Research shows managed print services can reduce buried expenses by 30%, freeing up IT resources

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct 28, - Recent research by global research firm IDC says businesses that tackle five “hidden” costs stand to reduce enterprise printing costs by up to 30 percent, freeing up money to fund other IT projects.

The Europe-wide research was presented during an executive roundtable hosted by Xerox in association with IDC on 27th October at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin. According to IDC, printing costs typically consume 1 to 3 percent of a company’s annual revenues, and most organisations are unaware of this spend. IDC said the ability to control printing costs often lies in five areas not always perceived as print-related:

- Storage / Footprint

- The IT service desk

- Procurement and administration

- Environmental sustainability

- Organisational productivity

“Organisations that fail to understand their total enterprise printing costs miss a significant opportunity to cut overhead and liberate funds for innovation and business transformation initiatives,” Arnaud Gagneux, Director IDC told the assembly. “Since that level of print management usually is not a core competency, outsourced managed print services offer the best solution for companies challenged with getting more out of constrained information management budgets.”

Organisations often focus on reducing direct print costs – commercial printing hardware, maintenance and supplies – which account for only a fraction of the total cost of printing. Also identifying the hidden costs and engaging a professional MPS supplier can reduce overall print expenditure by up to 30 percent, releasing IT budget and time to focus on urgent IT projects.

Over 65 CIOs and IT directors attended the half-day event, “Cost Saving and Innovation: How to Deliver Both,” part of the Xerox Real Business Live event series.

Xerox is a global leader in managed print services placed by Gartner, Inc., in the Leaders Quadrant in the 2010 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services Worldwide[1] . Xerox has also been recognised as a leader in IDC’s Worldwide and U.S. Outsourced Print and Document Services Forecast and Analysis[2],  IDC’s 2010 MPS MarketScape report[3] and Quocirca’s European Vendor “MPS Comes of Age” report, 2010.

“With a still challenging economy, an ever faster pace of change in business and growing global competitiveness, enterprises need to compete by concentrating on what they do best,” said Mark McPhillips, Xerox  Director Ireland & UK. “At Xerox, our core competency is performing the back office tasks that enable our customers to sharpen their focus on their real business.”

The Dublin event is one of 22 being held by Xerox and IDC in 12 countries during 2011.  To attend a virtual version of the “Cost Saving and Innovation: How to Deliver Both” workshop and to download a copy of the Xerox sponsored IDC white paper: “Beneath the Surface: The True Cost of Enterprise Printing” visit http://www.xerox.ie/idc.

[1] Gartner, Inc., Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services, Worldwide, Ken Weilerstein, Cecile Drew, Yulan Li

[2] IDC “Worldwide and U.S. Outsourced Print and Document Services Forecast and Analysis” Doc #224913, September 2010.

[3] IDC “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed Print Services 2010 Hardcopy Vendor Analysis.” Doc # 222872, April 2010.