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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Xerox, Lexmark, Sharp and HP: All Things Must Pass



In an article written by Stephen Hays, the chairman of Brighton Securities, George Conboy is quoted saying Xerox...

"is steadily on a downward path, especially in its equipment business. The demand for its technology is falling by the day. Though the company may not be staring at bankruptcy in the near future it is, however, facing a situation where it is slowly moving away from maneuvering paper documents and making copies. Meaning, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is steadily shifting away from its equipment business as there is lesser demand for its technology..."

Wow.  Who woulda thunk? But who is surprised?

The vultures are circling Lexmark, HP just reported a 17% fall in print revenue, Xerox dividing and Sharp bouncing back and forth between China and Japan - all add up to the most dynamic imaging environment since the Great Rikon purchase of 2008.

2016 -

More experts are recognizing something we've been saying here on DOTC since 2008 - The Death of The Copier is upon us. They're talking bankruptcy and comparing Xerox with Kodak.

People outside of the imaging niche, folks who don't sell toner, copiers, printers, document management software, MpS, print 'big data', online marketing, dealer websites, copier sales training classes, MpS programs or save trees - articulate how the demand for copier/print technology "is falling by the day."

The wave is just over your shoulder.

Who is your biggest competitor, today?
  • The direct branch across town? No.
  • The mega-dealer over the state line? Negative.
  • The toner pirate on the other side of the tracks? Nope.
Today, your competitor is Time.



Tic Toc

It might be too late.

Smaller dealerships with lower overhead serving the SMB, may survive.

Larger companies will sell out or wash away.

The medium sized dealers, their employees and families, will take the full brunt of the on-coming wave.

After the flood, the sun will rise on a landscape full of opportunity and promise.

A new day, a new Way.  Without print.

"Printer jams, how novel. Did you know there is no paper in the future, or should I say no future in paper?"

- Matthew, Continuum, Season 2, Ep. 2, "Split Second"

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Apple, The FBI, ISIS and You - The Internet of Everyone


"The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.

This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake." - Tim Cook

This issue has implications beyond the disgusting terror attack in San Berdoo - and as much as we despise ISIS and its followers, I can't help but believe that today's request by the FBI is more slippage toward that Orwellian vision.

One of my gripes with Google is their disregard for our privacy - invasive advertising, location detection, etc., etc.  If Apple gives in, they become nothing more than a prettier Google and Google is a sieve; so is Windows.

"Dominoes Fall"

"We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. 

They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone."  -Tim Cook

Here's the point: Its obvious iPhone is one of the most secure phones in the business, not even the FBI can break in. It's what I expect from Apple.

Some argue Apple should "do the right thing" and open up to the authorities.  Of course, Apple is doing the right thing by securing our personal data.  This is foundational to a digital existence.

From printers, and Netflix to your phone, today's world logs your actions and is subject to outside observation.  Current generations unfamiliar with life without the internet, accept this openness.

But there should be an island of privacy.  Apple gave us a slice with the A7/8 chip.

Assuming the unlikely event that Apple prevails, the FBI, indeed the US must find another way:
  • Patch up the holes in our immigration process.
  • Intensify anti-ISIS marketing.
  • Neutralize them in their backyard.
Whichever side of the dispute you fall on, remembering why we're arguing either point is most important:
  • ISIS put this in the headlines.  
  • These two murderers pushed the FBI to consider data on an iPhone.  
  • Radical belief forced Tim Cook to release a letter of explanation.
The erosion of privacy isn't a result of a heavy-handed government or a weak corporation. The assault is born from ancient people who loathe your freedom.  We must defend freedom from all directions at every instance.  From the copier to your phone.

"Ideas are Bullet Proof.."

Everybody in the Gov't has a gun: The FBI, Homeland Security, Immigration, FDIC, USPS, and even the IRS.  ISIS has guns, HUMVEE, and steak knives.  The fear 



Apple has ideas.  In the end, Apple will probably lose this fight.






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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Nothing New in ManagedPrintServices: Except Seat Based Billing


Top 100 Summit Executive Council Creates SBB Business Model for Managed Print
February 16, 2016

Calgary, AB - February 16, 2016 - Print Audit®, along with 29 dealer and distribution partners, has completed a 12 week Executive Council for the development of a viable Seat Based Billing (SBB) model for Managed Print. SBB for MPS has been designed as an alternative to the highly commoditized CPP billing method currently employed by the industry. SBB offers stronger protection of dealer profits while at the same time delivering additional savings for customers through efficiency improvements.


One of Print Audit’s key missions is to “Save the office equipment industry” and SBB will help to deliver on this. Declining pages per user, fracturing OEM stability, increased competitive pressures and the commoditization of the traditional CPP model are forcing the office equipment industry to develop a new business model for the future of Managed Print. The SBB Executive Council has come up with a model that will drive a new era of MPS.

“The existing CPP model for MPS has been around for over 15 years and dealers have been looking for new ways to grow their businesses in challenging times.” stated West McDonald, Vice President of Business Development for Print Audit. “SBB will give office equipment dealers a way to increase their total profits while shutting out less advanced competitors. We are all very excited to have completed a viable SBB model so that progressive dealers can start taking advantage of SBB today.”

