Reduce Costs Through Printer Consolidation
Safely confront IT’s third rail.
- Very few organizations have an aggregate view of their printing costs.
- Not surprisingly, printing has become a large hidden and uncontrollable IT expense.
- Getting buy-in to control printing costs and consolidate printers is tricky, with pushback from end users and senior management.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Discovering how much the company is currently spending on printing is the first step to achieving management buy-in for printer consolidation.
- Visible management support is important to help drive a printing-aware culture.
- Simply changing your managed print services pay model can result in large cost savings.
Impact and Result
- Determine your current printing costs to justify a printer consolidation project to senior management and obtain visible buy-in.
- Consolidate your printers and re-assess your managed print service model to reduce printing costs.
Reduce Costs Through Printer Consolidation Research & Tools
1. Assess the current state
Determine current printing costs and printing behavior across the organization.
2. Define printing requirements
Understand end-user needs and provide a solution that meets those needs.
3. Make the case
Gain management support for printer consolidation and structure the project.
4. Develop a print strategy
Create an actionable short-term and long-term plan for printer consolidation.
5. Implement the action plan
Successfully consolidate printers and impact the printing culture.
6. Measure project success
Track project success and ensure that the vendor and solution are meeting expectations.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Sheridan College Institute Of Technology And Advanced Learning
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
10
Onsite Workshop: Reduce Costs Through Printer Consolidation
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Assess the Current State
The Purpose
- Understand current printing wastage and costs.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Ability to articulate current printing costs and behavior.
Activities
Outputs
Inventory your printer fleet
- Printer fleet inventory
Calculate and analyze your printing costs
- Current printing costs
Examine current organizational printing behavior
- Analysis of printing by department
Module 2: Define Printing Requirements
The Purpose
- Understand the needs of your end users to provide a sufficient printing solution.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Ability to develop a printing solution that will meet end-user requirements.
Activities
Outputs
Identify current requirements
- End-user survey results
Identify future requirements
Examine mobile printing requirements
Examine VDI printing considerations
Examine industry-specific printing requirements
- Printer requirements
Module 3: Make the Case for Printer Consolidation
The Purpose
- Select a managed print service option and validate the financial case.
- Gain management support for the printer consolidation project.
- Structure the project.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A financial and non-financial analysis of project benefits.
- Tips to overcome management pushback.
- A structured project that is more likely to succeed.
Activities
Outputs
Develop a financial business case for printer consolidation
Select a managed print service model
Develop the non-financial business case for printer consolidation
Assign project responsibilities
Assign project success metrics
- Printer Consolidation Business Case
Module 4: Develop a Print Strategy
The Purpose
- Develop a short-term and long-term print strategy and action plan.
Key Benefits Achieved
- An action plan that addresses end-user needs and concerns and integrates with your existing systems.
- Selected vendor.
Activities
Outputs
Develop a short-term plan
Decide which printers to eliminate and consolidate
Develop a long-term plan
- Printer Consolidation Action Plan
Develop an RFP
- RFP
Score RFP responses
- RFP Scoring Tool
Module 5: Implement the Action Plan
The Purpose
- Successfully execute the action plan.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Execution tips that address common challenges.
Activities
Outputs
Conduct a stakeholder analysis
- Stakeholder analysis
Modify printer policies to develop a cost-conscious printing culture
- Printing policies
Integrate mobile into the overall printing strategy and business processes
Develop a printer configuration item record
- Printer configuration item record
Module 6: Measure Project Success
The Purpose
- Track your project success and ensure that your vendor and solution are meeting expectations.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Project success metrics.
Activities
Outputs
Re-administer the end-user survey to monitor printer and vendor performance
- End-user survey results
Measure project success
- Project success metrics
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 10 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation #1 - Understand and visualize your printer usage
- Call #1 - Review your printer inventory
- Call #2 - Understand your current printing costs and usage
Guided Implementation #2 - Define your printing requirements
- Call #1 - Review your user survey results and identify your requirements
- Call #2 - Weigh the benefits of managed print services
Guided Implementation #3 - Develop your business case and action plan
- Call #1 - Review the business case
- Call #2 - Review your action plan
- Call #3 - Review the RFP
- Call #4 - Create a shortlist of candidates
Guided Implementation #4 - Implement the plan and manage the vendor
- Call #1 - Tackle end-user resistance and implement your new printer strategy
- Call #2 - Measure project success
