The Paperless Office and Managed Print Services Providers

by Anna Matthai

The paperless office is an idea that has been talked about ever since the personal computer became a mainstay of the modern office. The idea was raised in a notable 1975 Business Week article titled “The Office of the Future.” Some parts of the article are very prescient and the authors predicted that by 1995 technology would exist that would let users access documents at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for paper. However, paper continues to play a very large part in the workplace.

CompTIA’s Examining the Print and Document Management Market research study found that most companies expect to maintain or increase the level of printing and scanning they do.  Given the expectations of rising volumes of printing and associated costs, moving to a paperless office is a priority for four out of five firms surveyed in our research. It is a higher priority for large- and medium-sized firms as their budgets are likely to be impacted more by printing and document management. Interestingly, firms that anticipate increasing print levels place a higher priority on moving toward a paperless office.

The move to the paperless office is driven by financial, environmental and technological factors. CompTIA’s research on print and document trends found that elements of the paperless office that drive efficiency and reduce costs are most important to companies. New technology, like tablets, has made the transition to the paperless office easier. A Morgan Stanley study published in February 2011 found that the greater adoption of tablets would contribute to the trend towards printing less. CompTIA’s research also found that majority of companies believe that the use of tablets is likely to lead to a reduction in printing in the future. The greater adoption of tablets in offices and the features of tablets such as mobility, screen size, ease of collaboration and resolution all contribute to this trend.

The move to the “less-paper” office does create opportunities for managed print service providers. To facilitate the move to the less-paper office, there is the need for a process that understands current document management protocol followed by companies. Our research found that a little more than 50 percent of companies have a formal document retention policy with 45 percent saying their primary method to store important documents is to save the original paper copy. This indicates that there is the opportunity to put more formal processes in place.  The opportunity is more pronounced in small- and medium-sized firms as a significant number indicate that there are no current formal procedures in place.

An important element of the paperless office for corporations is managing information more efficiently by digitizing it.  Four out of five companies in our sample said this was an important element of the paperless office. This represents an opportunity for companies engaged in document management to digitize archival and current information for efficient record-keeping and document access.

The transition to the paperless or less-paper office is likely to require changes in some ingrained workforce habits. CompTIA’s research on printing trends finds that a little less than half of companies believe that the transition will be easy for their employees. About a fifth expect a difficult transition. Having a managed print service (MPS) provider could make the transition easier.   Among those who currently use an MPS provider, only a tenth said that they expected a difficult transition to a paperless office.  The move to the less-paper office is likely to continue as digital media become more prevalent.  The efficiencies, productivity gains, improvements in technology, environmental and financial impact all point to greater adoption of this trend.

Source: http://blog.comptia.org

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CompTIA MPS Survey on IT firms

Among IT firms surveyed by CompTIA 220-702 exam that currently offer a managed print services solution, eight in ten anticipate year-over-year revenue growth, with 22 percent of firms expecting significant growth and 58 percent, moderate growth.

Larger firms have more complex printing needs and more moving parts within their organization, which makes managed print services an ideal solution. However, the next wave of customers for managed print services will come in the small and mid-size company range.

Approximately 50 percent of CompTIA 220-702 exam large firms (over 500 employees) report using the managed print service model in some capacity, compared to 20 percent for small firms (under 100 employees). The data reveals adoption of managed print services is highly correlated with company size.

Familiarity and understanding of managed print services continues to gain momentum. Firms recognize the benefits of focusing IT staff efforts on business activities and shifting routine maintenance and troubleshooting duties to service specialists who can do it more efficiently and cost effectively.

Of those companies not currently using managed print services, 35 percent expect to definitely or probably consider adoption over the next 12 months. CompTIA 220-702 exam asks that the Committee recommend adoption of training incentives for technology jobs, including an employer tax credit for providing training or continuing education to employees.

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Business paper use remains high

CompTIA study finds shift to 'paperless office' isn't happening as swiftly as once expected

By Patrick Thibodeau

Computerworld - Businesses aren't rushing to create paperless offices; in fact, some are relying on paper documents more than ever, according to a new study by CompTIA.

The computer industry trade association's survey of 400 IT and business executives on the use of printers found that most companies expect to maintain or increase paper usage over the next two years.

The survey found that 38% of the companies are printing more paper documents than two years ago, and another 8% said they are doing significantly more printing. Of the balance, 27% said there was no change, 23% said they were doing less printing, and 3% said they were doing significantly less printing.