Seat Based Billing comes with a host of benefits for both dealers and end-users alike:

- 100% budgetable printing costs: No more counting. A fixed monthly fee per user for managed print.
- Cost reduction through workflow improvements: Delivers customer savings while increasing dealer total profits.
- Unified billing: The same billing model for MPS, Managed IT Services, and DMS.
- Improved security: User-based accounting and print tracking.

The SBB Executive Council was created at the Top 100 Summit. The Top 100 Summit is an event where dealer principals gather to build and refine the business model of the future. To learn more about SBB and to see if you are eligible to attend the exclusive Top 100 Summit, visit http://www.printaudit.com/top100

###

My take on this -

SBB isn't going to save the industry, but it might help "re-invent this business".


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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Who Designs Your Print Policy: Copier or IT Folks?


I am a proponent of Print Policies:

“A Print Policy is the documented outline of procedures, illustrating the organization’s current output-related decision-making processes. This policy is endorsed at the highest level of executive management, contains milestones, and supports the organization’s business goals.”

I've seen implementations streamline work processes, enforce SLA's and reduce costs by millions.

I'm a believer.

It's obvious the best Print Policies are created when working with outside experts.

But who?

On one side stands the copier/printer specialists, mavens of the printed document, leasing, and deal crafting.

Residing across the hall, masters of storage, operating systems, PC's, mobile devices, and even printers, hang their shingle.

That leaves you,  the "IT Guy" responsible for endpoints, Windows upgrades, and those pesky copiers and printers, stuck in the middle - again.

Should you place a call to your IT VAR or copier dealer? Yes.
"The fewer prints you generate,  the less they get paid - simple math."
Long ago, I felt the most qualified managers of output devices came from the office printing/copier side.  In some cases, this is still true.

Here's the rub: a copier dealer, indeed, any business surviving or thriving on the number of prints you generate, cannot in good conscience, help you manage away the mystery and reduce output.

Why would a copier/printer company train salespeople to reduce revenue?  It's an obvious question. One you should ask those "MpS" providers still promising "30% savings".

My recommendation is to work with the group that doesn't survive on your print volume.

No matter who you choose, your partner in Print Policy development should:

Be neutral about printers
The first qualification is to regard each printer as an end-point inside life cycle services. Sure, printers can be dirty and require physical intervention.  Yes, they jam and run out of toner right before a big print project. And yes, as much as 60% of help desk calls are print related.  Yet successful management of assets originates from a position of neutrality.

Neutrality - your output devices represent zero revenue and hold no negative emotional attachment to either contributing party.

Have a holistic view
Your provider must consider the entire output and input fleet, including copiers, printers, print servers, print queues, label printers, fax machines, fax servers, scanners, and yes, even dual monitors.

Endpoints are the beginning; every vendor, provider, and partner relationship is to be documented, holding all accountable.

Once the points and processes are determined - from assessment to retirement - everything is diagramed.

The result is a large flowchart.  Imagine.

Think of your Print Policy as the Vanguard for your IT Policy
As the decision and support process for print and copy fall into the IT realm, covering output devices, conducting end-user assessments, and documenting workflow can be labor intensive.
A Print Policy requires time, expertise, and an end-user interface.  But when the process is complete, establishing the same for a comprehensive IT Policy is easier.

Utilizing the process of generating a Print Policy can be replicated in determining your organization's entire IT policy.

Don't waste the opportunity.

There are more considerations, but these three are significant. If you're interested in a deeper understanding, reach out to me, at greg@grwalters.com.

"Why join the Navy when you can be a Pirate?"

-Steve Jobs





Local band.  Eau Claire, Wi.  Good Stuff.





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ODC expands distribution with the addition of CCG, Collaborative Consultant Group in the US

Collaborative Consultant Group LLC to begin marketing DOCassess & MPS in a tablet to the BTA Dealer Channel.

TORONTO, Ontario – January 28, 2016. Office Document Consulting Inc., a global leader in simplifying the MPS approach and automation of print assessments, today announced the addition of Collaborative Consultant Group to its Global Distribution Team.

“We began focusing on a distribution model in early 2015 and I am very pleased to announce the addition of CCG, Collaborative Consultant Group as our newest distributor.” said Mike Lamothe, President of Office Document Consulting, Inc. “with increased demand of our flagship product DOCassess we began looking for a partner in the United States.” CCG has an established consulting practice supporting dealers and channel partners making a transition into managed print. “it made perfect sense to me, Mike has done a great job building his practice and with the additions of DOCassess and our other solutions CCG will be in a strong position to help their customers succeed”

“Collaborative Consultant Group has been working with our dealers using a “ground up” approach. Providing sales reps the ability to make decisions based on actionable data we see as the real silver bullet. We are excited to join forces with Office Document Consulting and combine world class solutions with real world experience to help our clients achieve growth and drive margins that can be predicted and effectively managed” said Mike Lecak, President of Collaborative Consultant Group, LLC.

About CCG Collaborative Consultant Group LLC.

Located in San Diego, California, CCG is a comprehensive consulting firm within the office imaging and technology industry focused on providing a hands-on approach with its clients delivering proven strategies that positively impact bottom line results. Mike Lecak is a 32 + year veteran of the industry and brings a unique perspective to business planning and execution most critical to owners and senior leaders interested in employing the latest in best practices. To learn more about Collaborative Consultant Group please visit: Collaborativeconsultantgroup.com or call 480-335-7210.
About Office Document Consulting, Inc.

