AI in PCs: Say Hello to Your New Spreadsheet Conversationalist
I was part of the "PC Revolution" - and then moving businesses off 'big iron' to local area networks. No cloud. 5.25"Floppy install disks. Green and amber monochrome displays.
In a decade, the AS-400s evaporated and millions of desktops took their place.
I missed the beginning of the analog to digital(copier) evolution; another decade-long transformation.
This one is different.
AI will live in the cloud BUT we will all have the opportunity to have our own, personalized AI Agent - our machines will need the newest, AI-optimized chip architecture...and this means every, single computer, laptop, phone, and smart device will need the newest microchip.
Today's devices will be obsolete in the blink of an eye, not in a decade.
It's been almost three years since we first started working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And since then, many of us have not returned to our office desks five days a week. This shift towards hybrid work, which combines remote and in-person work, is here to stay and is the biggest change in the way we work in our lifetimes.
9/14/16 Check out the first article about Samsung/HP, here.
Samsung, recognizing print’s demise, ejects 6,000 employees and 6,500 patents - HP, Inc., like the family dog, sniffs up the crumbs. Todd Pike looks to be the smartest guy in the room.
HP is buying Samsung's 'formidable' print/copy apparatus. It wasn't more than five years ago, that Samsung built a copier that worked. No really, I attended the roll-out in Jersey. A couple of new qualities they pitched were aligned output vs. skewed and variable-sized dots.
Stunning.
So now, the questions begin:
What does this mean for the industry? Not much.
Is this bad news for the Japanese OEMs? Of course.
How does Canon come out of this? Like Oliver Twist, "Please sir..."
Who is the big winner? Mother Blue, Kali, goddess of destruction.
So too, do the pontifications:
"HP's acquisition of Samsung gives them the opportunity to disrupt and truly innovate in this space at a time when most other OEMs are struggling. It's a real Game Changer!!!" - LinkedIn
"This will shake things up a bit!!" - LinkedIn
"HP to acquire Samsung's Print business is big news and will further enable our managed services business. We are driving disruptive change by bringing value to our clients." - HP
HP shelled out less for Samsung than Ricoh for RiKON and may spend half as much on marketing into A3. Regardless of what happens on the OEM side of life, no degree of consolidation, no merger or acquisition, is going to entice customers into generating more 'clicks'.
This is War. HP Inc. is maneuvering to be the last standing.
Today, Monday, September 12, 2016, you are witnessing the beginning of the greatest campaign in our slight history. HP Inc.'s marketing war chest is huge and they're not doubling down on print, the farm is on the line.
But what else can they do?
In The War for Marks on Paper, HP Prevails.
There should be no doubt, that HP Inc. is in it to win it. Even with the decline, the last person selling buggy whips is still the only one selling buggy whips.
With the infrastructure and money to put service trucks into every major market in the U.S., HP Inc. looks like a mega-dealer.
Every service manager should be shaking in their boots at the prospect of HP Inc. riding into their town. And now, HP Inc. has a value proposition that includes A3.
This is not the same HP that purchased Palm and Compaq. These aren't the folks who clustered Hawk or propped Edgeline as the next coming, only to let it fail. No.
HP Inc. is the real deal; they've got a plan, money, and can reach from the F100 boardrooms to the SMB kitchen tables. The
But enough about print. Print is not the end-all and HP Inc. is not infallible - how can you differentiate yourself from the big MpS players?
Don't sell MpS.
Instead, offer IT Lifecycle Management. If you can sell copiers or managed services, I know IT Directors will take you more seriously when you suggest helping them manage their IT assets instead of "lowering print costs by 30%".
The great computer dealership purges of the 1990's - Inacomp to Wal*Mart
The music industry - vinyl to CD to MP3 to streaming
The auto industry, 1970's, from V8 to 4cyl, from 400 HP to 100 horses running through front wheels
2/2016 - Look what is happening to Sharp - the copier side of Sharp is viable and profitable - is it far fetched to see another 'spin-off' or will the imaging division continue to be a profit center for the whole? Is an investment of $450M good money after bad ?
Lexmark has gone from the "long cool woman in a black dress" to having her parts examined separately. Recent augmentations appear more valuable than the core.
"...Printing remained challenged in the quarter with net revenue of $4.6 billion, down 17% year-over-year as reported or 11% in constant currency, with declines in all regions."
