How Can Print Management Help IT Leaders?

When we ask IT leaders what keeps them up at night, it’s usually no surprise that office printing doesn’t come up. In fact, most of the CIOs, CTOs and network administrators we speak with actually despise the fact that they have to manage their office printers because it takes their precious resources away from focusing on mission critical priorities. Priorities like security, business continuity planning, cloud computing, mobile support and the list goes on.

We understand why IT people may not be as fond of printers as we are. Print related issues tend to flood IT help desks in the range of 40 – 60% of their daily call volume. People calling about driver issues, printers being offline, jamming problems, supply outages and the list goes on. These types of distractions can cause an IT person to move their attention from a high value project to deal with a lower value task that’s end user or hardware related.

Here are some questions we ask IT leaders to get them thinking about how a Managed Print solution could complement their business objectives:

• What percentage of your people’s time is spent dealing with print issues?
• Do you have a print policy in place to control your print volumes and operating costs?
• How are you controlling the use of color?
• Do you have the visibility and control you’d like over your total print spend?
• How much money do you have tied up in supply cabinets right now?
• If you could save 20 – 30% on your print related expenses, what would you redirect those new found funds towards?
• How would auto supplies replenishment change your current ordering process?

Most IT leaders are quick to find a home for the savings in their operating budget. Depending on the size of the organization, it could mean adding an additional employee or other resources not achievable without a Managed Print program. The benefits of Managed Print go on:

• Monitoring software for usage visibility and analysis
• Scanning opportunities to digitize hardcopy documents
• Security protection with digital documents vs. prints
• Replace overloaded supply cabinets with auto replenishment
• Recycling programs to avoid landfill
• Employee satisfaction with improved equipment performance

Managed Print programs allow IT leaders and their people to focus more time and resources on higher value mission critical projects. In the end, IT leaders need to decide if they want to hang onto their print responsibilities or hand them to a trusted partner that specializes in print optimization and document workflow effectiveness. Most engagements start with a complimentary print assessment and opportunity sharing session to uncover what services are available and could prove to be advantageous to the overall IT strategy.