Prospect of further MPS consolidation

IDC research suggests umbrella business IT services deals may eat up MPS opportunities

IDC expects managed print services to be integrated into more extensive contracts

Research by IDC into the world’s fastest-growing managed print services (MPS) markets suggests MPS may eventually be absorbed by broader IT services contracts and providers.

Suchitra Narayan, research manager for Asia-Pacific IT services at IDC, said enterprises in fast-developing markets such as China are looking to consolidate all their services.

“Currently, multi-tower deals in the IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO) services markets are seen blended into single contracts,” she said. “As a result, IDC expects MPS to soon be integrated as part of such extensive contracts.”

Narayan said this was partly because MPS providers are increasingly dealing directly with C-level executives in the boardroom, who see it as just another managed service, especially as cloud services emerge.

“Secondly, it is no longer about services being bundled with hardware; it is hardware that comes bundled as a services offering,” she said.

Channel-based MPS delivery, in line with the increasing focus on services, is likely to have an edge. “But channels will have to restructure to build out services capabilities and not just deliver and manage ‘boxes’,” she said.

Quocirca analysts Clive Longbottom and Louella Fernandes wrote in an August report that some European players are offering MPS as part of a wider desktop services offering or green IT services strategy.

“Vendors in this category include Atos Origin, Capgemini, CSC and IBM,” the report stated.