Today, I found myself in a Bank of America, finishing up what I figured would be a 15 minute job.
Sixty minutes later, I was out the door; a new signature card in the system, an additional account added to the DOTC one, new BoA online user account, second ATM card secured and activated, checks ordered.
While completing a wire transfer, all my personal information was set up so I would rarely, if ever, need to step foot into another branch again.
Taping out on the Droid, registration completed and passage confirmed for the upcoming Preo/HP event in Seattle, DOA procedures outlined and initiated for one of lastweeks installs(I was told that HP's never arrived dead, I was misinformed), client confirmation of delivery and invoicing for 3 Edgelines.
What do you say we finish this year out in Australia? Eh?
I spent 2 days and 5 nights in Vegas last week, for my very first Muratec dealer conference.
It was awful nice being invited, on account, I just signed up 30 days ago and haven't sold a single box.
The venue could be called small and intimate relative to the bigger shows, like Photizo, or the other OEM's - I liked it.
A little bit of background.
When I first got into selling technology, there was IBM PS/2's and Compaq desktops; the MicroChannel versus EISA architecture - #1 and #2. The Compaq folks were more willing, more attentive, and more fun - their events rocked.
IBM? Unless you're Mike Stramaglio, how much fun can you have in a pinstripe suit at 12:30 AM?
When I served time in IKON, there was Canon at #1 with Ricoh a very close #2. Again, the Ricoh folks, tried harder, worked with us, and were a hell of a lot more fun, especially in Vegas, at the Wynn.(Jus sayin, I've seen them in action)
Just like Compaq, Ricoh knew their place as well, at number 2. They knew. They didn't pretend to be the largest or most installed. They didn't have big laser beams and fog machines at the national conference.
Point is this, #2 always tries harder - so wouldn't an admitted "third tier" player try even harder?
HP recently announced a slew of new machines, MpS enabled aimed directly at the small business niche.
Oki - is bundling scanning options built for Quickbooks, integrated with hardware, under their MpS, for around $800.00.
And I swear, I can almost hear Samsung slowing down through re-entry, landing in the water and waiting to come ashore en mass, with cheap, bundled MpS devices.
The Sky Shall Shatter the Heavens into Stars -
The great double-dip recession of 2008-20xx is recognized by layoffs, jobless figures, the California exodus, the Detroit melt-down and the not so stark difference between government-created jobs and government jobs. (Think about it...wait for it...wait....there.)
As corporations are reducing headcount and squeezing every ounce of productivity from the zombie-like survivors, home offices are sprouting up like poppies in Afghanistan.
HP is getting out of PC's because they see less value for their shareholders in PC's - and as the PC goes, so too, goes the printer.
Downstream.
All these laid-off executives, managers, and cube rats are going to find their way in the world, most won't simply lie there, on the couch, collecting "Obama-bucks" forever.
The new Aquarian Workforce will be mobile, they will work simultaneously for multiple employers, and be based at home - printing. All those individual stars falling out of the sky, landing and thriving - on smartphones and tablets; no more brick and mortar.
But wait, there is more.
As the corporate world shrinks, and the need to print fades to white, smaller, cheaper, and MpS Bundled devices will be the norm; if by "MpS Bundled" I mean S1/S2, which I do.
Machines talking to machines, toner automatically delivered, directly from the OEM.
Service you ask? Really? How about the OEM's go and design devices as reliable as your flat screen? How often have you called for service on that one?
From B2B to M2M to B2C and NOTHING in Between.
You feeling that?
That's my L.A. - How many times does L.A. need to get blowed up by aliens?
You could say that. Transformationis the new convergence, the new change.
Was the HP decision to let go it's PSG division, one of the Triad, Wall Street driven or some emotional knee-jerk reaction to dismal TouchPad sales?
The answer is 'Yes'. And HP is genius. Mother Blue see's a future without desktops.
It's a crazy world, upside down, inside out - we'll make sense of this over the next 18 months - rationalize or remember.