Turning to Supplies, revenue was down 14% year-over-year in Q1 about 400 people exited the company globally as part of the restructuring activities announced in September...we are accelerating the program and now expect approximately 3,000 people will exit by the end of fiscal 2016 instead of over three years."
Last year, Q1 2015, HP reported a 14% decrease print revenue. Two years of down numbers? How about 4 years?
Xerox -
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..."
Outside pundits see, why don't our own?
Some might say the auto industry transformation was greater in scale and scope than our copier confluence but consider this: no other segment of business, lest IT, has had more impact in the business world that printing and copying.
Nothing in history compares.
Chevy Citation, anyone?
How can Lexmark, Xerox and HP change to remain relevant?
The car of the year in 1980 was the Chevy Citation. A front wheel drive, side mounted radio, "Accord killer". Parts fell off, transmissions locked and a generation of customers scrambled toward Toyota.
The OEMs continue to produce more of the same:
Is ink in the office akin to front wheel drive?
Is MPS the independent channel's CD?
Is managed services the next 5.25" floppy?
Either way, slow down and consider what is unfolding before our eyes - the greatest shift in business communications since the typewriter.
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:
Strengths — Too big to fail
By all indicators, HP Inc. will be a $55 billion corporation with...
HIMSS is a national, yearly show promoting technology in healthcare put on by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. One can find providers for everything from hospital beds to billing software; from business intelligence to prescription printing.
When I first heard that my new company was attending the HIMSS conference in Chicago, even though I wasn’t even officially yet a member of the team, I elbowed my way into the fold. It was to be the company’s first appearance, which is both odd and timely. You see, we specialize in healthcare and have built solid book of business and stellar reputation in the niche, so it seemed a natural occurrence.
This year, the show hosted thousands of exhibitors and many thousands of attendees – at times it seemed every bus, taxi and hotel in Chicago was inhabited with HIMSS people. The locals were at a loss to explain the sudden spike in population. It gave me great pleasure to explain the show over deep-dish and beer — how every healthcare technology provider in the realm, from software to beds and nursing stations was planting a stake in the ground.
I expected HIMSS to deliver more than any of the shows I typically attend — which it did. If I combine the shows I’ve attended over the past 36 months, HIMSS blows them all away. In scope, in depth and scale of solutions, the event is a tidal wave of technology goodness.
The biggest draws were the software providers, yet a small contingent of managed print services providers managed to land a spot or two.
I knew PrinterLogic was attending and figured the OEMs would be there plying their solutions, but didn’t expect to see any more of the usual suspects. This expectation was proven correct with one surprising exception: FlexPrint.
Who was at HIMSS:
Xerox, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Canon, Samsung and HP were displaying workflow, scanning, and mobile print. Only Lexmark placed “MPS” on their marquee, but even they had to track down the MPS person.
Konica Minolta has a nifty, Troy-like prescription print solution. Samsung had copiers, scanning, and with the help of Ringdale, follow-me print.
Biggest impressions:
IBM
It’s no wonder Big Blue commands attention. The booth was always filled and comprised of multiple solutions — not a printer in sight. The future is all about intelligence and healthcare presents an almost insurmountable amount of raw data. Churning through streams of live metrics and discerning a plan of action is front and center of IBM’s strategy.
Imaging OEMs
Lexmark, Xerox, HP, and Ricoh have sizable portfolios of healthcare solutions. Primarily supported by their direct teams, each is betting heavily on healthcare as a growth area.
FlexPrint
I was surprised to hear that FlexPrint was exhibiting – a familiar entity in a sea of strangeness. The ladies of the booth were amicable, posing for pictures and everything, although they saw me as a competitor.
They were there representing the copier niche as a national provider of managed print services. Commendable.
PrinterLogic
Over the past 12 months, I have shared all I know about this company. I’ve banged the drum and tried to explain to copier dealers the overwhelming significance of this specific offering within an advanced MpS practice. No takers. It is my contention that this sophisticated and elegant solution neutralizes one of the most frustrating managerial issues IT departments face. My opinion isn’t based on a training session or marketing material – paying clients, more than one, have expressed this to me. Enough said. If you’re interested, googlitize PrinterLogic.
