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Thursday, March 11, 2010

WOW! Ever been On Demon Drop?



managed Print services Job Trends graph




managed Print services Job Trendsmanaged Print services jobs


As a kid, I would venture down to Sandusky Ohio, Cedar Point, and ride the best roller coasters in the world.

I remember when Demon Drop opened. It was the "bomb".

A simple trip up and a ten-story drop - remember, this was in 1983, before the internet and online gaming.

Imagine my surprise when I read the Demon Drop had been relocated from Sandusky, to out here, in my neck of the woods

I was checking the updated graph showing job openings with "Managed Print Services" in the description - couldn't help but make the comparison.



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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Manage Print Services is On Fire - and 50% of Us are Unsatisfied


2010  DOTC.

Art over at P4P just concluded a non-scientific yet revealing survey: You're now selling Managed Print Services "Your Thoughts Now".

Results:

It's been a great success for us 25%
It's been ok for us 26%
It's not reaping the profits we thought it would 36%
If we had to do it over, we would not have gotten into MPS 14%

Quick math shows 50% in the "Unsatisfied" category.

Juxtapose this with an incredible number of new "MPS Information Portals" coming online, the huge volume of MPS-forum chatter, and enough Managed Print Services consultants to sink the Titanic - it doesn't add up.

Oh yes, it does.

Fifty percent of you don't feel MPS has paid off. You don't see a lot of sales, or profit. You have sent your sales teams to school, evaluated and purchased software, and maybe even hired an outside consultant.

You expected too much too soon.

MPS is not as simple as putting laser printers on CPI.

MPS is a bit more than selling speeds and feeds, triggered by lease-end.

You can't arrange to perform a study through the purchasing department.

Your 30-day, hardware cycles will not apply.

Your manufacturer only wants to sell more units, not engage in MPS, no matter how their MPS program is pitched.

The reason there are so many new portals and an ever-increasing plethora of know-it-alls is that, even after 2-to 3 solid, MPS years, the MPS landscape is fraught with mystery and doubt. This is nothing like when color first came out.

If you're into the second generation of MPS at your practice, here are some recommendations:

1. Join the MPSA, get to know the real Titans of MPS and network
2. Devour every nugget of MPS knowledge out here on the net.
3. Visit your existing clients and ask THEM to define MPS - then sell that.
4. Evaluate your current infrastructure and realign it to your core.
5. Evaluate and change your existing compensation plan.
6. Determine your MPS Selling Funnel. From Qualification to support.
7. Read DOTC, follow me, and join the DOTC Group on LinkedIn

The economy is not going to turn around soon, and when it does, it is not going to rescue our industry - it has changed forever.

Be prepared. Take this time to do some soul searching.



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Monday, March 8, 2010

An Interview From Adventures in Office Imaging

Yup! More self-promotion.

Nathan and I have been exchanging insight and views for a year or so now - good peeps over there or...over here.

Last month he interviewed me as a MPS Provider and as a MPS contributor.

So with his permission, I am reposting here.


MPS Providers interview #4: DOTC1:1
6pm - Feb 19, 2010

AIOI: What company do you work for?

DOTC: Death Of The Copier - one of the premier niche publications in the world.

AIOI: How many employees does your company have?

DOTC: We currently employ millions.

AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?

DOTC: Anything and everything the person on the other side of the desk says that it is.

AIOI: How long have you been involved with Managed Print Services?

DOTC: Its not the age, its the mileage. Let's just say, I have been in MPS longer than Staples has.

AIOI: What benefits does your MPS program offer your customers?

DOTC: We at DOTC try to tell it like it is, we may not always be correct, but we don't care.

Also, most people in our industry/niche are some of the most dynamic and fun folks to work with or be around - so why can't we show this off to those outside the industry?

Do we really need to be so...bland?

Copier nerds? Yes! Toner-dudes? Of course! MPS Geeks? Sure, why not? Belly up and share some stories.