Office Document Consulting Inc. is one of the global leaders in print assessment software and continues to provide innovative solutions to further automate the assessment process. With the launch of DOCassess Platinum and Mobile Mapping App V2 ODC continues to simplify and automate the entire assessment process. To learn more about all of ODC’s software solutions visit www.officedocumentconsulting.com or book a webinar
email info@docassess.com or call 647 389 5048

Friday, January 29, 2016

The Future of The Imaging Industry Isn't Print


"Please State the Nature of The Medical Emergency"

About a year ago,  the owner of an office equipment dealership rang me up asking for advice.

His largest "managed print services" (toner) account was being threatened by an IT company offering a full range of IT services including supplies and service delivery on 'his' printers.

He was in a panic.

Like dozens before him, he wanted somebody to say it was going to be okay; that what he was doing today, "building long and deep relationships with his customers", providing "the best service at the lowest price", was enough to save the patient - his 20-year-old, $5 Million, family-owned business.

I told him to change.

I told him hope resided in a future with fewer technicians and reduced overhead.  I repeated the "change your business model" mantra, begged him to exit toner delivery and get into the IT side of the world.  I offered contact information at Collabrance; urged him to reach out to a little know company called PrinterLogic and talk to his customer about reducing costs by eliminating print servers.

He fought me.

Of course, I proposed taking a quick look at his operation, giving some basic recommendations, and making the necessary connections for him to explore - all for $2,500.00.  No warranty or money-back guarantee, but for the price of a trip to ITEX, he could have gained a fresh perspective and possibly made some profitable connections.

He didn't.

I have no idea if his business still feeds families or drifts on the waters of denial.

Here we are on the edge of 2016.  The copier industry insists on fooling itself into relevancy as small dealers are gobbled up and bigger ones sell out to investment groups.  The OEMs?  Splitsville.

Today, if you were to ask, "Greg...what the hell can I do now?  I've social media'd up my company, I'm first in google search, but MpS flopped, managed IT services are not working and the only people buying copiers are schools, churches, and the government!"
  • You've tried digital signage
  • You've looked at water service
  • You're not sure about managed services
  • Your managed print services program is not delivering 42% GP
  • 3D Printing looks cute, but you can't seem to get your head around a profit model
Now what?

One word, kid - "TeleHealth"

I'll let you do the googlitizing.  The fastest-growing area for technology and monthly recurring revenue is the healthcare arena and has nothing to do with printers or copiers.  I'd think about assembling and supporting connected, healthcare devices.

Not heart monitors - think bigger.  Think about this:



It's connected, contains technology components, requires assembly, and clients might pay for 24/7 monitoring and service.  Relevant. Expanding. Service-based.

Curious?

greg@grwalters.com


Thursday, January 28, 2016

Xerox Jettisoning Hardware 8 QTRs of Decline:The Death of the Copier


Like those forgotten print jobs, the WSJ reports Xerox will leave their hardware business in the exit tray.

Are you seeing double?  One business for hardware, one for services.  Didn't Xerox just buy their services division a few years ago?

Not only this, but Icahn will be given the seats on the board of the company holding Xerox's services business, the Journal reported.

Tell me again, how the copier is still relevant?

Two of the largest technology companies in the world have now split in two.

From the Xerox announcement:

"Today’s market realities require greater agility and flexibility, the ability to innovate and adapt technology to address clients’ fast-evolving needs, and a more focused and efficient approach to operations and capital allocation.

As a result, it has become increasingly clear that the Document Technology and BPO businesses serve distinct client needs, have different growth drivers, and require customized operating models and capital structures. Thus, the separation of the two businesses will enhance their competitive positions and create significant value creation opportunities, including:

Enhanced strategic and operational focus. Each company will leverage its areas of strength and differentiation to address distinct market trends and opportunities. The Document Technology company will invest selectively in growth areas while ensuring continued operational discipline and capturing transformative productivity. The BPO company will focus on leadership in attractive market segments to deliver differentiated solutions to its clients and drive profitable revenue growth.

Simplification of organizational structure and resources. Each company will be able to adapt faster to clients’ changing needs, address specific market dynamics, target innovation and investments in select growth areas and accelerate decision making processes.

Distinct and clear financial profiles. The separation will enable each company to leverage its distinct growth profile and cash flow characteristics to optimize its capital structure and capital allocation strategy.

Compelling equity investment cases. As standalone companies, both companies will offer distinct and compelling investment propositions with differentiated financial profiles, growth drivers and business prospects."

Xerox also announced today a three year strategic transformation program targeting a cumulative $2.4 billion savings across all segments. The program is inclusive of ongoing activities and $600 million of incremental transformation initiatives. The company expects $700 million in annualized savings in 2016.

Take a look at the graph.



What could this mean? Icahn is satiated for a bit. The hardware business, once separated, may be easier to sell.

The Death of the Copier is, once again, substantiated.


Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Greg's " Deep Impacts" of 2015: HP Inc., Epson & Sunset of an Industry



"Greg, what were the biggest events or issues from last year?'
...a seasonal tradition.
This year, like last year, my initial reaction is, "Not much."  Which is soon followed by a wave of angst.

Most of the industry is insane.

OEMs keep releasing new models...which aren't all that new...like it's 1999.  Mobile print, document management, managed print services, automatic toner replenishment, managed services, and that fictitious managed network services are all the 'rage'.  Same as last year.

The consolidation continues as dealer after dealer is gobbled up by yesterday's rival or taken over by a capital investment firm.  Same as last year.

Clients aren't making copies and office print is on the decline.  Same as last year.

But there are golden nuggets in 2015; it wasn't simply the "Year of Tears".


1.  HP Split - Jettisoning print

This was no surprise.

I believe the world of print is heading into HP's wheelhouse - smaller devices, low operating costs, and direct supplies management.

Managed print services is not complicated.  When considering the influences, especially MPS automation, there's no need for a dealer. With today's technological advances in M2M, a national company can provide toner and service more efficiently than a 'local' reseller.

Someday, HP will deliver MpS anywhere in the country - without a local service network.  No need for a middleman.

The split is good for HP, not sure if it's good for the channel.

2.  The Sunset of An Industry

Xerox is in decline and Icahn, the Master of Disaster, buys more and more.  He's going to oust Ursula then slice and dice the Big X - another Kodak moment.

Meanwhile,  Lexmark the wallflower, hikes up her skirt, beguiling suitors with promises of MpS, revenue streams.  Multiples are good, but who's going to ask Lexi to dance?

HP's vision, as mentioned above,  is one of continuous transformation.  As business evolves, and technology removes the mundane components, like print, loud, hot, expensive machines designed to make marks on paper,  lose relevancy.

Consultants still place the OEMs in the upper right and tag big spenders as 'visionary' - whoever has the largest marketing budget or the nicest rooms in town, gets the best reviews and accolades.

Elsewhere, offshore concerns are marching to the 'print/copy is relevant' drum, churning out devices like crazy.

All points Terminus.  Like Childhood's End, one day, the memory of a once great paper-making machine will be remembered in song, not substance.

3. Epson: Shining Star, for you to See

Yes, I mocked the hell out of the 'bags of ink'.  But I poke fun at those who attract. You should consider Epson for the following reasons:

  1. De-emphasize print - I know it hurts, but the print is not all that important, and the walk-up copy is dead(except for SLED) in the end, print is simple because fewer people print.  Why fight the trend?  You cannot win. Epson takes the complexity out of printing with this device  Just sell it.
  2. "Close and forget" mentality - Imagine a device that requires one or two touches a year and one toner delivery every three years.  Quick, do the math.  Get a good chunk of margin up front, put the device on MpS, and forget about it.
  3. No technicians, no toner delivery, just monthly billing - That's all.
About this time last year, my advice to independents was to jump on the reduce-print-servers bandwagon.  I told a bunch of dealers to get with a company called PrinterLogic - they didn't.  Today, Printerlogic is banging big deals all over the world.

You could have been part of that movement.  You could have been telling your clients how to reduce the cost of print by decreasing the number of print servers.  You could have elevated the MpS discussion above and beyond toner and service calls. You could have sold a bunch of stuff, too.

But you didn't and now you've lost a bunch of accounts.

Boo, f'n, who.  If you're not retiring or selling out, get on the ink-bag train. Call Epson, now, but it might be too late.

10 Years Out - 

What is the future of print, in the year 2025?  No business print.  Little in education, more in government, and healthcare will be paperless.

The Internet of things will be the Internet of everything - plants will talk with light bulbs which will communicate with coffee tables, the paint on your walls, and your inhaled nano's.  Everything, everyone will be connected, all the time.

Information will finally move at the speed of thought.

How about in the year 2020?  Just like the computer dealers of the 1980s, copier dealers will fade into history. Few copier dealers will remain.


Eric Church - Mr. Misunderstood








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Monday, December 21, 2015

Merry Christmas! From me, Greg Walters...2015



That's right,

...MERRY CHRISTMAS...


and happy Chanukah...

I'll keep saying Merry Christmas until another country celebrates "the Holidays" on the Moon; on account of the United States of America, as of this date, is the only country to have done so...pass the eggnog.





LOL!!

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Why I Think Franklin Planners Will 'Save Print'



Yup, that's right.

Back in the day, every single salesperson worth his or her quota carried a Franklin planner. Heck, I think HP, IBM, and Canon gave every rep a planner and the "Seven Habits..." in lieu of a PC and printer.

Instead of checking smartphones and pecking the qwerty, we'd unzip and unfold our cool, custom binders, jot down notes, check off tasks, and review calendars.  And by 'jot' I mean, write down...with a pen or pencil...on paper even.
"...sometimes, reps would copy entire months, off the glass, and submit these "reports" to management..."
Scheduling the next appointment was in real-time, face to face, and "...if it didn't make it in my Franklin, it didn't exist..."

Business cards were stuffed in plastic sleeves for easy access and we wrote down phone numbers.

No.  Really...we did.

At the end of the day or week, one might review the past and plan future action items or follow-up tasks.  Again, we wrote on paper.  More advanced users would apply sticky notes, and custom forms. (show-offs)

Leadership loved these things.

Old-school sales managers would surprise audit your Franklin, checking for scheduled meetings over the next couple of weeks - funnel review included handing your planner over to your manager.

Sometimes...and get this...sometimes, reps would copy entire months, off the glass, and submit these "reports" to management.  Penny a click, penny a click...

So here's my plan.

