Is your district entering a buying cycle in this next fiscal year?
This process can be overwhelming and confusing, but the technology that powers your teaching and learning is too important to leave to yet another renewal.
As education changes and your district’s technology needs evolve, this is the time to closely evaluate existing contracts, equipment, technology solutions, and services to set up your district for success. Here are five things to consider in your next print technology buying cycle.
1. When did you last evaluate your district’s printing and technology needs?
If you commonly renew your print technology contract without reassessing your district’s needs, it may have been 3-5 years or even longer since you last evaluated your district’s printing and technology needs. And yet, K-12 education and the technology industry have changed dramatically during that time.
Print volumes and device utilization have decreased since the pandemic, but for most districts, technology needs continue to increase, e.g., mobile device management, mobile printing, and security both of your print environment and your network (which now extends beyond the walls of your building) – all of which places an additional burden on your IT staff.
Your current vendor will be focused on maintaining the status quo, but simply replacing your current equipment with equipment of a similar speed does not always address the specific needs of each area or department. That is why it’s always a good idea to have a new perspective on opportunities to downsize your fleet, reduce costs, increase security, and streamline workflows.
2. When did you last compare your current costs within the market?
Extending or upgrading a fleet with the same vendor for several contract periods can sometimes lead to complacency from your vendor. The market continues to provide a growing number of programs for the educational space, including lease programs and buying contracts. A fresh set of eyes on your current contract, usage, and pricing can help you feel confident in the capabilities and value of your print investment.
Compare Prices
In addition to initiating an assessment of how your district’s print and technology needs have changed over the past few years, we recommend getting a price comparison to ensure you’re not overpaying.
Assess Your Usage and Volumes
And don’t forget – your rates shouldn’t be based on usage data that was gathered three-plus years ago. Rather, pricing should be grounded in an assessment of your current usage and volumes so that you can right-size your fleet. Are there opportunities to downsize your total number of machines? Color machines? Copier accessories?
Evaluate Alternative Pricing Structures
Publicly bid pricing contracts are available at the state or national level. When you work with a vendor that participates in these contracts, you get the confidence that you are receiving a fair, competitive price for products and services. Even better, procuring from these state and national contracts can potentially help you avoid the RFP process entirely.
3. Have you explored a Managed Print Services (MPS) program?
If you’re evaluating cost and usage and realizing that you really don’t have the information you need to understand what’s happening in your print environment, it might be time to consider a Managed Print Services (MPS) program.
Central Management
Most K-12 schools manage printers and consumables at the departmental level, making each month’s costs unpredictable. An MPS program offers full visibility into your total print spend and environment.
Focus on Education, Not Printers
Your IT staff is already stretched too thin. With an MPS program, they will spend less time on printer-related tickets so they can focus on higher-value initiatives. Regular preventive maintenance extends the life of your printers and reduces costly downtime. Additionally, remote monitoring and support capabilities can further uncover potential issues before they can disrupt instructional delivery.
Data-Driven Strategy
Remember: printer fleets should not be a free-for-all of on sale models with soaring consumable costs. Our MPS program uncovers your total cost of operation and fleet makeup. We then develop a custom program to lower your costs, improve device efficiency, and achieve a standardized, right-sized fleet.
4. Have you considered implementing print management software (i.e, PaperCut)?
Printing in K-12 can come with waste, IT headaches, and information security concerns, especially if there’s no central way to manage and track it. That’s where print management software such as PaperCut comes in.
Virtual Print Queues and Rules-Based Printing
Uncontrolled printing equals uncontrolled costs. With PaperCut, you can manage user behavior rather than devices. Print jobs go to a virtual queue that your users then release upon retrieval, and rules-based printing can direct larger print jobs to more efficient devices or force duplex or black-and-white printing, reducing unnecessary prints or unnecessary color usage.
Reporting
Reporting through print management software enables visibility and accountability into the who, what, when, and where of your school’s printing. View activity by class, department, or individual users or devices across your environment.
Print Deploy and Mobility Print
Printer issues can be a drain on IT staff, with printer-related issues estimated to account for up to 50% of IT support calls. Print management software minimizes your IT staff’s involvement in printing in both managed and bring your own device (BYOD) environments.
Simple Integration
PaperCut is vendor-neutral, which means it is designed to run on as many operating systems and devices as possible, removing worry about compatibility with your existing fleet of printers, copiers, and MFDs.
Secure Print Release
Security functions such as PaperCut’s secure print release require user authentication before a job is released, which prevents sensitive documents and student and staff data from falling into the wrong hands.
5. Is there an opportunity to consolidate vendors and contracts?
As you evaluate your district’s print technology needs, consider the benefits of consolidating vendors. Consolidation can reduce administrative burden, confusion, and potential additional costs associated with juggling multiple vendors and multiple vendor contracts.
Financing and Leasing
One notable area of opportunity is with your leasing and financing. If your financing and leasing are currently run through one or more third-party entities, you could consider partnering with a print provider that supports these functions in-house.
Service and Support
Downtime disrupts learning. How does your current provider respond when you need service on your equipment or need to contact customer support? Do you work with your provider’s in-house team or a third-party representative? Do you receive a timely response? Partnering with a provider that has a dedicated, in-house service and support team can save you time, reduce headaches, and provide a smoother experience with all your account management needs handled under one roof.
Additional Solutions
Your administrative and IT staff juggle many priorities. They shouldn’t have to juggle vendors, too. As you look at your print technology needs for the next 3-5 years, this is a good time to evaluate your districts’ other technology needs and consider partnering with a full-service provider that can manage not only your print fleet but also secure your devices and network against cyber threats, implement classroom management solutions, deploy electronic fax, back up your data, and more.
Click or tap the image to download the checklist!
Identifying the Right Criteria and Asking the Right Questions
If you are planning to issue an RFP for the upcoming school year or beyond, this can be a challenging and time-consuming process. You need to ensure you are evaluating the most relevant criteria and asking the right questions to meet your district’s needs now and in the future.
These considerations are several of the many that will help you identify a partner who can provide the best solution for your district for the next three to five years.
Are you in a buying cycle for your K-12 school or district? Is your current vendor talking with you about renewing your contract early?
If you're looking for a technology partner that understands the demands of your industry, don’t settle for standard—partner with Prosource instead. We can help you meet your budgetary and print technology needs and can even serve as a trusted advisor in developing your next RFP.
In K-12 education, we provide copiers, printers, production print solutions, and managed print services to 78 school districts, with more than 3,400 devices under contract. We also power and protect more than 200 school districts with IT and cybersecurity solutions built specifically for the needs and budget considerations of K-12 schools.
Contact our team today for an assessment of your environment or to talk more about your next RFP.