In addition to the blog, we assist dealers, new MPS practices and individual Selling Professionals in "translating the corporate dogma" being spewed from consultants and the "big boys". We boil down or negate the propaganda, for the Selling Professional.

The Death Of The Copier, currently, has no "sponsor" - I don't advertise or engage Infotrends, so it is unlikely that you will ever see, "DOTC" in the upper right Quadrant. So, I can afford to be a rogue, a provocateur as you will. Suits me just fine.

AIOI: What are some of your major successes?

DOTC: Ok, now we get serious.

I have had the honor to advise an MPS selling team at a dealership, somewhere in the south - this client, who shall remain nameless, engaged me (yes, a check was made out to "The Death of the Copier) to simply "talk" about my successes and my failures in MPS - he wanted to get a real, from the trenches, no bullsh*t view of MPS. He had been a paying customer for some of the more well known copier consultants.

After talking for a couple of weeks, we moved to 1:1's with the selling staff.

Here's where the success comes in, during one discussion, I was able to pontificate and advise this selling professional on one specific account. I told them what I would do in that situation.

Well, I'll be damned if they didn't take my advice, say what I said to say in the way I said to say it, resulting in a close, a sale. I was stunned, flabbergasted, proud.

To me, this is the greatest success in the world. I know now how the consultants must feel or at least had felt back in the beginning.

It is weirdly fulfilling to have somebody take your advice and see results in the form of dollars, because they did what you recommended.

AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?

DOTC: In many ways, I have few, if any, competitors.

My uniqueness is my history: I started selling B2B solutions, accounting systems, back when the AT was still a viable device, when Epson 24-pins where all the rage and connected via parallel ports. I was in that niche for nearly 7-8 years.

I have sold uniforms, excuse me, I mean, Corporate Identity Programs and AFLAC insurance, excuse me again, I mean, pre-tax, self-funded employee benefit programs; again, all B2B.

Add to this my stints in the Office Equipment Industry, sprinkle in a little, Detroit smart-ass and viola!

In the end, my true "competitor" is Time.

----------------------------------------------------
MPS Providers interview #3: Greg Walters
1:10pm - Feb 19, 2010

AIOI: What company do you work for?

Greg: SIGMAnet - one of the larger, west coast IT services provider.

AIOI: How many employees does your company have?

Greg: We currently employ 100+

AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?

Greg: MPS is any process designed and implemented to reduce costs associated with moving, creating, storing and presenting information.

AIOI: How long have you been involved with Managed Print Services?

Greg: Technically since 2007. But I have been in the copier industry since 1999. Starting with Oce, through Panasonic and finally served three years at IKON. Going way back, I started working with clients in 1989, Selling B2B accounting software(AccPac, Timberline, Great Plains, Solomon, etc.)

AIOI: What benefits does your MPS program offer your customers?

Greg: My MPS Engagements bring all the benefits associated with Stage 1 and 2 of the MPS process.

We are fairly deep into a partnership with our distributor when sourcing and fulfilling supplies. I have a team of technicians and we specifically work with "HP houses", which are not that difficult to find.

We are certified up to Edgeline and we run all of our MPS on CPI agreements; B/W we typically sell at 0.0120. Not the cheapest, but we aren't the cheapest and all our supplies are OEM.

Additionally, I can work directly with IT for all their needs - from servers to storage to staffing. This is a major competitive advantage when working with IT-types- I have people who speak their language. What is more intriguing, even if I never engage a MPS client for their traditional, IT needs, the simple reason that I CAN gives me instant credibility.

Also, we are not afraid to work with any manufacturer, vendor or dealer. For example, when one of my client's true, output requirements(as determined by me) dictated a machine that I would not supply, my Partnership with the client allowed me to manage spec'ing the unit, and managing the RFP process.

I worked the copier guy.

An interesting spin, wouldn't you say?

AIOI: What are some of your major successes?