If every single HP, Lexmark, Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, Epson, Samsung, Muratec, or Memjet, sales rep indeed, if every sales, branch, or district manager, each VP, AVP, and C-Suite employee in every manufacturer and dealer ordered a Franklin planner today, the industry would lead by example.  The industry would save itself.

For this to work,  The 'Planner' must be the required tool for funnel reviews and account planning. Follow me here...if the industry is serious about saving itself by repeating the same mistakes over and over, it should drink its own champagne and regress back to paper.

Move off Outlook, turn off the carphones.  Get back to alphanumeric pagers, pink phone message pads, and overhead transparencies.

Fewer screens, more carbon paper.


Worried about productivity? Hear meetings without beeps, whistles, and tweeting sounds.  No more heads buried in a keyboard checking Facebook during your copier technology roadmap presentation.

Nirvana...truly.

Go full tilt.  Stop "selling the cloud" and referring to yourself as a technology company - everybody knows you're just trying to make your MFDs relevant.

Do you want relevance?  Move your entire ordering process back to paper.

CRM? Yeah, it's a 1-30 tickler file.  Slide deck?  Sure, it is a deck of real slides.

If the industry wants to return to the hey-days of 1986, I say, put your value prop where your toner bottle is and get rid of your digital technology.

I dare you.  I double-dog, dare you.  I can't wait to see the direct reps sporting pleather binders and a return of the receptionist!

Require your professional salespeople to scan their Franklin at 7:00 AM and again at 5:30PM.  Penny a click, penny a click...

While you are at it, bring back the original QWERTY and put the receptionist to work, typing up proposals.  And yes, make 20 copies for every meeting.  Penny a click, penny a click...

"Receptionist Wanted:  Must type 120 words per minute and be versed in grammar."

Gosh, the possibilities are endless...

Satire -

We all know nobody in the imaging industry is going to lead into the past by giving up all their paper-reducing technology.

I guess the big question is, how can they expect their clients to do so?



Monday, November 23, 2015

Past 48 months - "I never meant to break my own promises..."

2015

Four years ago, if you told me I would be in Oconomowoc, Wi, helping a VAR go national and rediscovering the future of office print - I would have slugged you in the head.

Well, this is PRECISELY the situation I find myself in.  In a land of fried cheese, beer, and cities named after Indians.

"Sassenach"

Through the hoopla, laughter, and tears, when I look back to 2011, I can't help but shake my head, roll my eyes and ask,

"What in the Seven Hells just happened?"

Monday, November 9, 2015

#DOTC The Book Lives On






It's been so long, I had forgotten about this little paperback - thank the copier gods for old buddies to remind me of past lives.

I don't care if he read it, the picture is worth cases of book sales.

The book is available on iBooks, which is cool and Amazon, of course:




Believe me, I'm not retiring on this and I don't necessarily believe it is all that good.  But, the seal has been broken.  I've got enough content bouncing around to fill a large volume with funny,  real world sales and copier stunts.

The next book will be much better.

Greg.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Shades of Greg: 2016. The Year of The Flood


11/2015

Mergers, acquisitions, sell-outs and less paper.

2016 will see the beginning of the End.

More signs.  The tipping point is in your rearview mirror, if this is news to you, it's too late.

  • Today, Xerox may be running out of ink with quarter after quarter of declining technology business. They've also decided to scrap the wax.
  • Lexmark, after years of building a portfolio of MPS contracts is finally ready to sell out.
  • HP, the thickest of the thick, is splitting into two. HPG, (HP Inc.) can now move quicker and turn their profits into R/D for print.  Will this five billion dollar start-up be the last print vendor standing? Can the old Printelligent model work?  Mother Blue has been adding vans almost as fast as she's laid off employees.  She has an impressive array of services, and a behemoth of a team ready to take the argument to the streets - direct.
  • Samsung may gobble up Nuance, enhancing a practically non-existent MpS program.
  • The independent channel continues to shrink and evolve.  Just this week, Loffler joined the Xerox dealer channel and Marco cashes in, selling to an equity firm.
  • On top of all this, the American Forest & Paper Association released their yearly report stating, "...total printing-writing paper shipments were down 4% in September as compared to September 2014."  The same report a year earlier sited a 7% drop from 2013 to 2014.
Taken individually, the list has one dimension.

But observed from a distance, and just to the side, these points reveal a multi-dimensional reality: The deluge is here.

Knee deep in a receding surf for the last 18 months the final Wave is coming.  If you haven't sold or gotten out the only choice you have is to hunker down and hope for the best.

So what does it mean?

The End is just the beginning...ask yourself this one question,

"If office print disappeared tomorrow, what would I be doing the day after?"

Whatever answer you come to, you are absolutely correct.








Monday, November 2, 2015

Shades of Greg: 2015 "Top100 Summit" & The Death of Managed print Services



"Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
Live a life less sedentary
Live a life evolutionary with me..."

These thoughts are my personal critique of an industry, not an individual.

Weeks ago, over one hundred leading MpS providers congealed in Park City, Utah to discuss the future of MpS.  It was a great educational and entertaining event - recommended.

This event was one of the best I've attended in years - only the MWAi show from last year, stands above.  West put together a great agenda and was able to recruit a diverse set of industry luminaries.