Those surveyed were also asked to forecast their printing needs in the next two years, and for the most part, the percentages show little variance.

"I was surprised it wasn't on the wane more," said Tim Herbert, vice president of research at CompTia.

Herbert believes personal printing, such as printing out boarding tickets or directions, is on a downward trend, but commercial printing is maintaining its pace.

While some businesses have moved away from the use of paper, sectors like education, government and health care remain extremely paper-intensive, said Herbert.

Printer sales seems to back up the trend, according to IDC data cited by CompTia. In 2010, IDC reported that 125.2 million printers were shipped worldwide, up 12.1% from the prior year.

The study is aimed at companies in the managed print services market. With the results, CompTia advises that such companies must offer customers more than printer maintenance services. They must also move to provide services around document management, such as document retention and workflow.

Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is pthibodeau@computerworld.com.

Source: Computerworld

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CompTIA Study: Managed Print Services On the Rise

Managed print services (MPS) finally seem to be gaining moment but the market for MPS services will still face some challenges, according to a recent study by CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association.

The CompTIA study, entitled Examining the Print and Document Management Market, has some mixed results. Three out of four companies surveyed said that going paperless and adopting green initiatives is important to them. But those companies are also realists. They know printing is a huge part of their day-to-day business operations.

So if they must print, why not adopt a managed print services strategy to cut costs and free up staff? We’ve seen recent examples of this when an Ohio community college contracted Xerox for managed print services and Ricoh signed a managed document services deal with Benedict College. Both were done in an effort to cut costs.

The survey included 400 IT and business executives who are directly involved in their company’s print and managed document operations. The majority said they would like to see maintenance and management around their printing operations improve to achieve greater uptime rates.

The study included small businesses and enterprises and revealed a sharp difference between the two: About half of the enterprises said they already use managed print services in some capacity, while only 20 percent of small businesses do so. CompTIA Vice President of Research Tim Herbert attributed the gap to more complex printing needs for higher organizations.

The study also found that firms currently offering managed print services anticipate strong double-digit year-over-year growth, in some cases approaching 60 percent growth. Those firms expect to see an increase in demand from Enterprises and SMBs, with falls in line with Bill DeStefanis’ assessment last week that SMBs are ready for managed document services.

Source:  www.mspmentor.net

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Looking for a Few Good MPS Experts – for February CompTIA Workshop

Following multiple conversations at the WorldExpo in mid-July (see The Hard Copy Observer article), with Greg VanDeWalker, chair of CompTIA’s Managed Print Services Community, we received this appeal from VanDeWalker, whose “day job” is senior vice president of strategic relationships for GreatAmerica Leasing. 

“As one of the leading voices in MPS, I think this is something you would be interested in helping move forward. CompTIA is planning to morph its CDIA+ certification to be inclusive of MPS. This is a great opportunity to help shape the MPS industry by bringing clarity and consistency to the sales process. What CompTIA needs to make this happen are document imaging/document management Subject Matter Experts [SMEs], and they need them soon.” The workshop/training that VanDeWalker is referring to is occurring at the organization’s headquarters in Downer’s Grove, IL, February 27–March 2, 2012.

 “CDIA+” stands for “Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+),” which as described by the organization encompasses content for which certification “ensures critical knowledge for a career in the document imaging and document management industry.” Also included among CompTIA’s 12 current certification areas is the “PDI+” for Printing and Document Imaging. Appropriately, the managed print area is aligned with the high-level “architecture” category. 

By way of a little general background on CompTIA, it is a 30-year-old non-profit trade association that was established in 1982 as the Association of Better Computer Dealers, Inc. (ABCD) by representatives of five microcomputer dealerships…,” according to the introduction of an extensive Wikipedia article, which continues, “Currently, it is known as a provider of professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry.”

The Lyra organization as a whole supports this certification effort, especially falling under a well-respected and time-tested organization. And, as pointed out in my remarks at the aforementioned WorldExpo’s pre-show Managed Print Summit, definitions and standardization can be critical to the development and staying power of market segments and technology thrusts that otherwise can become passing fads. “Managed print services” has become a widely waved banner in our business, and the harder the definitions around it become, the more prosperous it can be for all the participants offering meaningful value for their customers.

For specific information on the workshop/training from February 27-March 2, 2012, go to: http://tinyurl.com/CallforCDIASMEs

For further background on CompTIA, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comptia or http://www.comptia.org/home.aspx

Source: The Lyra Insider

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