Greg: Successes are all over the board - I have saved a company $1,000.00 per month, not that much, but 12k to this small business was greatly appreciated.

I am currently 12 months into a 36 month project, we have currently reduced their hard cost by $500,000.00; my replacement ratio right now is 1:5, for every machine I place, I remove 5 other devices.

I have advised prospect and client alike on the ways of copier leases - sometimes resulting in a new equipment placement, sometimes not.

As a result of our assessment, I have helped many clients evaluate and re-align their oversight and internal accounts payable process.

AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?

Greg: This goes back to the IT Services - when I walk through the door, I am not a copier dealer, I am not a toner supplier, I am not simply a laser printer service company, to the prospect I can be much, much more.
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Friday, March 5, 2010

Photizo Group Launches MPS Insights.com Portal


And by Portal, I mean doorway.

There are a good number of MPS News sites popping up.

I remember the good ole days when it was just me and Google Alerts.

No worries, the more MPS-news-type sites that sprout up, the more readers I attract - odd.

Anywho - Photizo is re-vamping and relaunching their MPS Specific Portal.

As I am sure some reading this may "feel" that DOTC is colluding with Photizo, I do quote them often, please know, that if there were better MPS sources, I would mention them as well.

Just remember I define what "better" is.

Press Release:

March 5, 2010 – Lexington, KY –

Photizo Group announces the launch of MPSInsights.com, an online news portal focused entirely on events and information about the managed print services (MPS) marketplace.

Dealers, resellers, vendors and other readers will find ideas and case studies to help them achieve better MPS program development and delivery. HP, OKI Printing Solutions, and Ricoh have signed on as inaugural sponsors.

A variety of content has been aggregated on the site, making it one of the richest sources of information about the MPS marketplace:

· Daily MPS Insights news feed

· Daily updates to the MPSInsights Blog

· Quarterly MPS Insights Journal (paid subscription access only)

· Business directory listings

· Industry events calendar

· White papers

· Case studies

“The MPS market is exploding, and the amount of information is, too. Trying to run and grow a business, and deal with a fire hose of information is just not possible. MPSInsights.com tames the flood of information with quick reads, succinct ideas and a repository for information readers can come back to,” said Ed Crowley, CEO and founding partner of Photizo Group.

Readers can visit MPSInsight.com at their convenience to read and research articles on:

· Channel development

· End-user purchase criteria

· Decision-maker evolution

· End-user MPS deployment

· MPS current events

To submit news releases, articles and other content, contact Misty Hamel, Photizo Director of Marketing at mhamel@photizogroup.com.

# # #

Media contact:
Misty Hamel

Director of Marketing
+1-617-921-5725
mhamel@photizogroup.com

ABOUT THE PHOTIZO GROUP

The Photizo Group is the premier source for ongoing business intelligence about the rapidly growing opportunity of Managed Print Services (MPS). MPS involves managing hardcopy device fleets (copiers, printers, multifunction devices, and fax machines) in a unified fashion, often outsourcing this to an external vendor. Photizo Group provides the most complete body of research on the Managed Print Services market. From its landmark MPS study in April 2008 to ongoing research covering North America, Europe and Asia, Photizo has emerged as a leader in dynamic business intelligence about the MPS market. The firm also offers proprietary studies and custom consulting. Vendors, dealers and enterprises can find MPS information and resources at http://www.managed-print-services.com, including an “MPS Quick Facts and Figures” page.




“Photizo” is a trademark of the Photizo Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Death Of Edgeline, Again...This Time for Real. No Really. I Mean It this Time






March 2010

OK - Sorta. 


As reported here back in November of 2009(The Word From Hurd: IPG Growth Includes Wal and K*Mart), Edgeline may see the light of day, under a flashing blue light. 

I can't say how official it is, but a reader informed me that the vaunted Edgeline, the Destroyer of Copiers, the New Way, will be at End of Life, on April 1, 2010. 

