Burlington, Mass. - Managed Print Services (MPS) have become the transformative business model in the printing and imaging industry. The recent economic climate has reinforced the primary driver of MPS of cost avoidance through reduction of printing, but it has also expanded the demands by customers to deliver on another part of the cost equation - increasing worker productivity and automating business processes. As a result, organizations are expanding their MPS requirements to include Managed Document Services (MDS.)
 
With customer pressure to deliver continuous, quantifiable benefits to print and imaging processes, MPS providers will need to expand from print device management to also focus on automating document processes and workflows. This means document capture services will play an increasingly important role in MPS by providing front-office document scanning and workflow capabilities from network multifunction devices.  Nuance eCopy ShareScan and eCopy PDF Pro Office are at the forefront of MDS initiatives.
 
"When MPS providers only focus on improving document output efficiencies and reducing print costs, they are delivering incomplete solutions," said Bill DeStefanis, Senior Manager, MFP Product Management, Nuance Document Imaging. "MPS needs to optimize the document lifecycle - from capture to output – with Managed Document Services delivered in a global model, localized across languages with consistent worldwide support. Only then will organizations realize the measurable productivity gains and cost savings that MPS promises."
 
Including document scanning and workflow automation will help print and imaging vendors and their customers tap the full potential of MPS initiatives. The market opportunity is massive for MPS players that align their solutions with customers' complete document services needs. According to the Photizo Group, the MPS market grew from $20 billion in 2008 to $24 billion in 2009, and is forecasted to become a $68 billion market by 2014.
 
5 Key Elements for Managed Document Services
 
1. Enable Document Automation from All Devices

Today's economy has printing and imaging customers searching for ways to gain more value from existing multifunction printers (MFPs) rather than buying new devices. This reality makes it essential for MPS vendors to support MFPs from multiple brands. Document capture software must follow the same path and provide a common "look and feel" experience for users at any device - including MFP, desktop and mobile - and span ad hoc to complex workflows. This distributed approach minimizes the user learning curve, lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) and drives up scanning utilization rates which can help business process optimization.
 
2. Add Value to Existing Enterprise Software Investments

Document automation isn't achieved with simple scan to email or even capturing documents for centralized repositories. A complete solution connects to content management, accounting, engineering and other enterprise environments, and includes advanced document processing capabilities such as forms processing, document conversion, and free-form recognition. The result places MFP devices at the front-end of business document workflows that are an integral part of the business process and increases the value of the solution.
 
3. Enable Rapid, Repeatable and Profitable Deployments

To avoid becoming a commodity, MPS providers need to offer custom and vertical solutions. Software and services are a great way for MPS providers to deliver such value added solutions. Document scanning and workflow software can drive provider differentiation through software developer kits (SDKs) for quickly creating unique, repeatable document automation solutions. These SDKs can help MPS providers develop customized interfaces at the MFP that connect to document processing and back-end business applications. Document capture SDKs should insulate developers from the complexities of having to adapt applications to various MFP scanning platforms.
 
4. Enable Authentication, Auditing and Compliance

MPS vendors must authenticate and audit all printing and imaging activities to monitor costs and support compliance processes. To support cost and compliance initiatives, document scanning applications need to generate granular data that can be fed into MPS administrative systems - for example, identifying the MFP and specific user who scanned, as well as the time of the scan, and where the digital document was sent after scanning. With this information, companies can better measure the time to complete business processes for future optimization. They can also develop charge-back models that match the true costs of document workflows and use this information to drive new efficiencies.
 
5. Provide Global Product Delivery and Support

The MPS business model calls for device and process optimization across the enterprise, extending from headquarters to branch and worldwide offices. Document scanning software needs to support this model fully with localization across languages so users in all geographies share a common user experience. Also, software vendors must provide global field and product support to meet the requirements of MPS providers and their customers in multinational MPS engagements.
 
Nuance's portfolio of scanning, document processing and PDF solutions boost personal productivity, increase departmental efficiency and streamline enterprise workflows. The portfolio delivers an end-to-end solution that supports workflows from MFPs to desktop and mobile devices.
 
Nuance's eCopy ShareScan Suite 5 is the world's best-selling document scanning and workflow solution for networked MFPs. eCopy ShareScan provides organizations with everything needed to automate their paper-to-digital workflows, letting office workers scan paper documents easily and securely using existing investments in network MFPs and scanners. The software works with MFPs from the world's leading vendors - including Canon, HP, Konica Minolta, Océ, Ricoh, Toshiba and Xerox. eCopy PDF Pro Office is desktop PDF software that allows users to create, convert and collaborate with PDF documents.