How multi-academy trusts spread cost efficiencies throughout their schools

As non-profit organisations, multi-academy trusts must continually find ways to demonstrate value to their shareholders. Typically, print is a significant obstacle to this – since print infrastructures often differ greatly from school to school; meaning that trusts are forced to co-ordinate between multiple disparate brands on a regular basis.

Now, dealing with printers from multiple brands creates many operational difficulties. Organising third-party support is an obvious example – but having many diverse brands also means variably escalating costs, security concerns, and administrative complexity, all of which compound on a trust’s ability to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

But, some trusts have successfully streamlined this day-to-day struggle by investing in a Managed Print Service – which is creating several adjacent benefits, which we will explore below.

Streamline technical support

Reliable device support is much easier to achieve when your print devices are standardised under a Managed Print Service – because you can deal with one point of contact for all your devices, rather than try to co-ordinate between many different suppliers.

Furthermore, Managed Print is far more cost-effective than purchasing machines outright; since the cost of support is consolidated within your plan. This means you won’t need to keep funds aside for surprise repairs, allowing you to use IT budgets more effectively – and with a first-time manual fix rate of 94%, we’ll ensure you get maximum value out of your devices.

Continual device uptime

Keeping your print devices active is further enabled with the continual remote monitoring of ARMA, Apogee’s Remote Management Application. Enabling us to provide your schools with fast, responsive support, ARMA continually monitors your print devices for potential faults – giving us all the information we need to get you back up and running as quickly as possible.

As well as fixes, keeping you supplied with consumables is a key function of ARMA; since it prompts us to send replacements when your toner levels drop below a certain threshold. This enables greater convenience for your staff, by allowing them to print what they need, when they need to. 

Complete cost visibility

Keep on top of your spending through Print Management software, which keeps tabs on printer usage and output. Being able to see individual print activity allows you to identify areas of excess; enabling you to take necessary steps to get costs back in line.

Scalability is another key advantage of a Managed Print Service – so, if you use this software to identify machines that are not required partway through your leasing period, you can easily adjust your plan to help minimise costs further.

Secure, convenient print

Making printers accessible across large sites is a common challenge for many schools – and a Cloud Print service enables staff and students to make use of any onsite printers, so long as devices are connected to your network.

Not only that, but stronger data security is enabled through this service – since storing print jobs on a secure Cloud server means they are protected from potential cyber threats. This is enhanced to a greater degree by introducing measures such as ID cards, which only allow print jobs to be released when the sender is physically present - preventing documents being left in the print tray where anyone can access them.

Make print sustainable

Concerned about your carbon footprint? Easily offset paper usage with PrintReleaf, a program which tracks pages used and converts them into reforested trees in forests all over the world. 

Refurbished print devices are also a viable option for multi-academy trusts to make a cost-effective sustainable choice. The ACE Line (Apogee’s Circular Economy line) offers refurbished print devices that have been minimally used, which have undergone rigorous checks to ensure quality performance.

The disposal of your printers is also taken care of through The ACE Line, which refurbishes your devices at their end-of-life. This means all usable parts are being kept within a circular economy – and most importantly, out of landfill, which is a valuable component that can go toward your ESG strategy.

In this day and age, many things are demanded of multi-academy trusts – and investing in a Managed Print Service represents an easy avenue to maintaining document security, maximising efficiency, and making print sustainable; whilst also allowing you to maintain an efficient IT budget.

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