XGS managed service 'saves you 25 per cent'
Firm claims to optimise client's business processes
Xerox Global Services (XGS) will provide training and tools for corporate resellers interested in offering managed services around document outsourcing.
XGS has claimed it can optimise business processes to save clients at least 25 per cent through its managed service known as XOS. This equates to about €300 per office employee annually.
The firm said it achieves this by calculating document-related costs for customers, such as print output, faxes, copying (plus electronic media such as email, web pages and images), and applying a more streamlined approach.
Analyst Infotrends/Cap Ventures values the 2004 market for on-site document outsourcing in Europe at €3.15bn and estimates six per cent annual expansion until 2008.
Analyst IDC said Document spend is largely untracked and amounts for as much as 15 per cent of company revenues.
Ron Glaz, director of IDC's digital imaging solutions and services, said: "Growth in this market is being fuelled by the rapid adoption of imaging, document, and content technologies overall, user demand for easy access to documents, and the evolving need for imaging and document management within particular vertical segments."
Typically, XGS cuts costs after taking over the management of all devices (including those leased from third parties), by using its buying power to buy all consumables for less and by providing centralised support.
While XGS consultants typically spend two or three days conducting on-site analysis before running diagnostic software for 60 days to produce their calculations, the group said it would train interested accredited partners to use its Assessment tool.
"We're happy to talk to interested resellers," Shaun Pantling, director and general manager at XGS Europe, told CRN.
As XGS typically works with firms with at least 3,000-plus staff, there is an opportunity for larger VARs to offer a stripped-down service for smaller enterprises.
"We want to help our resellers make margins not just on hardware but on the services associated with Xerox products. We're very keen to help our resellers become more specialised and knowledgeable in Xerox," said Bernie Gooch, XOS service development manager at XGS Europe.
Rivals Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lexmark offer equivalent strategies to XOS, called TPM and Discovery respectively.