The 2011 Global Managed Print Conference - Why You Should Not Attend

Ed and the gang over at Photizo are going to kill me for the headline, let alone the picture.

Let me explain.

Three years ago few talked about real Managed Print Services - but Photizo was.

Toner re-man guys were saying, "...we've been doing MPS for 25 years..." - this before most defined MPS.

I am not kidding, at ITEX, 2009 one schmoe had the gall to say this to my face, and then try to sell me on remanufactured, color toner cartridges.

Indeed, so many folks tried to define MPS in their likeness, it became really funny to watch. And those doing all the defining had never DONE MPS.  But Photizo had The MPS Adoption Model.

Back then, copier guys were simply trying to stay alive - not much has changed today - the OEM's had no clue and the IT sector saw nothing wrong with 2 point printer deals, attached to CarePacks.  Okay, so maybe that hasn't changed all that much either.

The 2011 Global MPS Conference is going to be huge - to date, the number of registered matches the number of attendees at the 2009 Conference. 

When most  charge for the honor of speaking and need to piggy-back with other, failing conferences, how many shows do you know that are experiencing an INCREASE in attendance?

In the Imaging Industry?

"If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything..."

This ain't your mommy's Little Princess



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Repeat After Me: "Managed Print Services is Business Process Management, MPS is BPM, MPS is BPM"" - FireWork

Inspiration for this HERE

Stay with me on this.

Remember in the "olden days" when we would set requirements with our prospect?

The requirements we would "demo" to?

Like, copying on both sides, job build, stapling, multiple paper sizes, and all that? 

By the way, do we still demo "scan once, print many"?( I guess so)

OK.  Now remember the next generation of questions?

"How often do you print?"

"Have you thought about color?

"What document types do you print?"

And then finally, the last iteration includes:

"...show me how you generate and process invoices..."

Managed Print Services, Detroit & Eminem - "This is Who We Are, This is What We Do."

[Commentator]

"I got a question for you.

What does this industry know about recovery?

What does a market that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in Managed Print Services?

I’ll tell you, more than most!

You see, its the hottest fires that make the hardest steel, add hard work and conviction. And the know how that runs generations deep in every last one of us.

That’s who we are. That’s our story.

Now it’s probably not the one you’ve been reading in the trades. The one being written by folks who have never even been in the trenches selling and don’t know what we’re capable of.

Because when it comes to MPS, it’s as much about where it’s from as who it’s for.

Now we’re from the imaging industry – but this isn’t Xerox. Or Ricoh. Or Canon. And we’re certainly no one’s RiKON.

This is the Managed Print Serivices. And this is what we do..."
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It's been in the left corner for a few weeks now. Honestly, I posted it there so I could play it whenever I wanted.

I like it.

Yes, it's a commercial.  For a car, no less.

The vehicle was on the drawing boards, 3-5 years past. The campaign ideas, camera angles, story boards and re-writes most likely occurring months ago. Possibly created by a crew of marketing majors who never worked the line, a 12 hour shift, or maybe have never, ever been to the D.

No worries.

The intent is to sell a $20,000.00 automobile manufactured in the Sterling Heights plant, from a company that gave us the K-Car.  The car that rescued Chrysler last time: brainchild of Lee Iacocca. 

No such luck today. 

What Iacocca and the US Gov't. saved so many years ago, is no longer.

Today, the third of the "Big Three" is owned by the UAW, the US Gov't and an Italian automaker, Fiat.

It doesn't matter. 

Because this commercial is about more than a car, a car company, or even a recovering Rap Star.

Unintended consequences, unforeseen responses, what happens on the Edge, in the margins is what resonates within a nation.
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Toner dust cited as cause of minor fire at Konica Minolta

Published: 1:52 PM - 02/17/11
Last updated: 1:55 PM - 02/17/11

recordonline.com
Times Herald-Record

GOSHEN - Hazardous materials officials gave the all-clear after examining a structure fire at Konica Minolta in Goshen where copy toner dust had caught fire.

The building’s 40 employees were evacuated from the building at 51 Hatfield Lane just after the fire began at about 11:15 a.m. Thursday.

The DOTC Pole Dancers

Lexmark, Ikon, and the University of Kentucky Part Duex

As the dust settles around Ikon's spiriting away the University of Kentucky from Lexmark, there is time for reflection.

