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Showing posts with label The Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Market. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

MpS: The Unifying Theory & Convergence


Originally posted, 7/11/11

Oh, what could have been.  Reading these words today is more than nostalgic.  How can an article written in 2011 have relevance, if not foretell the future, today?

Enjoy.

Just over three years ago (four now), when I started writing about copiers, MpS, technology, selling, and pole dancing, I was one of three. Back then, if one were to Google “managed print services,” the dozen or so returns would’ve consisted of wedding invitation printers and “full-serve” print advertising providers.

There were a few fleet monitoring alternatives and fewer proactive supply management solutions. Hardly anyone mentioned cost reduction, business process, fleet optimization, or phases. And nobody championed reducing costs by reducing prints, copies, or printers and copiers.

This isn’t to say nobody serviced printers or supplied toner. Yes, some were “optimizing” fleets, shifting volume, addressing document workflow and business processes, or managing hundreds of devices, but we inhabited our own little silo.

Xerox, IKON, Canon, OcĂ©, and Pitney Bowes all had their FM division – each conducting site surveys and usage analysis as well as working with colored dots and floor plans.

Silo 1.
The bane of OEMs, third-party cartridge manufacturers, lived their existence in the dark on the periphery of the ecosystem, struggling from legality to legitimacy.

Silo 2.
Liberty, Kofax, and other software companies were conducting user interviews, charting document flows, developing Statements of Work, and evangelizing paper to digital.

Silo 3.
Copier reps walking the streets were suggesting ROI, lower lease costs, TCO, and the benefits of color to purchasing agents and church deacons alike. They were churning, flexing, and otherwise landing gear, giving “more for less” and pitching scan-once-print-many (keyword being “many”).

Silo 4.
The OEMs were flush – seemingly changing models every 90 days. Corporate marketing departments were shoving quotas down the channel, and the channel responded obediently, floor-planning and filling show floors.

Silo 5.
Back then, VARs were executing thousands of transactions a day – servers, desktops, laptops, networks, data centers – and yes, tens of thousands of printers flew off the dock into waiting cubicles.

Silo 6.
I am simplifying by stating only six silos. We may have discovered as many as 11 silos or dimensions over the past two decades inside what can be called the imaging/technology industry.

The number doesn’t matter. Mere acknowledgment is important. Always there, unobserved until now. You see, even though these functions and organizations existed and thrived, there was never a recognized commonality. There was no unifying factor.

Until now.

If you envision these silos standing individually, what could be the common ground? More aptly, what would be the white spaces between the columns?

Managed print Services, the M-theory – that’s what.

Think about it. As we move through the stages of MpS into MS, the “P” fades and other factors, the other columns, illuminate – from third-party toner to scan-to-file, storage, mobility, and EDM – once unique and isolated, now pulled together as one overarching system.

The players haven’t changed, but the game is all different. Those of us who can now ”see” the ecosystem will thrive.
There’s more.

This point in history is unique. This is a time of technological convergence, time compression, and shifting control from a central authority to the individual. MpS is a vehicle for change at this moment. Again, not everyone will see the opportunities or the pitfalls; it takes a wider perspective and pure intent, but those who stay could be champions.


Posted by Greg Walters on 07/11/2011

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Death of the Copier: The Book is Here




It is official - at least in the E*Book version.  Death of the Copier, the Book is available on Amazon and iBooks as well as other places(SmashWords) and the print version is days away - just in time for the holiday season!

Unavailable on Google Play.

Not only are my words and ideas presented but the best and brightest in our industry contribute great insights.

Forward by Ed Crowley,  Founder and CEO of the worlds premier, managed print services consultancy shares views and insights about managed print services and beyond.

AfterwordMike Stramaglio, President and CEO of MWAi, a forward thinking, gentleman of industry, talks about the future and a dramatic generational change ushered in by the imaging industry.

Introduction by Robert Newry, past Managing Director of Newfield IT, a cutting edge, visionary of stellar proportions, introduces the section about assessments and tools.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Time to Put the Cost Per Copy Model Down.


Oh yeah, we're going there.

It started long ago.  In the beginning, making copies of business documents - memo's, invoices, reports - was slow and tedious.

So we built devices to perform these duties.

Thousands of moving parts, heat, static electricity and heavy handed employees contributed to a dynamic and precarious environment - they required a good amount of attention.

To put it bluntly, our machines broke down so often we needed a way to pay for technicians.

To support the machines in field the 'industry' hatched a plan:

"Why don't we sell service with the machines?  We'll make it impossible for anyone else to supply our devices, so we'll combine service and supplies into a billable line item, determined by how many pages come out of our devices...and will call these 'clicks' after the noise a meter makes with every copy and call the billing model Cost Per Copy..."

Genius, really.

Oh sure, there were other schemes - blending ...

Read the rest, here.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Webinar - Technology United, Bigger Than SkyNet

Who is Technology United ?

The core group comes out of the imaging sector, but each and every member has eyes on the horizon and collaboration as a mission.

There is more to imaging than marks on paper.

The MpS Ecosystem continues to grow, expanding beyond toner on paper, up to the clouds and back down to screens.

How can we in the niche, utilize this powerful new group to maximize our customers' experience, become a valued partner, and sustain this new business model?

Tune it to learn more about Technology United.

More than a group of buddies leveraging their marketing position, TU is a collection of forward thinking, early adopters who believe improving the industry, improves us all.

A rising tide lifts all vessels.

We will simplify the complex and illustrate the significance of this first of its kind association.

August 7, 2012 - 2:00PM EST

Sixty minutes, open discussion, with 15 mins for Q/A - a maximum of 25 attendees.

Click here to register.


Eventbrite - Technology United: Bigger than "SkyNet"

Monday, June 18, 2012

Webinar:The Internet of Things

July 2, 2:00PM - Free Webinar.

Curious about how all this new technology can help your practice or dealership?

Wondering what all the hub-bub is about Big Data, BYOD, and Business Intelligence?

Are you seeing your volume decreasing?  How about your MIF?  Some studies are calling for 40% of the channel to disappear by 2014.

What should you do? What can you do?

There are no silver bullets, but tune in and learn about a few options.

Eventbrite - The Internet of Things: New Technology in Imaging



Greg Walters will be presenting on the new technologies, how to survive and thrive during this secular shift.


Friday, June 8, 2012

DOTC in Vegas

We will be in Vegas, at the Wynn, Monday June 11 and 12th.

I will not be attending the Ricoh show(huh?) - but will be in the Casino, around the pool or at a bar,

that is if the Wynn has a bar, not sure on that one...

If you're in town, and want to talk about how to pick a Managed Print Services program, technology in our world, the social ramifications of  Space 1999, or the Four Screens of Life - drop me a note.

I may even have a nifty, cool, MPSA hat for you...


Click to email me. 

Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193