What can we learn - three things:
1. In healthcare, print isn’t the most crucial issue, but it is important. For most, finding ways to eliminate inefficient paper-based processes is primary.
2. Our OEMs are small players in this ecosystem.
3. There is little room for an indirect channel. The expertise required is deeper than equipment surveys and toner delivery. Basic MPS engagements in healthcare are living on borrowed time.
Personal Observations:
When I think about MPS practices and copier dealers selling into the healthcare niche, I am concerned. For all the training and customized solutions the OEMs bring to the channel, they seem to barely simply scratch the surface – the print environment is more that simply print servers and cues. There is a world of CITRIX print
Print is a topic of discussion - it was odd, most of our OEMs were talking about digital workflow while the rest of the vendors were talking follow-me print. I spoke with more than a few attendees about follow-me/PIN/cloud/mobile print solutions. Other than access to the network, the biggest concern I heard was errant print jobs remaining, unclaimed, in the output tray. They were shocked to hear this solution has been around since the early 2000s.
Without ringing the doom and gloom bell, again, I’ve seen a slice of the healthcare universe the indirect channel doesn’t know about. I was completely overwhelmed by the relatively insignificant position our OEMs hold – they aren’t the “big boys” in this field.
The opportunity is huge, but the commitment is bigger – three days of technical training and a day of sales classes will not prepare you for the multi-faceted, extremely dynamic nature in healthcare.
My recommendation is to secure as many contracts as possible with clinics, hospitals and networks providing toner and service only. Don’t try to play in the software arena – the existing providers are seasoned, clients savvy and you’ll find yourself competing with your OEM. Get in there and grab the clicks for as long as you can.
"Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks Had I from old and young ! Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung."
--- Coleridge In 1991 Lexmark was formed when IBM divested its printer and printer supply operations to an investment firm. On November 15, 1995, Lexmark was publicly traded . Today the company is trading at $41.59 has a revenue around $3.7B and about 12,000 employees. Back in the 90's, Lexmark boasted a revenue of nearly $2.0B.
IBM was in the midst of one of the greatest corporate transformations in history. The company was in turmoil; internal leadership changes, intense competitive pressures, economic headwinds and a fractured self-image. They didn't know who they were, what they did or how to do whatever it was they were going to do, better.
Crazy times, the 90's.
Today, another great technology firm finds herself in the throws of transformation - HP offers everything from servers, clouds, PC's, laptops, printers, supplies and services. But its not enough. More accurately, its just too much. What IBM grew through, HP is now experiencing - you can't be everything to everyone. If that were all, it would be bad enough, but its worse. HP, Microsoft and the rest of the WinTel realm can no longer dictate demand. Their rule is not as relevant as in the past.
Take printers, for example. HP brought the laser printer into the business world and for a decade or two, HP was synonymous with printing. But in 2007, the winds of change were upon us. No matter how much marketing tries to accentuate the shift from toner to ink, black and white to color, desktop to mobile, hard copy print will never rebound; sinking more resources against the tide is folly.
What made HP great, is holding her back. Print is the albatross.
Some will herald the move as great strategy - it might be - for sure, this is a responsive tact, not one that bends the market to HP's will.
Nothing, not even the company who brought the laser printer to nearly every desktop in the land, can reverse the trend. Printing is dying. Not because we've all decided to stop killing trees, or understand printing decreases the ozone layer or bringing on the next ice age. HP is a victim of the shift in How We Work:
No more desktop PCs
No more servers
Fewer laptops
We do not print the same
We communicate differently
Fewer printers
Almost no copiers
Today, we communicate under glass more than ever before. Generations of young adults live in a world without PC's, rotary phones, black and white TV, newspaper delivery or a printer. Like generations before them understood life with electricity, they've never known a world without the internet. Why in the world would they ever want or need to print anything? Why? Ask them.
Tablets, smart phones and new workflows, oh my.
"No one in the printing industry, or outside it, had any idea that the iPad would come along and destroy three- to four-thousand-year-old human traditions concerning paper," explained Gary Peterson, chief executive at Gap Intelligence, a San Diego-based research analysis firm.
If OEMs can re-establish the relevancy of print...
then...
Why did International Paper shutter it's biggest, 8.5x11 sized paper producing plant if print volumes are increasing?
Why did HP layoff 40,000 employees when the second coming, mobil print or ink, is just around the corner? Think of layoffs as The Rapture.
