MPS Association Moves Forward with Formation Committee Assignments

The formation of the new Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) continues moving forward with a kickoff meeting and a volunteer formation committee. More than 110 people attended a recent kickoff meeting at the 2009 MPS Conference. Attendees represented the end user community, software and service vendors, hardware manufacturers, and resellers and dealers.

Following a vote to form the MPSA, the fledgling group took action on association structure, MPS definition, membership, certification, directory of players, and its potential role in setting standards and other potential roles for the MPSA. A group of individuals representing eight companies and all aspects of the industry volunteered to serve on the formation committee. This group will draft a proposed charter and membership guidelines and report to the larger body of the MPSA within 30 days.

Targeted areas for focus include establishing standards for MPS engagements and programs.

“Since the MPS market is in the midst of a growth explosion, I believe the industry standards and certification that MPSA is proposing will help our ultimate end-user customer, which is really why we are all pursuing MPS,” said Jim Fitzpatrick, manager, Managed Services Operations, Oki Data of the Americas. “I applaud the Photizo Group for providing the foundation for what is sure to be an important standards body for the future of all parties involved in printed document environments.”

“The development of the MPSA is a major step to share the value of real cost savings available in the Output Device space to enterprises of all sizes and to finally document key expectations for manufacturers, dealers, and end users,” noted Bob Barrette, chief technology officer and senior vice president, Perfect Output of Kansas City.

According to Justin West of Nationwide Insurance, “It will be a great venue for collaboration between all stakeholders in the MPS industry.”