The association has created the white paper to offer business models for MPS providers.
The paper, entitled MPS Business Models & Components, is the association’s first white paper of 2013, and identifies four managed print business models that MPS providers can use to “go to market”, and also identifies the “pros and cons associated with each” along with charts “outlining additional components” that are related to MPS delivery.
The association set up a Standards and Best Practices Committee to “help define industry areas” that the association would work towards clarifying and in turn get a better understanding of, with business models one area in particular MPSA members saw as a “major source of confusion”. As a result, the association decided to create the white paper around this topic and hope it will “prove invaluable to anyone interested in providing MPS”.
MPSA President Greg Walters said of the white paper: “Ron [Alphin, MPSA Standards Committee Chair], his committee members – indeed, all who contributed to this initiative – have brought to light a sound, easy-to-understand description of foundational managed print services models and components. We are very proud to provide this document to our membership. Look for more in the near future.”
Alphin added: “We have members that are end users. We have members that are resellers. We have members that are software providers. There are all types. The MPSA did a very good job of defining what managed print services is, but there needed to be further explanation of how each type of member that delivers MPS services could go to market with that.
“Any new members to the MPSA or MPS industry could use this document to define what business models they would reasonably be able to go to market with. Right now, people have to go to different websites, look at different statements by other people, or ask others what they’re doing.
“This document, on the other hand, outlines the MPS business models available to them in one place, so people can start using it as a standard benchmark to determine what kind of delivery model they can take to the market and explain to end users exactly what will be provided to them. This was a great initiative to work with all the committee members on and get consensus on from the various perspectives. I am excited this is getting released to the general membership.”
The white paper is now available to all MPSA members by logging in to the MPSA website and clicking on the white papers link under the members-only content category in the navigation bar.