Summary: This first post in ECI’s Road to Diversification: Empowering MPS Growth series explains why traditional managed print services are facing a revenue ceiling due to declining print volumes, rising costs, and flat equipment sales. It highlights diversification into areas like managed IT, physical security, and document workflow software as a path to growth, and shows how ECI’s connected software ecosystem — including e-automate and Printanista — helps reduce operational drag so dealers can pursue new revenue opportunities with confidence.
You know your managed print business better than anyone. You track the monthly service tickets, monitor supply orders, and manage billing cycles. You also see the shift happening right in front of you. Print volumes are declining, and equipment sales have leveled off.
Growing your business by simply placing more devices in the field isn't the reliable strategy it used to be. The traditional model has a revenue ceiling, and many dealers are already bumping up against it. If you want to scale, protect your margins, and build a business that holds up over time, you need a different approach.
This post is the first in our series, "The Road to Diversification: Empowering MPS Growth." We'll explore why expanding your service offerings is essential, what it looks like in practice, and how you can actually find the time to make it happen. If you're ready to chart a new course and move into new markets, this series will help you get there with confidence.
The ceiling on traditional managed print services
For years, managed print services offered a pretty straightforward path to profitability. You secured the contract, placed the hardware, and maintained the account through reliable service and supply fulfillment. It worked.
Then things shifted. Customers print less now. Remote work, digital document workflows, and changing office habits mean fewer pages running through the machines you manage. When print volumes drop, the recurring revenue tied to those pages declines as well. Meanwhile, the cost of doing business keeps climbing. Toner shipping rates go up, technician time gets more expensive, and administrative overhead cuts directly into your margins.
When you rely entirely on traditional print, your team ends up working twice as hard just to hold the same revenue. You spend your days chasing down meter reads, resolving billing disputes, and firefighting manual tasks. It's a frustrating cycle that leaves very little room to look ahead — let alone actually plan for what's next.
Moving into adjacent markets
The most successful dealers in the office technology industry see this shift clearly. Instead of fighting a declining trend, they look for new ways to serve their existing customers. And here's the thing: you're already a trusted partner for your clients. They rely on you to keep their offices running. That relationship is your biggest asset — and it's a natural foundation for offering more.
Diversification means adding services that align naturally with what you already do. We call these adjacent markets. Rather than starting from scratch, you're solving additional challenges for the same customer base you've already built.
- Managed IT services. Every business needs reliable technology support, and many of your clients are struggling to manage their networks, protect their data, and support their employees. By offering managed IT services, you become the single point of contact for their entire office infrastructure — not just their printers.
- Physical security. Modern offices need access control, security cameras, and visitor management systems. Because your technicians already know how to run cable, configure IP addresses, and maintain hardware on-site, physical security is a natural extension of your existing field service capabilities.
- Software and workflow solutions. As companies print less, they're managing more documents digitally. Offering document management software, automated routing tools, and cloud storage solutions lets you capture revenue from the digital side of their workflow. If they're not printing the document, you can still help them manage it — and get paid for doing so.