And we'll hear everything from "business is proceeding as usual, you will experience little impact", the typical HP Edgeline, Mopier, 9065 talk track to "see, we told you HP has no loyalty to you, why should you to them?" Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, PC dejour...
We'll read industry pundits explain how 'so and so' will take HP's $42billion company on, re-label and grow.
IPG - Supplies, are big. Sustainable?
Meanwhile, 10,000+ HP employees squirm, VARs scramble, 'loyal' HP Enterprise customers call emergency CIO driven IT meetings, evaluating their 5 year technology refresh plans.
General panic smolders just below the surface and MotherBlue stays the course. She's just too damn big to ignore, she can do absolutely anything she wants...
And this is just the beginning. This is the first in a sequence - tell me, if the largest PC company in the world can get out of PC's, how difficult is it to see the worlds largest printer company, get out of PRINTING?
IPG is 21%(Q1/2011) of HP total revenue - ten years ago, IPG accounted for 43% of revenues.
Guess how much PSG, the division HP is remembering to let go, contributed to total revenues...31%.
Do you see what I see? The biggest question is, who can afford to swallow IPG? Xerox? Ricoh? Cannon? Lexi? Nobody. What about spinning IPG off, all on its lonesome, eh?
Someday...
CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.
PC's are dying, the focus, the singular focus, is not the machine, it's the stuff going through the machines - bits, data, thoughts, ideas, conversations, expressions, information - CONTENT.
Look to the content, not the machine - maybe, just maybe, HP has this all white boarded out, because they look hellbent on shedding their hardware pedigree and heading to the cloud.
Let's put this in context. Remember when every employee had a PC at their desk? For every new hire, IT had to set up credentials, order up a PC, secure network drops, and LOAD PRINT DRIVERS. Because every PC sold had a printer with it. Free Dells anyone?
Perhaps, quite soon, it won't matter how well the OPS partners are fairing, if the HP MpS program supports the channel or MES.
Maybe, someday soon, I won't be required to report how many third party toners I sold last year. Because, as goes the PC, so goes the printer.
It isn't that we are not familiar with tough business decisions. We all know somebody who has been a victim of such acts.
HP's announced decision to let die WebOS and TouchPad - a product that lived just 49 days - in and of itself is stupendous.
Spinning off their PCs may seem surprising unless you once sold IBM ThinkPads and remember selling IBM printers.
Go back to IBM, heck go back to the Mopier, the HP9065, and Edgeline; is it really a surprise that after investing a billion, shifting leadership, HP drops and adds?
There is more, much more here, and it is not all Dark.
Call it the "MacGyver Cloud"; duct tape, paperclips, hope, and a prayer - whatever it takes, string it together.
In this cloud, give away 6-month subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal, HBR, LeopardONE, MPSInsightsPro, LuLu, TMZ, on and on.
Bundle all of it in. Free.
Hook up with Verizon and get on their network, into their stores. Hell, buy Verizon.
Get every remaining print publisher on the phone, in a Halo room, or to the West Coast and offer up an advanced conduit to 1 million customers, through MacGyver. Negotiate for a percentage and target Amazon/Borders; the Nook and the Kindle.
Spark up the TouchPad plants. Rationalize, re-calibrate and reorganize PSG around generations of TouchPad. Get this new team out there selling MacGyver and giving away TouchPads through every channel. EVERY CHANNEL. Sell it at 99 bucks - through Walmart.
Call the second model, "TheNext" and release a Leopard print version.
Buy a f*cking advertising agency, not another technological oddity.
I don't even know you, but you seem to know a great deal about me.
So Steve, thank you for my Droid X.
Thanks for forcing Microsoft to integrate a mouse, even if it was on DOS 4.0.
Thank you for getting IBM to utilize 'preemptive multi-threading in OS/2 even though it was a doomed OS.
Thanks for pushing the 3.5" floppy. Thanks for letting all the peripherals that attach to the Lisa automatically connect.
Thanks for AppleTalk.
Thank you for seeing I really only wanted three or four songs from an album.
Thank you for disrupting the music industry - giving us Lady Gaga and incredible, mind-blowing live shows. (figure it out)
Thanks for recognizing a dwindling need and not allowing the iPad to print.
You beat the PS/2 and helped IBM find a new way.
You destroyed the music industry and helped them find a new way, giving us immediate access to the music and artists we, the people, wanted to hear, at 99 cents a pop.
Sony, because of you, experienced the stink of defeat, the folly of internal business silo and they found a new way.
"Autonomy is the market leader in the provision of software that automates the analysis of unstructured data, whether in the form of text, audio, images or video." - UBS, July 2008
The other day, I sat in on a webinar. The fine folks at Lyra were presenting "Printing supplies market trends MPS" - yeah, I know, who the hell would sit in on one of these?
MpS Geeks, that's who.
Of course, the data presented has been fodder for DOTC for the past year; we will never get back the placement levels of 2008, A3 devices are dying(ahem), any recovery will be linked directly to the surviving dealership's ability to focus on workflow, not the box. We know this, correct?
Then a funny thing came up - OEMs are "rationalizing" their fleet offerings. They are narrowing down the number of models.
Years ago, software like PrintAudit, FMAudit, PrintFleet, and even the most expensive 'free' software you will ever own, WebJet Admin, was the cat's meow.
We assessed everything we could see, solving the problems our industry created and nurtured for decades. It was like hunting big game, with a TriCorder.
DCA's, servers, pie charts, security concerns, volume and fleet analysis, proactive service and desk-side toner delivery, automated meter reads, remote monitoring, and Quarterly Reviews were all considered "new and innovative".
And then, suddenly, we all had a DCA: copier dudettes, VARs, office furniture salespeople, the OEMs, STAPLES, etc. - Hell, who DOESN'T sell MpS?
Today, all those super-duper, whiz-bang, features are table-stakes; either you got them, or you're a provider of little substance.
For those of us who do, now what?
It's getting crowded in here and we're all starting to sound the same. How can we temporarily separate from the pack and keep our eye on the future?
How about our run-of-the-mill BTA guy, who finally figured out how to bill for Lexmark, HP, Brother, MICR, Oki, both connected and local, color and black/white, coverage from 3% to 80% - profitably?
Is the next stop Business Process Management -head to head with IBM or EDS? Methinks not.
The answer? "One-word kid, BeMod...BeMod" - is that even a word...??
It's the infamous, IKON iceberg. Won't this thing EVER melt?
When the MPSA struggled for months to determine the definition of MpS we stumbled and bumbled our way in the dark.
Each of us had different views and perspectives: OEM's, Independent dealers, toner reman's, parts suppliers, consultants, and end users. Oh, and ONE VAR.(Jus sayin)
I was impatient - we needed something NOW and I had a definition ready to go.
My version did not include reference to hardware, but the MPSA had to include 'devices'.
I didn't want the word 'print' but quickly acquiesced agreeing that 'print' allowed the concept to be easily identifiable.
Here is what we, the MPSA came up with:
"Managed print services is the active management and optimization of document output devices and related business processes." - MPSA, July, 2010
"...the act of managing components and processes associated with moving, saving and presenting information in the form of documents..." - DOTC, March, 2010
And here is my current definition of MOS(MpS):
"...the act of managing the optimization of resources and processes associated with information ..." - GRW, 5/9/2011
Why would I be so insistent about leaving 'hardware' out of the equation? I don't want to be pigeon-holed, I don't think real MpS has anything to do with hardware or even PRINT.
Most importantly, I didn't want those who felt like I, to find this weakness and project above the MPSA definition.
The MpS train is well down the tracks, the ship has left the dock, Jupiter 1 is Jupiter 2.
Clicks are being captured, fleets of single-function devices automatically fed and cared for - maybe even ripped and replaced - I wonder.
The MpS ecosystem is in balance, the OEMs are playing nice, they know their place in the world, and the channel(s) all have well-established, benchmarked agnostic, and profitable MpS programs.
