3D print service bureaus are companies with physical or online outlets that use 3D printers to produce objects. Customers (R&D and new product development departments of manufacturing organizations) supply digital or physical models, from which the objects — which may be concept models, prototypes, spare parts or finished goods — are created. While there are 3D print services that cater to consumers, our Market Guide focuses on 3D print service bureaus used by private and public organizations (see Note 1). These bureaus often offer creative, design and engineering services that facilitate the learning process. Service bureaus produce 3D printed prototypes, tools and fixtures, finished goods and spare parts that may ultimately justify an organization investing in an in-house 3D printer. While 3D printing (3DP) is their primary product offering, these service bureaus typically offer one or more of the following additional services: application engineering, postprocessing, assembly and quality assurance testing.
Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) market provides for the recovery of enterprise applications at another location in the event of a disaster. The provider can deliver the service as a fully managed, assisted recovery or as a self-service offering. DRaaS is designed to ensure business continuity by providing organizations with a cloud-based solution for recovering critical workloads and data in the event of a disruption, outage or disaster. This service is particularly valuable for organizations that lack the resources, expertise or geographically distanced secondary data centers required for traditional disaster recovery strategies. DRaaS addresses the need for rapid, reliable recovery, enabling organizations to minimize downtime and data loss, and to meet their business continuity objectives.
Managed print services (MPS) is the term for a service offered by an external provider to take primary responsibility for an enterprise’s print infrastructure. MPS programs are designed to meet certain objectives, such as driving down costs, improving business efficiency, enabling digital transformation (including reducing reliance on print), or reducing environmental impacts. The core components of MPS include: 1) Thorough requirements assessment. 2) Optimization of new and existing hardware. 3)Provision of service, parts and supplies within defined service levels. 4) Active management and reporting on devices, utilization and other key performance indicators (KPIs). 4) User training and change management to support solution adoption. In addition to core services some add-on components have become popular: a) Print server consolidation or elimination and cloud solutions. b) Digitization and automation of previously paper-reliant workflows and integration with business systems (document and content management digital platforms). c) Security capabilities for print infrastructure, along with security consultancy services. d) Sustainability and green initiatives programs and services.
Gartner defines the outsourced digital workplace services market as the services performed by providers to deliver consulting, implementation and support for enhancing the digital employee experience of end users who depend on endpoint virtual and physical devices and applications to conduct business. Services offered by outsourced digital workplace services (ODWS) vendors include integrated digital workplace (DW) services that work to increase employee engagement, enhance employee experience and productivity, and improve digital dexterity in support of the organization’s business strategy.