Here's a quick list of observations from The Top 100 - "MpS is Changing" conference:
  • The venue: Superb.
  • Event organization: Stellar.
  • Promotion: Unparalleled.
  • Presenters: Both gargantuan and irrelevant.
  • Content: Both significant and forgettable.
  • Off-line conversations: The best in over a decade.
For a detailed tracking of the event, talks, and feedback, see Ken's, Art's, West's, and Andy's most accurate reports.

The video, recorded, edited, and presented on-site, nearly live, is one of the best promotional pieces in the niche.  It was organic and fun. See it here.

Enough of us patting each other on the back, like we’re all buds. Here's a two word summary of the show:

"Points Missed."  

It has been said our niche moves at the speed of an HP Series II - I don't agree with that 100% of the time, but after this conference, I'm having second thoughts.

I've stewed on this for what seems years - why do so many still believe in the old models?  Why don't they see what others see?

In a juxtaposition with the best content I've witnessed,  the audience comments were befuddling.  I sat there, shaking my head, not at the presenters(mostly) but frustrated over the 1970 mentality of the audience. Still!

Here it is.  A list of call-outs from my perspective:

"Automatic Toner Fulfillment": 2007 called...


"If you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail" so, if you sell re-man toner, all the world is an empty printer, right?

ARRRG.

Getting toner to the right desk at the right time is something we've cut our teeth on, back in 2007. Staples delivers more toner to more desks, on time, "automatically" than anybody else and they use people. Automation for automation's sake is not visionary.

The fact that we are looking at ATF as a new advantage, in 2015, is trite - Clients expect every MpS program can 'get toner to the user' as a mundane function.

There is no such thing as "MNS": Really. 


This irks me on a personal basis.  Nobody in real IT refers to anything as managed network services; it is simply managed services. Whenever we say "MNS", we look like wanna-be, IT knuckleheads. If you're IT contacts don't flinch or roll their eyes every time you say "MNS" they are being polite.

Stop it.

Epson Bags of Ink: Not disruption, turbulence.


This is the BIG miss of the show.

When the Epson dude referred to his ink bags as "disruptive", I think most in the room assumed it was we doing the disrupting.

Immediately, calls of, "how can I make money the old fashion way, when I sell the machine and lifetime ink all upfront?"

The answer is, "you can't make money the old-fashioned way..."

But here's the miss: we won't be using ink-bags to disrupt, this disrupts Managed print Services.

It's the other way around: bags-o-ink AND "Instant Ink"(DOTC, 2011) will move the channel closer to irrelevancy.  Not because wet-toner is better than dry-toner - the iceberg here is "Lifetime Supply".  Buy a printer and never purchase toner or ink again.  All the costs, revenue, and profit are upfront.  An offering, so simple a monkey could sell it.

The 'lifetime' model will remove MpS from the lexicon because there is no need for a relationship.

Those MPS consultants and OEM programs that stress toner as "the most important component" of MpS have led us down the primrose path.

This one issue, redefined as "MpS" is slipping from the dealer channel into the hands of surviving mother-ships.

"Toner" is not a relationship and the biggest reason OEMs say they need an independent dealer channel is to maintain the relationship.  Well. The relationship is getting thinner every month.

Think about it, the 'lifetime ink' business model eliminates:

  • Meter reads  - no billing
  • Monthly billings - see above
  • Deliveries - UPS
  • Phone orders - machines phone home
  • Service calls - these things don't break
  • Quarterly reviews - why?
  • Contracts
  • Independent Dealers
  • Etc.
If I were getting into managed print services today, I would become an Epson reseller and push those guys to start releasing model after model, ASAP, before HP kicks their super-duper, closed loop MpS machine into gear.

I mentioned this during the Q&A, and nobody understood what I was saying.

...chunks...blown...

points...missed...

Watch Epson.  Watch HP MPS.

In The End: It's Not Me, It's You

I've seen great things in our niche.  I've seen companies make the leap, shun the old ways, and thrive.

I've also seen organizations espouse the future, make cosmetic changes and fail - the road back to 1991 is littered with used-up MPS Directors.  Settling into the old ways of selling copiers, hiring sales managers from yesterday's enterprise, 'trapping customers', paying salespeople a pittance yet expecting them to be professionals, and forcing equipment quotas on their customers - is the easy thing to do.

These types fade away or get swallowed by a bigger dealer.

I've been ringing the bell for years - "MPS is the gateway to something bigger than toner and copiers...".  I evangelized the new ways only to see big equipment manufacturers hijack and kill innovation, searching for more shelf space and stickier schemes.

It is the way of things.

But it doesn't need to be your way.  Many have made the shift, pivoting off the copier and into fertile markets.  It isn't easy to break free the ordinary ways, but it's got to be done.

Conferences that break the mold, separate the future from the past are few and far between - this Top 100 is one of the less ordinary get-togethers.  If you were there, you are one of the less ordinary people and nowadays, the Life Less Ordinary is the life evolutionary...

Let's go.









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Thursday, October 8, 2015

The End Of Managed Print Services

"Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes!..."

From coast to coast,  I've seen the promise of MpS scattered to the four winds as companies reject the outsource model, bring MpS in house only to realize they don't want anything to do with supporting print. Ironic, but what do they do?

Go back to doing nothing.

The days before MpS...

It was different back then - copiers sold for $15,000.00.  Color images were as much as 18 cents each and users generated 2,500 copies a week. (or was it 5,000?)