Why is less than half of Xerox's revenue generated through equipment sales?
Why would a leading copier manufacturer build an erasable copier?
Even without printing capabilities, Apple still sold more than a dozen iPads
Denial.
"HP profits are reliant on selling "consumables" like inkjet cartridges, so the company can't be eager to see that business sidelined by the new prominence of tablets and smartphones. Even though mobile device make it easier to skip the printer in some cases, for example with electronic boarding passes and mapping apps, McCoog doesn't see printing as an endangered business.
Yeah, right.
What does this mean to all of you selling copiers and MpS? Keep doing what you're doing, your resume clean and enhance your PERSONAL ACUMEN every day. The change isn't coming, it is already here and you've got to improve yourself beyond the box and away from marks on paper.
Perhaps two decades from today, we'll look back and remember how HP built a great print business, sold it off and turned into the technology powerhouse Bill and Dave envisioned.
Long ago, before the Star Wars Generation grew old, people who discussed alien planets, time travel, robots with brains, or life created in a petri dish would be labeled as "off", "introvert", odd, strange, socially awkward, clumsy, etc.
Not today. Today, it's not so geeky to talk about anything in the context of science fiction.
Signs -
In the 2002 movie "Signs" Mel Gibson plays a reverend who after losing his wife, rejects God and Faith. Aliens play cat and mouse for a few days utilizing crop circles as navigation symbols. The invasion is concentrated around these designs; Mel's family lives on a farm and has recently been a victim of other worldly graffiti. As more and more indicators reveal themselves families begin to suspect the worse.
The movie is a tapestry of past, present, and future events all woven together leading to the ultimate ending where all the pieces fall into place; hindsight is 20/20. Everybody saw the signs, but nobody put them all together until the very end.
With this in mind I pose this question with all seriousness and grace - in a cold and analytical manner:
Do you See The Signs?
If not, let me point out a few of the Crop Circles in our cornfield:
Recharger: Gone
Lay-offs: Prevalent, secular
3D Printing: The latest 'Adjacency' does not make marks on paper
IBM sells off Servers - "...its the Cloud, stupid..."
Dealers offering Coffee and Water Services - no, really, its true
Old Content - We're telling each other the same thing again and again, expecting new results
Self-implemented MpS engagements; fewer clients need our services
MIF reductions - If your numbers are up, you're simply trading MIF with a competitor
Financial: Sharp, Panasonic, Kodak, HP - if the exchange rate wobbles, look out
Show attendance: ITEX, Recharger, BTA; each was much bigger than they are now
Paper plants closing: International Paper announced the closure of one of its biggest plants in 2013 - primary output was 8.5x11
IBM sells off SDN - googlitize it
IPad: Almost as many sold as cases of paper, just kidding, but you get the point
E Signatures - from car loans, to insurance forms, to lease payments everybody is doing it except you
Google sells off Motorola - patents more valuable than the hardware
Kids these days - all Thumbs and not a newspaper to be seen
Lawsuits - desperation; it's like hoping for a penalty when you are down 3 points, late in the game.
There Are Two Groups -
"People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in Group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in Group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky?"
Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
"Swing Away, Merrill"
What signs are you ignoring? Do you see crop circles, but blame the "kids down the street" for little late-night shenanigans?
Is it a coincidence that International Paper is shutting down paper plants, that HP refers to IPG as the "once cash cow", newspapers and magazines shift away from print, that industry show attendance dwindles, MIF falls off lease, and dealers now provide toner and coffee services, all while hardware margins shrink?
It's not so cryptic. The more difficult conundrum is figuring out which group you're in...
"Do you believe it because it's true or is it true because you believe it?"
Selling managed print services and managed services is not brain science, it's more like Rocket Surgery.
What year is this, 1989?
Maybe you know of these, maybe not. The point is, I'm hearing more and more about how the better MPS selling organizations are replacing failed existing MPS engagements. The losers are not covering the basics like toner delivery, prompt service and correct billing let alone workflows and business acumen.
As always, these are my views and mine alone - take 'em or leave 'em.
Kindle, schmindle, I want a PC in the form of an iPAD!
I want the comfort of Windows 1.0 and enough ports to plug in my optical mouse AND trackball- while you're at it, throw in parallel port to boot.
