The goal of this series is to present a list of potential requirements you would have for a complete MPS solution. Some of the items on this list may not pertain to you at the start, but you should still consider them when evaluating and selecting the right solution. Our next item on the list is:
How does the solution deal with local devices?
Eight years ago when we first started developing an MPS solution, local devices were thought to be going the way of the dinosaur. "Everyone's moving to streamlined environment where print is sent to a central location for maximum efficiency and document control." Guess what? All this time has passed and non-networked devices can still comprise a large portion of a company's print environment. You must offer a complete solution to your customer in order to secure their business. The reason they are moving to an MPS solution is to consolidate all their services so the process is better managed.
In order to do that, you definitely need to select a technology that will allow you to manage these local devices, process toner and service requests, record print volume and track the costs associated with managing these devices. This is the only way to have a true picture of not only your customer's print environment but how well you are managing the overall process.
The first decision is whether or not to monitor locally attached devices. Less security-centric customers or those with a lot of local devices may be fine with installing software. If so, here are a few questions you might want to think about when selecting which technology to use:
1. How is the software deployed? Must it be installed on each individual computer or can it scan a network to capture data?
2. Is a separate software program required to monitor local devices or is it imbedded into the existing technology?
3, Is there authentication credentials required to deploy and activate the software? This will be very important to your customer's IT department. They will want assurances that no action is being taken on their network without their approval.
4. What data will be captured? Will you get an supply and service alerts?
5. How are page counts captured? Do you have access to edit and correct page counts based on manual page counts gathered on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis?
6. How much IT/end user interaction is necessary?
7. Can some computers be excluded?
8. Will service tickets be generated automatically or does the end user have to notify you of an issue?
You will encounter many customers that absolutely will not allow third party monitoring software to be installed onto their network, even for networked devices. You will typically encounter this in financial institutions and hospitals, as well as municipal, state and federal governments. In these situations, you need a solution that will allow you to deal with local devices.
There are several factors to consider. You must be able to:
1. Add manual devices to an account.
2. Manage these devices under any program type, including CPP.
3. Input page count data, either through obtaining actual page counts on a scheduled basis or add print volume when processing tickets. The inability to monitor these devices should not dictate how you bill the customer.
4. Provide your customer with a view of their entire environment, including reporting and service history.
5. Keep track of all service, parts and toner activities, your costs, billings and profitibility throughout the account.
6. Have manual devices automatically converted to manual if network cards are installed while still retaining all historical information.
What do you think? Have you encountered situations where you must deal with local devices and weren't sure on how to do so? Are you able to manage these local devices efficiently or are you looking for a better way? What solutions have you come up with to deal with this situation? We'd love to have your thoughts and feedback!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment