Lately an increasing number of printer manufacturers have found hardware production inadequate. They have begun bundling printing regulation software with their machines, and promising customers they can reduce their printing expenditures.
Perhaps these printer manufacturers believe that market saturation has been reached. Perhaps they believe regulation packages the natural next step for their business. Perhaps one of these manufacturers spotted this gap, and everyone since is playing catch up.
Either way, this movement toward service-oriented business (managed print services) has fundamentally changed the nature of printer production. The revenues are apparently mouth-watering, and everyone wants their piece of the pie.
The latest printer manufacturer to dip their toes in the water is Dell. Known chiefly for their personal computers, the American company is a relative newcomer to printer production. They began manufacturing printers (to the consternation of Hewlett Packard, their chief rival in computers) only last decade.
Yet this isn’t preventing Dell from entering the lucrative managed print services market. Speaking recently, the senior product manager at Dell’s printing and imaging division Donald Heath said they will begin releasing printers oriented to service provision soon.
The goal is not to make managed print services an optional extra, but an integral part of Dell’s business model. Hence the November acquisition of business service provider Perot Systems for $3.9bn, lately renamed Dell Services.
For big cheeses in managed print services Xerox and HP, this news can only spell trouble.
Dell will begin their assault on the managed print services market later this year, when they incorporate OpenManage Printer Manager software into their product packages. Like most printer regulation software, OpenManage brings printer habits under surveillance – and hence theoretic control. Companies become not only aware of their printing habits but able to regulate them.
Secondly, Dell will incorporate Javascript into their printer software. This enables employers to make particular printers function-specific – giving managers greater control over printing habits. The objective is to reduce frivolous printing, and thereby save money.
The need to regulate printing has grown as PC networks have become more sophisticated. Ever great quantities of information are bouncing between computers, increasing the risk of document duplication. Of course, though networks have grown more intricate, the means of supervising them have not. Hence the expanding opportunities for service provision, and Dell’s planned entry.
To date Xerox and Hewlett Packard have been largely unchallenged in managed print services. Last year Xerox purchased service provider ACS (Affiliated Computer Services) to ensure their MPS clout. In 2008 Hewlett Packard bought business process outsourcing company EDS for the same reason. Dell’s intentions though suggest these manufacturers will have to compete more fiercely.