My network of friends and colleagues expand from RiKON to Xerox, HP to LexMark and the wave is reporting a disconnect.
A 'white space' between the yearly shows, 12-week/12-step MpS mentoring (my DOTC mentoring program will be simply 10.5 weeks and include sessions in front of a refrigerator, but I digress), corporate-sponsored MpS training programs, and You. We go to class, and forget everything three steps out the door.
More troubling, we buy into the vision, understand ourselves, and recognize a great future only to arrive back in the office face to face with the Sales Manager's funnel report, or marketing's latest telemarketing talk track.
"How many contracts are you going to write this month?"
"What accounts are up for renewal? "
"Do you have your elevator speech memorized?" Poof!
It is the old wound.
Do you still demo copiers or devices?
How many of us sat in on training sessions that were nothing but rolling product commercials?
Or is the solution selling training around a piece of hardware? You remember, "add value...show an ROI by reducing the monthly payment..." etc., etc. Circa 1999, 1984, 1975...just like back then, retention is difficult and post-training support non-existent.
It's worse - there isn't any real motivation to maintain. Your management, your ownership, is in survival not visionary mode.
Do not let them fool you - they are.
I have seen just about every, single Managed print Services program out there; been given the up-skirt view, as it were...from Encompass to PagePack, MDS(Ricoh) to...well, MDS(Canon).
They're all good. Well thought out. White boarded to detail and not reaching potential.
Here's the opportunity:
I hear from OPS, Canon, Oce, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Ikon, and Indy dealers from all over North America. New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Oregon, and Canada.
Even though MpS is established and 'mainstream for smart people, all the great slide shows and nifty programs aren't getting to the field. The message is garbled, complicated, and ignored.
It comes back to the same old mantra, "MpS is different" - so how can we expect the same training and support models of yesteryear to provide an ROI in today's increasingly sophisticated and accelerating business environment?
We can't.
I was NOT a big fan of all those long-term MpS 'mentoring' programs just a year ago. It wasn't that I was resistant to the framework or mechanics of those program types, I was repulsed by the content.
The Content sucked then, but change has come to MpS. Real TRANSFORMATION is out here.
I point to the recently announced chaMPS program, the ever oscillating program that is PagePack, and the mythical, over-the-horizon, OPS/Printillegent HP MPS Channel.
PagePack has a 12-week mentor program.
chaMPS has a long-term program to assist in dealer transformation.
HP WILL have a Printillegent-Like hybrid program.
Neither is perfect, each progressing, but the bulk of responsibility for success rests squarely in the hands of the participants in each program.
It doesn't matter if co-op or MDF pays for the program, the commitment kicks in after the class and once your organization fully commits. Sound familiar?
"Change or Die." - again. For the dealer channels as well as the individual, MpS Selling professional - Power is coming down to you, to us the individuals. The world and market are moving from "Push" marketing to "Pull" leverage. More on that later
I suggest now is the time to really commit to one of these programs - whichever one fits your world, now is the time.
Points to consider-
For the Dealer:
Rethink everything
Consider cutting overhead. Get lean(er)
Commit, commit, commit
Pay all your reps the same way
For you, real-live, customer-facing folks:
Rethink everything
Consider cutting overhead. Get Smarter.
Commit, commit, commit
Acknowledge that EVERYBODY in your organization works FOR YOU.
Your boss, the owner, your OEM and their rep., and your distributors all have an agenda and plan. As a matter of fact, EVERYBODY has a plan. Even Robinson's Lost In Space had a plan - you should too - It's Your Ship.
It's like we share a brain, except DOTC doesn't have a staff and was on this page 12 months ago...Yeah, I know, I have self-esteem issues.
An article posted on The Imaging Channel caught my eye, "Managed Print Services: OEM Strategies". The headline piqued but the source engaged - Lyra.
Of all the research groups I know, only two command my attention. One is Lyra. I trust their opinion, to be honest. Sometimes, I may not agree with their observations but that is okay.
