Amid Economic Challenges, Enterprise Printing Is a Hidden Expense That Business Leaders Can Eliminate, Says Info-Tech Research Group

Rather than settling for printer consolidation, the firm advises organizations to consider enlisting managed services vendors to modernize the approach and streamline costs.

TORONTO, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - With organizations looking to reduce costs as the world enters a potential economic downturn, enterprise printing expenses have emerged as a concealed cost within the IT landscape. Enterprises may be unknowingly overspending on printing due to the lack of visibility and monitoring, including the use of non-networking printers or the independent purchasing of printer consumables by various departments. As well, traditional printer leases and outdated document management systems can hinder workflow improvements, which can contribute to additional costs. To address this challenge, Info-Tech Research Group, a global IT research and advisory firm, has released its latest blueprint, Re-Envision Enterprise Printing, a research-backed resource intended to help organizations optimize their printing practices and focus on larger business process improvement goals.

According to the research by Info-Tech, paper usage can still be necessary for some organizations, but employees may resist changes due to concerns regarding the use of new digital solutions. Additionally, inadequate governance poses a challenge to digitalization efforts, as businesses may lack visibility into appropriate print use cases and may not have complete control over the acquisition of devices and materials. Furthermore, print needs may not be customized to suit the organization's specific requirements, and requests for proposals related to print services may not fully address vendor qualifications.

"Except in some legitimate use cases, printing often introduces friction and does not lead to efficiencies," says Emily Sugerman, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. "Companies investing in digital transformation and document management initiatives must look hard at business processes still reliant on hard copies. We recommend that organizations assess their current state to identify the current print volume, costs, and where there are opportunities to consolidate and reduce."

The firm's blueprint for enterprise printing suggests business leaders enforce reduced printing through internal policies. To do this, they should identify reduction opportunities through inventory and requirements-gathering processes and educate others on the financial and non-financial benefits. Further, the business can change its printing financial model to print-as-a-service by building an RFP and scoring tool for managed print services, making the vendor a partner in continuous innovation. Finally, organizations can achieve vendor-agnostic governance and visibility by leveraging durable print management software.

The research further explains that print management software should be vendor-agnostic and allow for the management of devices even if there is a change of vendor or print services. To permanently change a company's print culture and to drive innovation and digitalization, Info-Tech recommends organizations follow specific steps:

Plan a project: The organization can create a project charter, assess the current state of the enterprise print environment, and gather print requirements.

Select a vendor after evaluation: Next, the designated team can determine which managed print service model is the best fit. This step includes considering moving to a pay-per-click financial model, where the vendor installs and supports the devices and is paid whenever a user prints.

Implement the new printer strategy and operate: Finally, the organization is able to modify the printer policies, communicate the changes, and prepare for continuous improvement.

Info-Tech's blueprint also advises that good metrics and visible improvements will be important to strengthen executive support for a long-term printer reduction strategy.

To learn more about the research and recommendations, download the complete Re-Envision Enterprise Printing blueprint.

For more information about Info-Tech Research Group or to access the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

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SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group