In a 2009 survey of federal employees, the Government Accountability Office found that an average of $440.4 million was spent on unnecessary printing each year. Despite its astronomical cost, little effort was made to reduce this financial burden, even as government agencies found themselves needing to do more with less.
But the growing prioritization of cost efficiency has finally prompted agencies to explore the possibility of print savings. As its potential becomes more apparent, managed print services (MPS) is finding its way into the spotlight.
MPS enables agencies to organize and maintain their print environment by providing visibility into print service spending practices and empowering them to control these costs to maximize efficiency. An organized print environment also means better security when handling sensitive documents.
Despite the cost and security benefits that MPS can provide, agencies often struggle to make the shift. But with the emphasis on better tracking and management of IT costs noted in the President’s Management Agenda (PMA), MPS is expected to gain more traction. As a previously neglected concept, print management is a difficult system to incorporate, with little precedent for its adoption or use in agencies. Not knowing where to start is the biggest obstacle.
To help agencies better understand how to implement managed print services and cut costs in their print environment, GovLoop partnered with AlphaSix Corporation, a company focused on providing IT products, services and solutions that create cost efficiencies and apply effective strategies at the conjunction of big data and cybersecurity. In this report, we identify current challenges in print services, how agencies can overcome them by adopting MPS and how AlphaSix can help implement best practices in print services. You’ll also gain insights from Mark Hughes, Vice President of Strategic Programs at AlphaSix.
