Quocirca Reports Needs for MPS Providers to Diversify Products

Quocirca Reports Needs for MPS Providers to Diversify Products

Quocirca’s MPS Landscape Study reveals 79% of organisations will migrate to AI PCs in the next 12 months and 73% of these will also refresh print hardware at the same time

Managed Print Service providers have a major opportunity to capitalise as businesses plan significant hardware and security investments to deal with the perfect storm of planned hardware refreshes, Windows 10 end-of-life, and the rush to embrace AI.

Quocirca’s MPS Landscape Study 2024* shows that eight in ten organisations plan to roll out AI-powered PCs across their business in the next twelve months, with 73% of these planning to refresh their print fleet at the same time. Accordingly, 48% of respondents expect to invest more in print and imaging over the coming year.

Louella Fernandes, CEO, Quocirca, comments: “The market is having to accelerate hardware refreshes across the board as customers abandon age-related renewal cycles in favour of implementing new hardware performance capabilities. This presents an enormous opportunity for MPS providers who can broaden their offering to adjacent IT services and offer customers AI solutions and advanced services to support the hybrid work environment.”

Further key findings from the MPS Landscape Study include:

• Print volumes are now at 55% of pre-pandemic levels.
• The top three technology investment areas for the coming year are cybersecurity (66%), AI (64%), and cloud computing (56%).
• The top three print management priorities for the coming year are: Security (26%), hardware refresh (23%), and workflow solutions (23%).
• Although 48% say they are very satisfied with their MPS provider, 65% of organisations are open to change, with 26% saying they will definitely switch provider at the end of their contract.
• Most organisations are seeking to standardise on single vendor fleets managed by one MPS provider.

“As customer loyalty continues to weaken, with almost two-thirds of organisations considering switching suppliers, MPS providers need to strengthen and diversify their propositions to retain existing customers and attract new clients,” continues Louella. “Incumbent MPS providers must ensure they have a strong profile during discussions about hardware refreshment to avoid losing out to competitors.”

“Our research shows that IT expertise is now the top selection factor for MPS providers, followed by cybersecurity expertise and workflow automation competency. As providers compete for contracts to undertake major hardware renewal programmes, they must refine and articulate their capabilities in these areas. Building partnerships with complementary technology providers will be an important success factor.”

Satisfaction gaps persist in priority areas

The study also shows evidence that satisfaction gaps persist in areas identified in previous Quocirca MPS landscape research.

The top three challenges organisations are experiencing around print management are reducing its environmental impact (38%) – which has risen up the agenda from third place in 2023 – controlling costs (38%), and security (36%). The study found that MPS is underperforming in satisfaction terms in all three areas.

“MPS providers need to ensure they are addressing these concerns as a priority,” says Louella. “Businesses have high expectations of the application of AI and analytics and will be looking for providers that are leveraging these to improve efficiency, sustainability, security, and service delivery. Those that fail to do so will fall behind.”

Quocirca’s MPS Landscape report contains detailed analysis of MPS offerings from major print vendors alongside recommendations for buyers and suppliers.

Download an executive summary or purchase the full report here.

*Research conducted among 500 IT decision makers UK US and Europe in July 2024

About Quocirca

Quocirca is a global market insight and research firm providing strategic market analysis and intelligence to print industry business and technology leaders. Quocirca specialises in analysing the convergence of print and digital technologies in the future workplace.

Since 2006, Quocirca has played an influential role in advising clients on major shifts in the market. Our consulting and research are at the forefront of the rapidly evolving print services and solutions market, trusted by clients seeking new strategies to address disruptive technologies.

Trusted by global industry organisations, Quocirca offers a wealth of specialist knowledge across the connected print ecosystem. Our extensive research activities are backed up with rigorous analysis and a robust primary research programme.

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• Quocirca: Concerns about the Accelerating Cloud Print Services
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• Quocirca Finds Significantly Different Opinions About AI Adoption
• Quocirca: Cloud Print Adoption Growing More Complex

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