Go tell the Spartans, Passerby, 

That here, obedient to their laws, 

We lie.

To Boldly Go

And so it has finally come to this - There is nothing new for me to write.  There is nothing I can say, that I haven't said before; Manage Print Services has peaked and it's time to "jump the curve".  Sure, there are plenty of adventures remaining, lots of cold calls, assessments, proposals and engagements remain to be had.

Have it.

I will certainly NOT stop talking or writing about technology in our little niche - see you at some shows.  But there is more...

DOTC Parting Shot: Announcing the DEATH OF OUR INDUSTRY, IMAGING.

MpS, Managed Print Services is both the Destroyer and Mother.

"Managed" means reducing the number of prints and devices(MIF).  As long as our industry relies on selling machines that put marks on pages - it is doomed to fail.

Period.  No wiggle room.  No mobile print to the rescue.  No inkjet in every garage as savior.  We're to deep in the woods to smell the fire.  Most MpS programs simply rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

From the outside, looking in, how can one not ask,

"What in the hell is wrong with THAT industry?!!!"

- "Yeah, I saw your band...when you going to learn..."

Well the list is long, the road bloody and riddled with the ignorant.

But what the hell, here it is - the DOTC, 12 Things Wrong with the Imaging Industry.

Enjoy.

1.  The people in charge are idiots - you know I'm right
2.  The old Business Models are wrong and still practiced - you're going to delivery toner by hand? Really?
3.  The guru's are out of touch - another story about what you did at IKON? Really?
4.  Hardware is still the focus - We sell Solutions on the 1st, hardware on the 15th

Don't Know How Long We have Together...Who Does?

"Twelve Hours out of Mackinac City..."

"...The Great Divide...I could go East, I could go West...it was all up to me to decide..."

Rounding the final turn...

Does Making a Man a Knight...Make Him a Better Provider? Yes.

This post was first started April, 2011 -----

The battle for MpS.

As the 3rd Annual MPS Conference fades in the rear-view,  its deja vu all over.

Today, questions around MpS border on the mundane; reflecting, once again, the commoditization of me and of you:

Cold Calls, Dialing for MpS - old school scripts
MpS is Dead - Toner and Service only
MpS is Dying - MIF is shrinking
MpS needs 'farmers' and 'hunters' - labels and boxes
MpS Reps are simply coin operated - sure, that's all we care about, isn't it
The OEMs are not working with the channel - working 'on' is not working 'with'
The OEMs are losing control - do we sell machines or services or supplies
"I have MpS on my HP's.  The copiers are all on a service agreement.  We're fine..."  - quote from an IT guy

So, here we are again...after DOTC defined it...we're stuck asking, "What is MpS?"

"What is Managed print Services?"

What's old is new.  We've all been here before. Timeless.  From Jerusalem to BattleStar Galactica to The Matrix - the footprints we follow are our own...

Let it Rain...with Arms Wide Open