Copiers inhabited every floor and printers popped up everywhere overnight.

"Purchasing" or "Facilities" generated RFPs, negotiated for the cheapest CPI, signed leases, and dropped the entire project over to IT and the receiving department.

IT would complain to themselves, struggle with a copier technician connecting this huge, unknown machine - possibly integrating LDAP or creating user folders on a shared server or the unit's hard drive - all the while lamenting the difference between these clunkers and all the printers and scanner that easily hung off the network.

This entire process was unmanaged and costly - very costly.

Today, as old-fashioned copiers die off, relegated to government or educational accounts, A4 prices fall while generating fewer images, the real cost of print is approaching, but never reaching, zero. (See Limits)

Soon, instead of running internal assessments, generating an RFI, then an RFP, evaluating suitors, negotiating price, running lease and contracts through legal, signing a five-year lease/service agreement, scheduling delivery/removal, connecting to the network, installing ATF software, conducting end-user training and experiencing a 90-day spike in copier related help desk traffic, customers simply order a printer online, for under $2,500.00 including lifetime ink supply.

Done.
  • No copier demonstration.  
  • No comparing OEM to drill and fill toner.  
  • No back-end points on a 60-month lease.  
  • No stair climbers.
The days of $25,000.00 Edgelines and 5250i's are gone. Gone like a freight train and terminus is right back where we started - a sku, a price, and a delivery date.

Now, more than ever, fewer employees require a printer and if they do, devices are so cheap, there's no need to invest time into developing an RFP.  The decision process takes no more effort than a few mouse clicks.  As the cost of print shrinks and blends into operational overhead, the primary reason for MpS, cost reduction, vanishes.

So what do we do?

Continue and keep going.  Leave MpS, copiers, and ATF in the rearview mirror - someone will always want a copier or a printer.  Consider plumbing as a service, HVAC as a service, heck, think about interior design as a service - the Universe is calling.

Like the copier before it, MpS revenue will approach but never reach, zero...Remember, right this very second, somebody on the planet is making and selling buggy whips.




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Monday, September 21, 2015

The Next Managed print Services Event


“Wrath”- One of my favorites

Another stage, power point, round table, expert panel and cast of hundreds looking to commune and see the “new MPS” …again. I've witnessed multiple iterations and others broken promises since 2007. I’ve attended many such gatherings and presentations: Lyra, Photizo, ITEX, ReCharger, MWAi Executive Summit. I’ve spoken with thousands of customers, hundreds of resellers all the OEMs and countless dealers about MpS, copiers, printers, toner, managed services and the like.

Now, a new effort is in town. The "Top 100 Summit" focusing on the future of managed print services; "MPS is Changing" is the tag-line.

In the beginning, managed print services was mocked for being nothing more than facilities management or copier-service on laser printers. Something the more “forward" thinking copier providers and OEMs had ‘been doing for decades’ - not really.

But even back then, in the frenzied years of possibilities, there were those who saw managed print services literally; a service that managed print. Some of us understood ‘print’ to be any media - from 8.5x11 to voice mail. Further, we recognized this managed service as a path to higher thought, more relevancy and a foundation for a sustainable business model not increased shelf space, capturing clicks, or trapping clients in 60 month contracts.

We knew the future of print had less to do with copiers, printers, ink or toner hitting paper. We eagerly embraced the talk tracks and value props around ‘more efficiency in the office’, reduction in costs and optimizing the print environment - and we meant it.

We attended new and interesting shows. In April of 2009, Photizo ushered in this bold new concept and talked about managed print services well before ANY other pundit, consultant, training house, OEM, toner remanufacturer or copier dealer - yes there were a few true managed print services providers but most of the traditional imaging industry either explained away the movement as ‘just another gimmick’ or claimed to have been in managed print services for “25 years”.

We believers "...gave the Future to the winds and slumbered tranquilly in the Present, weaving the dull world around us into dreams.” Designing a future of connected devices, less print and optimized business environments. Yet, like most promises, our dreams were burned away by the reality of equipment quotas and dogma; more specifically, in toner and ink.

Spin the dial six years into the future and it seems who can spell “MPS” can sell “MPS”. Bags of ink are the new MpS. Analytics are the new MpS. Copier service is the new MpS. Despite consistently declining equipment placements, shuttered paper plants and industry lay-offs, increasing print volumes are the new MpS. It is an upside-down world.

 The Universe according to Greg:

  • Print Analytics - Who Cares? We do, but do our clients?
  • Ink vs. Toner - Who Cares? We do, but do our clients?
  • Print is not dying - Ignorance is bliss.
  • Managed (IT/Network) services is the future - Oh, really? Even the IT guys understand MS is short term - look up Software Defined Workspace.
  • Print volumes have been going up - rearranging the deck chairs, nobody is creating new "clicks".
So what about all this?

Is it still the doom and gloom era? Not really. But no matter how many round tables, expert panels, sales classes, consulting services, or business transformations our industry attends or participates, we’re all simply talking to ourselves; alone in the dark. Until we stop looking at our prospects as ‘targets’ to be ‘trapped in an agreement’ or design ‘sticky’ marketing schemes and start ‘solving’ instead of ‘selling’ those who do survive, will wander the the abyss; shadows of the once might ‘copier industry’.

