Cloud-native platform and key industry partnerships drive demand for MPS Monitor 2.0, its remote monitoring solution targeted at print dealers and MPS providers.
MPS Monitor®, the company that develops and distributes the leading platform for the remote monitoring and management of printers and multifunctional devices, has announced that it reported a 40% year on year revenue growth in 2020. Despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic, the combination of a print solution specifically engineered as a cloud-native platform along with partnerships with technology leaders – including HP, Microsoft, Okta and Asolvi – has seen the Milan-based company successfully meet the rapidly evolving print needs of dealers and MPS providers worldwide.
Founded on a pioneering vision of how best to help dealers and MPS providers manage print, MPS Monitor 2.0 is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) remote fleet monitoring platform which enables the remote monitoring and management of printers and MFPs.
Not only does MPS Monitor 2.0 help dealers and MPS resellers improve service levels and reduce costs, it also helps to optimise dealer operations and improve overall service margins. Being cloud-based has given MPS Monitor the scalability and flexibility to quickly and easily accommodate the changes imposed upon businesses globally by the pandemic – such as the move to the hybrid working model – which has changed how and where print happens, how it is managed and how it is accounted for. MPS Monitor’s growth during this economically challenging and disruptive year demonstrates its ability to successfully rise to this challenge.
A further reflection of MPS Monitor’s ability to meet the needs of dealers and MPS providers, is seen in the technology industry leaders that have chosen to partner with MPS Monitor. With security front of mind for all organisations, MPS Monitor most recently announced that it has partnered with Okta – the leading independent identity provider – to offer secure and transparent Single Sign-On access to customers. The Okta integration ensures MPS providers and customers benefit from maximum security and ease of access to the SaaS platform. Users can access the platform using their company account credentials, which avoids the burden of creating and maintaining dedicated logins and passwords for each specific SaaS web application.
Recognising the market’s demands for solutions to be easy to use, the company also announced that MPS Monitor 2.0 integrates with HP’s SDS Cloud DCA. This feature enables HP devices running FutureSmart* firmware to connect and interact with the cloud without the need for any on-premises connector or other local components. This simplifies life for dealers as they can now remotely monitor and manage all supported HP FutureSmart devices without installing DCA on the customer’s network. The Cloud DCA natively supports all the HP Smart Device Services’ (SDS) advanced features: utilising device sensors, analytics, and remote monitoring capabilities, SDS provides a remote platform to diagnose, predict, and resolve service issues to minimise downtime for the customer and reduce service costs for channel partners.
Another key industry relationship was formed in November 2020, when MPS Monitor announced the integration of Universal Print by Microsoft inside the MPS Monitor 2.0 SaaS platform. This helps dealers and Managed Print Services providers using MPS Monitor to assist customers moving their print infrastructure to the Microsoft 365 cloud and having all their print fleet managed by a single SaaS platform.
In September 2020, MPS Monitor announced the availability of three new connectors that enable dealers using Asolvi ERP solutions to benefit from a deep integration of the monitoring platform into their systems. The new connectors enable MPS Monitor 2.0 to establish and maintain a seamless machine-to-machine communication with Evatic, Purpose Software 2serv and Vantage Online systems. This integration allows the three ERP systems to get timely and updated information on device status, meter readings, consumable alerts and levels, support and maintenance requests, and much more information, coming directly from MPS Monitor’s DCA.
An independent validation of MPS Monitor’s solid position in the print ecosystem, came in the form of a detailed Vendor Profile Analysis published by IDC in March 2021. It stated that ‘MPS Monitor is a strategic player in the market…’ and that it provides ‘… added value to customers and channel partners alike with a robust solution that offers capabilities beyond traditional device management platforms.’ The report added that: ‘With its cloud-based architecture, vendor-agnostic approach, security focus, and direct integration with HP Inc.’s Smart Device Services (SDS) and Microsoft Universal Print (UP), MPS Monitor is uniquely positioned to help meet the evolving needs of the hybrid workforce.’
IDC’s report comes soon after Quocirca, the print industry’s leading source of independent market insight and advisory services, published “The Print Security Landscape, 2020”. In addition to revealing the concerns of IT decision-makers in Europe and the US about the risks of printing and declining confidence in the ability to protect the print infrastructure against security breaches, the report stated that “MPS Monitor 2.0 is a cloud-based print management platform that offers a robust solution for MPS providers and channel partners to provide integrated print management to their customers.” It added that “MPS Monitor provides an effective way for channel partners to deliver foundational print security management to their customers.”
Commenting on its growth, Nicola De Blasi, CEO of MPS Monitor, stated: “Due to the pandemic, last year was extraordinarily challenging from a health, social and economic perspective. This presented businesses with barriers and hurdles they had never encountered before, putting them and the print ecosystem under pressure to respond quickly to the rapidly changing business landscape. Our founding vision for MPS Monitor to be a cloud-native platform, proved to be correct; we had the right solution at the right time for our print dealer community as they worked with their clients to build new print models for the new world. IDC’s recent and positive Vendor Profile is an endorsement of our strategy, which sees us focused on accessibility, flexibility, security and industry partnerships in order to benefit the channel partners that we serve, both now and in the future.”
