PRINT-AS-A-SERVICE
At your service After being one of the pioneers of the OPEX movement, there’s a lot of SaaS talk in the print industry.
It’s almost impossible in this day and age to avoid paying a subscription for the content we enjoy. Certainly as I run through my bank statements it seems that 90% of my money is wasted on subscriptions for entertainment, news, and the gym that I don’t go to. As the products we crave become more expensive, a service model has become more desirable and, as always, the professional world mirrors the consumer world. Paul Callow, general manager of Printada! said “There has been an increase in subscription solutions throughout industries. Starting with Netflix, all kinds of sectors are adopting service models from shaving through to automotive. “In the last few years businesses and enterprise customers have become more aware of the benefits of managed print services and strategies for procurement outside of the transactional model. We believe that a subscription solution which offers genuine savings and some level of flexibility will create value for small and medium sized businesses in particular.” Although the OPEX model has been a relatively new phenomena in the consumer market, the print industry was one of the first to embrace payment schedules, rather than insist on hefty up front costs. With that said, according to Max Colao, managing director of Apprico, the move to hybrid after the events of 2020 has accelerated adoption. “Print-as-a-service solutions are becoming
increasingly popular, and this trend has accelerated since the pandemic,” said Colao. “With many businesses moving to remote work or adopting hybrid models, there has been a greater need for flexible and scalable print solutions. “In addition, the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic has led many businesses to look for ways to reduce capital expenditures and shift to operating expenses. According to a survey by Quocirca, 72% of businesses are planning to move to a PaaS model in the next two years. This represents a significant increase from just a few years ago when PaaS was a relatively new concept.” Flexibility In the modern business, the cold, hard truth is that IT purchasers are in part making decisions based on the number of requirements a reseller can tick off for them. As Louella Fernandes, research rirector at the aforementioned Quocirca points out, one of the fundamental advantages of moving to a SaaS model is the additional solutions and flexibility that businesses can bolt onto their monthly service. “Done well, print-as-a-service offers the flexibility, agility, and cost-control that is attractive to hybrid businesses. As businesses seek to offer employees a print infrastructure that fits a work-from-anywhere culture, print- as-a-service can support the provision of devices and consumables to home offices. “Businesses want to support a distributed, hybrid workforce with the most efficient service
Paul Callow general manager Printada!
printada.co.uk
In the last few years businesses and enterprise customers “
have become more aware of the benefits of managed print services and strategies for procurement outside of the transactional model.
”
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printinthechannel.co.uk
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