Implementation of a Network Print Management System: Lessons Learned

Abstract

To manage the rapidly growing demands and costs of providing campus print services, a regional university of about 9,000 students turned to a well-known outsourcing vendor. The new Network Print Management System (NPMS) replaced 35 networked printers in the library, open-access computer labs, and computer classrooms in more than 10 different buildings. The initiative had several key objectives: to increase student access to printers, to improve the quality of print services, to decrease printing costs and environmental impact, and to avoid increasing student fees. The project also sought to reduce departmental printing costs, fund technology upgrades, and reduce the burden of printer maintenance on university technology staff. This case study tells the story of the planning, analysis, design, implementation, and realization of the new system, which proved more complex than anticipated. It offers an interesting mix of perspectives, sometimes conflicting, on outsourcing implementation of new technology in a complex end-user environment.