Which brings me to the Top 100 Summit. Will we usher in a new era? Will the sins of our past support positive change or drag us into the depths of irrelevance?

Big questions and unseen answers.

I suspect we’ll have a great time. I see us sharing new ideas and expressions of hope. Ultimately, what really matters, is how everyone feels 72 hours after the show; sinful and atoned or raptured ignorance.



Get more, here.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

September 11, 2001 - September 11, 2015


For as long as I can remember, I've played this video on 9/11.  Super Bowl 2002, months after the attack, our country was numb and jumpy.


Well before self-loathing americans started calling our movements in the middle-east "invasion" and "occupation", patriotism was on every street corner.

I remember that night; I remember seeing it live.  I can't tell you the football teams playing, but I can say it was one of the deepest, moving TV moments, ever.

U2 - that Irish rock band, stood up on the world stage, honoring the greatest country on earth and her fallen citizens.  Names float to the sky, as the rousing "Where the Streets Have No Name" beats on.  The song, second of the half-time set,  was written about a place without class stigma, where the distinction between religions and income are no more; a World Without Sin?

Bono ends the tune exposing the Stars and Stripes - Triumph.

Here we are, 14 years laters - The Twin Towers, replaced by that defiant Freedom Tower, slip deeper into fog with each passing 911.  The threat remains the same, if not more pronounced.  Do you honestly feel safer now than you did that faithful day of empty skies, September 12, 2001?

Day of cogitation: What have I learned in these 14 years?

  1. Nothing lasts forever, life is fleeting...
  2. Suffering is a choice...
  3. Like "tears in the rain", ALL promises eventually drown...
  4. Every turn, every occurrence, is exactly as it should be...
  5. Relationship is EVERYTHING...
After 25 years, I recently reconnected with a special woman.  We met, we remembered, and just like we had so many times two and half decades ago, we talked under the stars into the small hours; faces hurt after so many smiles.

Yet, like the intersection point on the infinity sign, we went our separate ways, cherishing the memories and recognizing our past holds more than any possible future.

Relationship.

"You see me now, who I've become and still, you make me feel beautiful, inside and out."

On this day of reflection, consider not only the ones who've helped you see who you are, but remember the hearts you've "imprinted"; son's, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, lovers and ex-lovers, customers and co-workers.  Be gratified knowing you've changed somebody's life for the better - we all have.

Take time to remember those on the 98th floor, at 8:47 AM, sipping a Starbucks, considering a sales forecast or the regret of not saying "I love you, I always will..." on that morning, 14 years ago.

"I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name..."



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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Things IT People Never Say



This is funny - because it's true. Shot on location, some of the actors are PDS employees.

"Still nothing better than a RoloDex..."

"Printers always seem to just work..."

"I like to think of it as the Blue Screen of Life..."

Monday, August 17, 2015

HP Inc. — Will It Make a Difference?

The papers are served and signed. Finances and property equally assigned, all “proper” procedures dutifully, if not coldly, have been followed and filed. She said separating was for the best, months after announcing “we’re better together.”

Now comes the hard part. “You take those, I don’t need them. Oh, this is yours. You brought it with you.” Reliving each memory again and again with every packed picture frame — the Christmas trees, fireside chats, corporate presentations — all “tears in the rain.”

Not all spit-ups are the same, indeed this is an atypical separation as both parties retain their last names — "Hewlett" and “Packard."

The biggest split-up in imaging history is about to take place as HP splices, creating two $55 billion companies, HP Enterprise and HP Inc. HP Inc. will offer PCs and printers with HP Enterprise pitching professional services and everything else.
Not since IBM created and then spun Lexmark has there been such a move.

So what does this mean for printers, copiers, and managed print services? In my calculation, HP Inc. could usher in the last “Golden Age” of office print — again.

Here’s my SWOT analysis:

StrengthsToo big to fail

By all indicators, HP Inc. will be a $55 billion corporation with...

Read the rest, here.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Why You Need a Print Policy

...with Print Policy design and execution...
There's a movement, on the provider, not the customer side, pushing the relevancy of print metrics to your business analytics.  For instance, some are twisting print volumes and the number of devices into relevant, actionable information.  As if knowing how many color prints were duplexed between Monday and Thursday, in July of 2013, has any impact on EBITDA.

In an even more ludicrous folly, experts in the industry are aligning usage figures with business intelligence (BI).  

Wait, what?

For providers of managed print services, knowing the turbulent usage patterns will help manage the decrease in print.

But end-users don't care all that much and CIOs care even less. 

I put forth this idea: before entertaining the idea of 'business intelligence' based on print history, consider a Print Policy.

Every organization looking to optimize or manage the costs associated with creating, moving, and presenting information in the form of a document, should first invest in developing a strategic Print Policy.

The Policy should:
  1. Document all internal processes associated with the support of information in the form of documents
  2. Put in place  practices that support the organization's mission
  3. Carry the approval of Executive/C-Level leadership
  4. Be a 'living document'
Developing an internal Print Policy is daunting requiring input and support from multiple layers and departments.  Seeking assistance from outside the organization is a good idea. Yet trusting a firm that sells devices intent on printing, seems counter-intuitive.

I recommend working with your IT firm.  If your IT partner is a big-box, commodity-based entity or lacks basic expertise in the print and copy niche, feel free to reach out to me and I will try to connect you with a good match.



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Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193