A solid source says Dell is taking a very close look at the managed print market. At first glance, managed print services are a natural “hardware as a service” (HaaS) opportunity for managed service providers. But as one distribution executive recently told me, most major printer companies have struggled to gain traction with their HaaS initiatives.
Here’s what to expect from Dell.
First, some information about the managed print services market.
HaaS offerings like Xerox PagePack provide customers with predictable monthly costs for printing and document management. Those managed print offerings also generate recurring revenue for VARs.
But from what I’ve seen, most printer companies have been working in a vacuum — building their own proprietary back-end systems for VARs and MSPs to leverage. Instead, printer manufacturers should aggressively partner with MSP software providers. Xerox PagePack and other managed print services should leverage APIs (application programming interfaces) to plug into all of the major MSP platforms. If that work is already in place, printer companies have done a terrible job promoting those efforts.
Ironically, Dell may be in the best position to jump-start the managed printer services market. Dell pieced together its initial managed print strategy in 2006. But this time around, the company has all of the key technology components under its roof: Dell printers, ink services, as well as Dell managed services platforms (Silverback and Everdream, both of which Dell acquired last year).
I expect Dell to very aggressively articulate and promote its managed print strategy over the next few months.
It begs the question: Where is Hewlett-Packard? HP has largely ignored the managed services market. That’s shocking, considering HP printers maintain dominant market share, and HP servers, desktops and laptops rank at or near the top of their respective markets.
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Posted In: Hardware as a Service | Platforms | Software as a Service and Hardware as a Service
Tags: Dell managed print services | Hardware as a Service | Hewlett-Packard | MFPs | Multifunction Printers | Xerox PagePack
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It is very surprising that HP has not yet entered the fray with a MS offer. I wonder where their focus in these days. Layoffs and mergers, maybe?
Even though we are a partner with Dell, I do not view their interest in this arena as contributing to our MSP business. I see them competing directly against us MSP’s. They are broadening their service footprint and have a very large field service organization to support their MSP model (albeit outsourced to BancTec.) That said, even if they were trying to drive business with partner MSP’s, they would want to embrace more API’s than just their own solutions. LPI, Kaseya, etc. have large market share. I am not switching our service monitoring and delivery tools to get Dell’s API, robust as it may be.
This is news to MSP’s, but more competitive than complimentary. It does amplify the need to get moving on printer management solutions though…
@Davenport333: HP’s inability to find a partner position in the MSP market is baffling. Truly baffling. All those HP printers, laptops, desktops and servers in small business. You’d think HP would want to partner up with MSP software companies….
Actually, HP has MPS offerings for both Enterprise customers and SMBs; the former are generally sold directly, often to existing HP business customers, whereas the latter, in the form of HP Smart Printing Services, are sold through the channel.
I respect HP but I’m disappointed that many of the company’s employees can’t effectively describe HP’s MSP strategy…
My firm, the Photizo Group, has an on-going tracking study in both North America and Western Europe which monitors the adoption of Managed Print Services by corporate decision makers (companies with 250 employees or more). We have conducted over 700 interviews in North America and Western Europe to determine both Managed Print Service purchase models, and brand positions (including which brands have the most MPS engagements, brand awareness levels, brand consideration levels, and brand familiarity levels) including brand satisfaction and recommendations. This is, to my knowledge, the only quantitative on-going tracking study for the MSP market.
I only provide this as a context to my next statement, which is that HP is a MAJOR player in the market and actually one of the top MPS vendors. I definately would not underestimate their ability to impact this rapidly growing market place.
Edward: Thank you for providing the context for your comment.
I agree that HP is a major player in the market, but frankly we don’t see or hear from them — at all — when it comes to the topic of managed services for servers, PCs and notebooks.
Perhaps their printer division understands the managed services industry. But their PC and server teams are late/missing from the MSP game.
DirectPointe, the #1 MSP on the MSPMentor Top 100 list in 2007-2008, has noticed that HP’s Managed Printer Service strategy has taken a significant turn in recent months. In Q2 or Q3 of 2008 the HP Smart Printing Services program, their SMB play in the MPS market, was quietly terminated. The program presented a hybrid approach to MPS, similar to the Xerox Page Pack program, which leverged the strength of channel relationships but ultimately placed HP as the account owner.
The program was well intended, an attempt to enable transactional retailers to capture a reoccuring revenue stream through a pre-packaged MPS offering. The natural rise in channel conflict betweens the VAR’s, the manufacturer, and HP’s transactional partners ultimately ended the SMB offering.
HP has maintained their MPS focus within the enterprise through their Total Print Management service/HaaS product portfolio. If HP will revisit the SMB or not in 2009 remains to be seen. It is DirectPointe’s belief, however, that the depth and breadth of the HP Channel will ultimately place HP equipment and providers in the leading position for Managed Printer Service market share in the SMB. The Channel, however, must adapt and evolve with HP in order to capture the MPS opportunity while the window is open. The market is changing, so must the channel.
Lawton: Great to hear from DirectPointe.
Hewlett-Packard’s position in the managed services market continues to baffle me. I was not aware that HP’s Smart Printing Services program had been terminated. Assuming it’s true I’m not surprised.
We reach out to the major hardware and software companies regularly. And we hear from many of their PR firms regularly. HP is missing in action when it comes to (A) promoting managed services solutions for SMBs and (B) promoting a managed services strategy to SMB VARs.
It’s perplexing, shocking and disappointing. On the high-end, nimble start-ups like Nimsoft and GroundWork Open Source are successfully attacking HP’s OpenView administration platform.
In the printer market, we don’t hear much about HP’s managed services strategy.
And perhaps most surprisingly, HP has done little (if anything) to articulate how the company’s PCs, notebooks and servers fit into an MSP architecture.
To HP’s credit, the company is working with Microsoft in an attempt to help VARs figure out SaaS strategies. I’m not suggesting that the HP-Microsoft plan is perfect. But at least HP is taking some action on the SaaS front.
Back on the managed services front, HP’s silence is deafening.
HP’s Enterprise MPS is somewhat…”inflexible” relative to channel offerings.
And yes, it is true, SPS is gone and has been for I believe a couple of quarters.
Here we are again, trying to define MPS – a challenge when there were only a few MPS players(just 12 short months ago).
Today, every copier manufacturer, independent dealer, supplies vendors, a number of IT VAR’s and soon a computer distributor all wanting a piece of this new, hip, revenue stream; and defining MPS from their unique point of view.
Wow.
Didn’t Dell do this once before? Back in 2006, with another powerhouse, Lexmark? The answer is yes, they did.
Lawton Smith, good comment, spot on.
Greg: Dell will offer some new details regarding its managed print strategy on March 18, during our MSPmentor Live: Hotseat webcast.