Lexmark has unveiled a new channel initiative, the Advantage Managed Print Service (MPS) Core Programme, to help its partners start selling managed services.
According to Martin Fairman, Lexmark channel sales director, UK & Ireland, Lexmark will do much of the “heavy lifting” for its partners, including providing fulfilment , servicing and maintenance on behalf of the reseller.
He says the programme differs to rival vendors’ MSP schemes by allowing the partner to invoice its customer directly: “They’re rewarded handsomely, but they have no interaction with customer,” says Fairman.
Lexmark allows the reseller to re-package and re-brand the service as its own, and then can invoice what and how they choose.
“It’s a great platform to start selling MPS,” says Fairman.
He specifically points to the untapped opportunities around MPS for SMBs – a market that has yet to adopt managed print on a large scale.
However, Fairman points to a report last year by Quocirca that predicts first time adoption of MPS in Europe will grow throughout 2015 with more than 50 percent of SMBs converting to some form of MPS by the end of the year.
IDC says that 18 percent of customers require additional solutions after their hardware purchase, which many print dealers aren’t currently providing. Also, 39 percent of SMBs go elsewhere for document solutions than the channel partner they buy their print hardware from as the software is not available from the manufacturer.
“They’re leaving lots of money on the table,” says Fairman.
Partners will receive have immediate access to training and resources to help them market the advantages of MPS.