As sad as this sounds, I tend to discuss MPS, imaging, and output devices during off hours; which means there really aren't "off hours".

At one point, I had the bright idea of recording some of these conversations to capture the ideas bantered about.

Crystallizing conversations; making clear the obvious.

Ideas solving the worlds woe's; ending poverty and hunger, accelerating the economic recovery and defining Managed Print Services. Again.

So I roped two volunteers, who would be suffering through another MPS pontification anyway, into putting together some microphones, music and dozens of 3x5 cards.

This is adult time, opinionated time.

My opinions.

"Not in Our House!...er...no...wait..." Rikon Takes One Right out of Lexmark's Backyard - U of Kentucky, in LEXington

Lindsay, on a block of ice...in heels...

Managed Print Services, she's a fickle beast.

Always moving, like smoke.

One minute she's with you on the dance floor, all yours.

Three months laters,  she's calling you for bail.

Of course you go back. 

But you'll never introduce her to your parents; she's just THAT kind of girl.

Battle: Los Angeles - How many times are the Aliens going to destroy L.A.?

Coming in March -

The Jig is Up, The News is Out, IT Budgets Grow in 2011 - More Managed Print Services Opportunities?

I just read a great article over at CRN here, regarding The Everything Channel survey of VAR's and service providers.

The study was conducted back in November and surveyed 384 senior level managers within VARs/IT providers.

The survey calls the available North American IT market for solution providers at $428.1 billion in 2010, up more than 6 percent from $402.1 billion in 2009.

Remember, the North American MPS market is calculated at around $25b(Photizo).

The channel accounted for 68 percent of IT sales, and direct sales making up the remaining 32 percent.

The survey found that many VARs are dependent on a small number of SMB customers for a majority of their business.

"...Nearly 30 percent of solution providers had fewer than 25 customers while 10.9 percent had between 25 and 49 customers, 9.9 percent had 50 to 99 customers and 9.9 percent had 100 to 149 customers. Only 20.1 percent had 250 or more customers..."

"No Rules Managed Print Services" - Who Do You Think You Are?

The Mafia, does not exist. Never has, except for in the movies.



The "Illuminati" is another example of propaganda and marketing. Fear motivates, just ask Little Red Riding Hood.



The Free Masons, Skull and Bones, Templars, The Thule Society, The Black Hand, and my personal favorite, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, these groups, these societies, whether real or imagined, were formed to fill a vacuum.

And nature abhors a vacuum.

Cowboys And Aliens

OK- I am not sure how I can figure MPS into this, so I won't even try.

James Bond, and Indiana Jones.

In the Western US fighting Aliens. From outer space.

I ain't kidding, either.

The cast is interesting, and I would smell flop, but, the director gave us Iron Man, Ron Howard is one of the producers and Spielberg is an executive producer.

Big, Friggin, Guns.

Coming July, 2011.

2011 Managed Print Services Outlook - Photizo drops a metric-ton of MPS/ITO Information. The Year of the Metal Rabbit.

This is a webcast discussing 2011 outlook in MPS.

Presenters were in Kentucky, New York,   the Carolinas and Singapore - The Photiz/MPS World.

Tidbits -

1. The Fourth Stage of MPS is described.  A bit more on this here.
2. Interesting point of comparison between the three stages of MPS and the three stages of IT management.
3. From the ongoing, three year, MPS Decision Maker Tracking study, respondents place MPS/Imaging Projects in the Top 3 IT priorities.
4. Non-MPS Stage Zero, "click" charge, transactional market revenue is declining as S1 and S2 revenue is growing and growing quickly. Numbers and trends supported by information present at the Lyra Symposium, last week.
5. Europe, by 2014 will be the largest MPS market; shifting to channel driven from direct supported MPS.
6. The Asian Pacific area offers huge MPS potential; Japan referred to as the "sleeping Giant" a huge market leading the region.
7. "Multinationimbles" - leaders will combine scale with agility...
8. "...Profits, like sausages..are esteemed most by those who know least about what goes into them..." Toffler
9. 2011 is the year of the Metal Rabbit
10. What is "Prosumer-Driven"

This is good stuff.

Check out the MPS Insights here.


Market Research Spotlight: 2011 MPS Outlook Webinar from Misty Hamel on Vimeo.

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