pdf for testing purposes

1. How IT Pros Buy Printers
IN THIS REPORT Executive Summary
Executive Summary 1
What Drives Purchase 2 Recently we conducted a study to better understand how IT pros go about
Biggest Factor When Purchasing 3 purchasing new printers for their companies. The results show that the majority
How You Purchase 4 don’t plan for printer purchases, but rather wait for a printer to fail before
purchasing a new one. During the purchase process, IT pros prefer to review
Where You Purchase 5
and purchase products online with cost being the biggest driver behind their
selection. And finally, when it comes to the actual purchase, IT pros are divided
on whether to lease or buy and if a managed solution or service contract is the
right option for them.
About Spiceworks Voice of IT®
The Spiceworks Voice of IT® market
research program publishes data
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professionals that are among the more
than 1.5M users of Spiceworks, a free
IT management application. Survey
panelists opt-in to answer questions on
technology trends important to them.
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Published on December 6, 2011

2. How IT Pros Buy Printers
PRINTER FAILURE IS THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF NEW PURCHASES
Over half (52%) of IT pros do not allocate budget for printing and 62% wait until a printer fails before purchasing a new
one. The reason? It may be that printers aren’t a “squeaky wheel” with 80% stating that printer related issues make up
less than 10% of help desk requests.
What
makes
you
think
“It’s
<me
to
buy
a
new
printer”?
75%
62%
50%
25%
16%
12%
6%
4%
0%
Failure
Too
old
Inadequate
Scheduled
refresh
Other
func>onlity
How
much
of
your
help
desk
requests
are
printer
related?
Are
your
printer
purchases
built
into
your
3%
0%
monthly/yearly
budget?
75%
17%
52%
48%
50%
25%
80%
Yes
No
1-­‐10%
11-­‐25%
26-­‐40%
41+%

3. How IT Pros Buy Printers
COST IS THE BIGGEST FACTOR WHEN PURCHASING
Nearly three quarters (72%) of IT pros understand how much they spend each month on printing, but half believe that
there are other IT concerns that are more pressing. Therefore, when purchasing a new printer, cost is the most
important factor – for both the purchase decision and the value proposition.
Does
your
company
understand
how
much
they're
spending
on
prin<ng
monthly?
75%
50%
50%
23%
25%
13%
9%
5%
0%
Yes,
but
there
are
Yes,
and
they
Yes,
it
is
important
No,
but
they
No,
and
they
other
IT
concerns
don't
care
and
I
need
help.
should
don't
care
What's
most
important
when
considering
a
new
printer?
50%
31%
26%
25%
19%
16%
8%
0%
Best
cost/page
Features
Best
deal
Manufacturer
Other
What's
the
most
important
value
proposi<on
when
buying
a
printer?
50%
44%
28%
20%
25%
7%
0%
Lower
company
costs
/ Lower
the
total
cost
per
Award
winning
or
reliable
Green
prin>ng
and
raise
efficiency
page
energy
efficient

4. How IT Pros Buy Printers
THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON THE BEST WAY TO PURCHASE PRINTERS
IT pros are split on whether to lease or buy and if they should source their printer solution or service through a provider.
Over half (51%) would not lease printers while the other half are currently leasing (17%) or open to the idea of leasing
(32%) if the payments are low and the term matches the warranty.
In addition, the majority of IT pros manage and service their printers themselves, but the idea of outsourcing these
functions is growing. Forty-three percent are currently engaged in a printer service contract and 30% are either currently
using or planning to use a managed print solution.
Would
you
ever
consider
leasing
instead
of
buying?
75%
51%
50%
24%
17%
8%
25%
0%
Already
do
Yes,
if
the
monthly
Yes,
if
my
lease
term
No,
I
would
not
lease
payment
is
low
enough
matches
my
warranty
my
printers
Are
you
currently
in
a
printer
services
contract?
No
57%
Yes
43%
0%
25%
50%
75%
Do
you
use
a
managed
print
solu<on?
What's
that?
17%
No,
but
I'm
planning
to
6%
No
54%
Yes
24%
0%
25%
50%
75%

5. How IT Pros Buy Printers
ONLINE IS THE PREFERRED METHOD FOR RESEARCH AND PURCHASE
When purchasing printers, IT pros are gathering info and purchasing printers online. Half of IT pros purchase printers
through an online reseller and 39% use online review sites to get the info they need to buy.
Where
do
you
get
the
info
you
need
before
you
buy?
Topical
whitepapers
2%
IT
community
/
Spiceworks
14%
Manufacturer
sites
21%
Customer
reviews
23%
Online
review
sites
39%
0%
25%
50%
Where
do
you
usually
get
your
printers
from?
Retail
15%
Direct
from
manufacturer
17%
Local
reseller
17%
Online
reseller
50%
0%
25%
50%
75%
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