last long. This partnership is going to be an investment so you want to ensure that it will be a long happy one that will meet all of your needs, both present and future. Take into consideration the following questions when future-proofing your investment:
- Can your potential MPS partner meet all of your needs for the next six months? A year? Two years?
- Can the services be easily scaled up or down with the growth of your business?
- How much will that cost?

6. Security – Paranoia Can Be a Good Thing! In This Case
Test how secure the solution is. More than 50,000 new security threats emerge worldwide each day, and a growing number of them are targeted at printers and multifunction printers. While it may be easy to think that it’s only a printer being hacked, it would behoove you to remember that it is a device connected to your organization’s network and therefore an entrance point to access confidential information. Considering the likelihood that your business handles sensitive or even confidential information in some way, being hacked can do a tremendous amount of damage to your company. Ask how the potential MPS provides security in their solutions. Do they embed hardware security solutions from the best sources such as Intel Security?

7. Do They Make Going Green Look Easy?
Check if they save you money by “going green”. As more and more companies in the Memphis area are “going green”, it may be needed to consider whether or not the MPS partner focuses on sustainability and waste reduction. This is not limited to double-sided printing. A few questions to ask:
- Does the MPS work with cloud services such as Dropbox of Microsoft Office 365 to reduce printing?
- Is the technology energy efficient?
- These measures can be huge cost savers for the company.

8. Any Useful Metrics?
Ask for metrics. After all of this investment, it would be silly to not focus on the return. You will want to check to ensure that your MPS investment was, and continues to be, worthwhile. Does the MPS provide tools or dashboards that report analytics on the performance and cost? What kind of metrics do they use? This will create transparency and confidence in the relationship.

9. Other Questions
After all those listed things to consider when selecting a MPS company for your business in the Greater Memphis area, there are still a few more questions to ask. The following is a list of other questions you should have when interviewing your potential partner:
- Have they worked with companies similar to yours?
- Do they have a proven track record? References that you can follow up with?
- What is their pricing structure?
- How will they perform maintenance on the services you’ve purchased?
- Is there any training that can be provided to staff within the company?