I don't have time now as we have a lot of analytics we need to prepare which have high prio...

This reply is often received in interviews, and the image I always get on my mind is this classic illustration:

I guess this image can be used for practically anything in life, but in our line of business which is making printer management smarter, we see this happening all the time.

Are you adapting to new software or the other way around?

As a software architect, we want to make software that solves problems, but the complexity of problems today is way different than the good old days. Today we hear questions like:

• How do I make my business profitable?

• How do I become leaner?

• How do I obtain competitive pricing?

• How do I become more proactive?

• How can I differentiate my business?

• How do I make that difference?

• How do I stay up to date?

.... just to mention a few.

The answers to these questions will all include something in common. You need to understand your business and workflows.

Take the printer business. Plastic boxes that can print paper. Should be simple enough to manage right?

Wrong, the more you have the more complex it is to create and maintain an overview. The time needed to process all those numbers is way more expensive than the potential cost reduction.

A lot of people are running very fast to generate information others can use to conclude if things are ok.

This means that many companies are spending a lot of time internally which is not invoiceable. However, it's needed in order to process data to ensure clients are properly managed. It will also ensure that office printers are in balance and costs as low as possible.

Tip 1: Enjoy the analytical tools

As we are in 2019 we have the technology to help. The big data wave has created many tools that can take loads of data and process fast. This will help companies getting an overview of:

1. Costs

2. Procurement need

3. The utilization of current printers

4. Quickly adapt to changes before it gets too expensive

5. Budget forecasting

Data is just numbers. Working with conclusions makes life easier.

Tip 2: Welcome automation

Are you doing things which could be automated?

The answer is probably yes, as we often are in such a hurry that sitting down and reflecting on current workflows on a topic such as printers is simply not done.

Business automation tools are just as hot a topic as big data and AI. Business automation will help you streamline processes and reduce the risk of failure.

It will reduce stress for your team and it will help to scale business with the same amount of hands.

If you are in the printer business, whether managing your own printers in the company or selling services such as managed print services, we believe that we can make your life easier with our software.

We would love to hear what you think and share our best practices, so if you are up for it, why not try out the free trial? We will guide you through it all and make sure you get the best out of it. Get started here

To sell smart, to manage smart and to stay smart requires that we adapt to software designed to make life easier, not the other way around.

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Henrik Lundsholm

Co-founder of 3manager