If you are an MpS'r from way back, say 24 months(!), what the Big 3 say is of no surprise; if you are a steady reader of DOTC, again, no surprise.
Lyra spoke with Xerox, HP, and Ricoh during the first half of 2011. The article is a reflection of all three.
The caveat is these discussions orbit around enterprise-level MPS engagements - not that there is no value - it's just that when interviewing at this level, the information is more proactive than responsive - the OEMs projecting their view of MPS, not necessarily reflecting the real MpS.
And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
you felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space
no one there to catch you in their arms...
let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go
6/30/2011
The evolution of MpS is thick. Everybody scurrying around, grabbing all the clicks/prints/toner sales possible; Finally.
We're making a living now in MpS - even those of us settling into Stage 1 and Stage 2. The Big Guys have taken up their purchased positions, Xerox, HP, Ricoh, have or are committing to an MpS Channel program. Others, Konica, Kyocera, Lexmark, Dell, Okidata, Muratec, etc. stubbed their toe and are taking a second swing at Mps.
And then there is Samsung. Mysteriously lurking just over the horizon. Literally. Heck, it isn't MpS, but even MemJet appears to be getting off the ground!
So what is next? Stage 3, that's what is next. But how to go about jumping from the hardware as a service into software as a service realm.
Stage 3 incorporates software. Though S1/S2 engagements utilize some sort of software package, most of us aren't yet comfortable with the whole "EDM/Managed Services" thing.
If only there were a 'bridge' from S2 to S3, an 'on-ramp'. A platform that doesn't require a staff of specialists, installers, engineers, and training staff, yet provides actionable information.
Wouldn't that be nifty?
Let not your heart be troubled, I see that bridge. It's been in front of us all along and its mantra is "...manage the behavior, not the print..."
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in Atlantic City..."
It's not the same scale as the gang-wars of New Jersey, but there is something here.
If you've been in this nutty industry for more than five years, you've probably heard tell of the mythic millionaire copier dealer who built a dealership and sold out.
He waited in siege around the non-compete, got back in, built up another dealership, sold out once again.
A millionaire, twice over.
Hey, this is America and there is nothing wrong with doing what you do well, and getting paid to do so. Capitalism at its best. I love it.
Yet, after talking with a couple of these new/old comers, I walked away feeling the need for a shower.
On May 9, 2011, Xerox and CISCO announced forming a strategic alliance delivering cloud-based IT services, and technology that combine network and print services.
This is more then cloud printing. This is more then mobile print. This is about ITO, this is about Borderless Networks.
And its about opening up "new revenue opportunities in managed print " for Cisco partners.
Its about Xerox partners having opportunities to drive network services promoting Cisco Smart Services, supporting their customers' Cisco network solutions.
Do you see?
Can you see the handwriting on the wall or should we dig up an interpreter?
No? Yeah, that's right, you need stick figures, don't you?
DOTC Operatives stationed in Orlando, NYC, Portland, Imperial, California and elsewhere are reporting in.
By carrier pigeon, encrypted satellite transmission and smoke signals, a solid shape is taking form.
Big interest in the HP/Printellegent arena:
Is HP buying a channel? If so, who is next?
Will the devoted and committed, remaining OPS partners find themselves competing with a bigger, broader, potent HP/Printellegent with a global footprint?
Xerox/NewFieldIT:
What will happen with NewField's current customer list?
How does this effect PagePack? Does it at all?
Will the tool be scaled up? Down?
...interesting...
HP is not buying a channel.
HP will dump assets into the Printellegent model, assimilating, expanding and scaling out as a platform for the channel.
Yes - FOR THE CHANNEL. Of course, we may be redefining "channel".
By mid-June, Printellegent will be no more; "I am Locutus, of Borg"
Xerox will use AssetDB as the 'face' of XPS, and rounds out the tool set.
NewField may lose their inroads to other OEMs as well as some existing customers, but the deal with Xerox out weighs any possible loss.
There will be more assimilation - PrintFleet is being mentioned.