Parts, supplies, and support will be provided for five years. So ends another chapter in an odyssey that is HP. And like Obama voters today, six months from now, you won't be able to find anyone willing to admit they ever heard of Condor. In a recent WSJ article, it was stated that HP, since last year, has been quietly placing photo kiosks in WalMarts across the country. 

To the chagrin of Kodak. (talk about the Death of Something) 

The word on the street is that HP will be providing these in all 3600 Wal*Mart stores across America. 3,600? No wonder nobody at HP returns my calls. (just kidding) 

What does this have to do with Edgeline? The top image is an HP ML1000D mini lab - the backbone of the Walmart photo kiosks. This image is a CM8060 with a finisher and a large capacity paper tray, much like the 40 or 50 I have installed around SoCali. 

What do you see? Let me tell you what I see. I see a huge commission check - this "takedown" will generate growth of over 300 percent for HP's global retail publishing line. 

I see a machine that is based on Edgeline technology, housed in an identical chassis, utilizing the identical LCT. I see a strong printing engine that will be able to run on "retail" hours. I see a company that consciously got out of a dying, copier industry. Alias, poor Edgeline, I knew you well...

"These kiosks stay installed for nine or 10 years," H-P Chief Executive Mark Hurd told investors at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday morning. H-P gets "100% supplies connect," he said, referring to the sales of the additional printing products.
Ah yes, remember the good ole days, here

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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Lexmark Get's a Win: And they Have a Facebook Page?

I was going to let this pass without comment.

Indeed, the press release is impressive: Moving BB&T from 30,000 to 10,000 machines, managing supplies and providing initial document work flow - all components of a real MPS. (At what margin, I wonder)

So a mention here may have been warranted.

But then, at the bottom of the release this:

"For more information, see the "Lexmark" Facebook page and the "LexmarkNews" Twitter feed..."

Ok, I am about the biggest MPS Nerd I know, but not even I would "friend" or "follow" any printer manufacturer. Or admit it if I had...

Am I off on this?

Anyway, just an observation - remember when pagers first came out?


LEXINGTON, Ky., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) has awarded an exclusive, five-year managed print services contract to Lexmark International, Inc. ( LXK).

"Lexmark is providing BB&T with an output solution that will significantly reduce costs, while scaling as the company expands and grows," said Marty Canning, Lexmark vice president and president of its Printing Solutions and Services Division. "With Lexmark's managed print services solution across its business, BB&T will have a holistic, streamlined approach that will pay dividends for its employees, customers, the environment and BB&T's bottom line."

Lexmark was evaluated and selected in a strategic sourcing event from among many other printing and imaging providers. As part of the agreement, Lexmark will standardize and optimize the number and type of output devices throughout BB&T's 1,800+ retail branches and at its headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C. Lexmark expects to reduce the total number of devices at BB&T from 30,000 competitive devices to approximately 10,000 new Lexmark laser printers and multifunction products (MFPs) in support of the company's cost savings and business initiatives.

"Lexmark's extensive managed print services capabilities and experience became clear to BB&T during this print optimization project," said Ken Hernandez of Enterprise Spend Management at BB&T. "We selected Lexmark because of the company's thought leadership and the clear experience they have to drive this type of initiative successfully. Lexmark's strong technology offering and competitive pricing make them the right choice for BB&T."

Lexmark will monitor, manage and maintain BB&T's output devices and provide proactive services to ensure toner and other supplies are replenished when needed, eliminating the need to store inventory of these items. In addition, Lexmark will provide ongoing value by automating and streamlining paper-based processes to help BB&T further reduce costs.

Lexmark will also install its Print Release solution, which will enable BB&T employees to authenticate before documents can be printed, faxed, scanned or copied. This approach will improve document security and reduce the number of pages printed annually, thereby further reducing BB&T's costs.

For more information, see the "Lexmark" Facebook page and the "LexmarkNews" Twitter feed.


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Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193