Selecting the Right Managed Print Services Solution - Part Five

This series discusses some of the key factors in selecting the right MPS solution for your organization.  As an independent, time is precious.  Having fewer resources than national service organizations and the OEM's, you need to quickly assess your options, make your selection and implement it.  Hopefully, the questions we are posing help you in this process.

In previous posts, we discussed how autonomous you wish to be, the need for flexibility in a solution, hardware versus software DCA's and finding a solution to meet all your customers' requirements. Our next factor is:


Where does the solution and data reside?


There are basically two options when selecting an MPS solution:  The application and data either resides on the service provider's own network or the data is accessed by accessing remote servers, also called an ASP model.



So how to you decide?  Let's look at both options.

In-House

Implementing an MPS solution on your own network gives you ultimate control over the data as well as ensures that no third parties have access to the information.  There are some disadvantages, though, particularly for independent dealers that may not have IT staff.

If selecting the in-house option, you will need resources to manage installing the solution, implement upgrades and troubleshooting interface issues.  There is also the question of maintaining storage space for the data that is collected.
 
What type of support is available during the process?  Is it part of the package or are you billed on a per-event basis? Is there a help system bundled with the solution?

In the event of a hard drive or server failure, do you have a plan in place for data recovery?  Networks crashes do happen and can be catastrophic unless you are prepared.  Not being able to access your solution can have a crippling effect on your business.

ASP Option

Selecting an MPS solution that uses the ASP model can be very attractive to providers that may not have the infrastructure to support it in-house.  Even those that have an IT staff may decide that having another company house and manage the solution makes sense.  Again, there are a few things to consider.

Where does the ASP solution  house the data?  Is it managed within their own network or at one or more data centers?

There should be redundant servers/data centers to ensure that the application is up and running on a continual basis.  This ensures that you can access data in case one server or center experiences a problem.

Selecting an ASP solution means that all the responsibility of maintaining the software, storing data, and upgrading both hardware and software belong to the solution provider, not you. All the costs associated with that is part of their overhead.

What are the training/support options offered?  Do they have online help available?  There should be a variety of options available that can be tailored to fit you and your employees' training needs.

Again, by no means an exhaustive list, but this should cover the basic points. What do you think?  Are there any other pros or cons to consider when choosing in-house versus ASP?  Let us know!