HP has begun rolling out analytics features to its managed print services customers in Ireland, allowing them to make more informed decisions about making their print device fleet run more efficiently.
The analytics tools are under the umbrella of HP’s MPS Smart Decision Suite. These provide organisations with a strategic view of device availability across the network, which HP claimed leads to an optimally deployed fleet. IT departments can now have real-time access to information and, as a result, improved efficiency and cost savings.
The managed print services model has been established for some time and typically is said to save 25-30pc of costs for an organisation. Gary Tierney, country manager, HP Imaging and Printing Group Ireland, said the latest addition is aimed at extending those savings further.
“Anecdotally, for every €1 it costs to put a mark on a page, it costs €9 to manage that through its life cycle,” he said.
About the Smart Decision Suite
The Smart Decision Suite is intended to provide data capture and apply analytics so that businesses can more accurately predict what toner they will need for a particular device. The tools will report on a range of categories, including how much duplex printing was done or the percentage of mono printing done on colour machines.
“We’re delivering real data back to the business. That way they can take machines out of environments where they aren’t being used, or identify machines that are being overused,” said Tierney.
Tierney did not identify Irish customers using this service by name, but he said HP was working with companies in the pharmaceuticals, financial services and manufacturing sectors.
One topical example of saving money on print costs is in the banking sector. The stream of recent board appointments at Irish institutions would previously have resulted in massive waste, with old letterheads having to be scrapped in favour of new sheets which by law must show the up-to-date list of directors. Now, those details are added only when the document is being printed, said Tierney.
HP’s ePrint Enterprise mobile printing capability
Separately, HP has also introduced the ePrint Enterprise mobile printing capability – the fruit of an alliance formed last year with BlackBerry maker RIM. The same capability is also being prepared for the iPhone. This feature enables people to print securely from a mobile device to find a printer near them with an IP address.
This initiative will see HP increase the number of public locations where it has printing stations, such as kiosks, Tierney confirmed. “As we roll out the ePrint solution, we will have to have Irish locations where we can execute on this,” he said.
By Gordon Smith