And I want it to print to any and every printer in the world. Dare I say, an Epson LQ-2550 and an IBM 4019 Laser printer.
Yeah, print to those, you goofy, goof-ball.
Those Win8, hockey pucks won't print.Not because they can't, because NOBODY WILL WANT TO PRINT.
Will Win8 be a bust? Will it lock up, like every other Windows version? Has there been a history of new interfaces confusing the hell out of everyone? Whatever.
I love the phrase, "It ain't bragging if its true..." - my high school football coach used it often.
I've noticed a trend over the past few months in our little niche: Robo-Boasting.
Self-promotion is great. I get that and if you're proud of your MpS, I say get that story out there. But don't do it through a robotic channel.
Bragging -
So many software, OEMs, dealers, toner pirates, distributors, consultants and analysts either claim to be or report to know the best Managed Print Services something-or-other. The twitter-feed is chock-full of MPS robo-brags and self-promotion, it is blinding. Observed from the outside it looks like one huge Love-fest. (I was going to use 'circle-jerk' but that might seem offensive)
Getting up early to fight the traffic. Fast food lunches, office politics, 'walk around management', empty Monday morning meetings, and equally nauseating, re-cap meetings Friday at 4:00 PM.
Ah, the modern, cube-rat life. Sick of it? You're not the only one.
There is good news - studies suggest by 2020, 50% of us will be freelancers. All of us, not just writers and out-of-work salespeople will either be or know somebody who is an independent, hired gun, freelancer. Everyone from CEO to Controller will have the opportunity to work 24/7, from anywhere in the solar system.
Before you say, "I couldn't concentrate at home..." I'm not just talking physically at home. Besides, you can concentrate anywhere. Consider the monthly costs your employer carries to put a roof over your head, phone in your hand, and connect you to the interweb.
It’s easy to see all seven playing out in managed print services. Today, let’s consider the mother of all MPS sins – an excessive belief in one’s own abilities: Pride.
On one side, "Managed Service Providers(MSP's) Should Get into Managed Print Services", on the other, "MSPs Shouldn't Bother." I didn’t get the hype - maybe because I’ve done it from the front and behind - saved an MpS practice inside a VAR/MSP and created an MSP within a copier dealer.
Still, I was intrigued...
From the imaging side, I believe if you can create and run a profitable MpS practice, you can handle an MSP.
I thought to myself, "Maybe there was something to this…perhaps the MSPs in the room DO want to learn more about MpS and are thinking about getting into the realm." I started to pay attention.
From the IT side, I’ve felt adding printers to a screen in your NOC is no big deal; I’ve done it, and you can too. Indeed, in the beginning, I wrote about how we on this side should beware of the possible invasion of our little niche by all those independent VARs.
It didn’t happen that way, did it?
Why So Crowded?
Based on the number of people in the room, it was apparent others were interested in this subject. For a managed print services meeting at a computer convention, there were more people than I had anticipated. I thought to myself, "Maybe there was something to this. Perhaps MSPs want to learn more about MpS and are thinking about getting into the realm."
WRONG. DEAD WRONG.
"...a Konica technician asked my customer how they were handling IT..." with a waive of his hand he dismissed a meager attempt to take HIS customer.
The debate attracted a cadre of MSPs more to support their MSP leader, less to explore the possibilities. Like every VAR/IT/MSP/ITOEM I’ve ever talked with about managed print services, their mind was made up. Anything to do with printing "is below them” and getting into MPS would be “a step backward”.
Yes, those are quotes, and here are some other talk tracks uttered by the MSP dude:
"Not going to add to my already full plate of vendors…" "The market is not that big…" "My customers are reducing print, why would I get into a diminishing market…" "I don't like printers. Should I be selling huge systems or filling a 'toner quota' - thanks HP…"
Have you ever been to an event or party and at some point, realize you're not in the right place? Sure, you've received an invitation, but you feel completely outside the discourse. Not because the conversation is over your head, but more due to a crystallized moment in time when you can clearly see everyone else off on their own voyage - apart from you.
Well, that's the flavor of epiphany I experienced - that and a bit of deja vu.
These IT guys just do not like printers and think copier folks can't compete with their real computer expertise. One MSP mentioned how "...a Konica technician asked my customer how they were handling IT..." with a wave of his hand he dismissed a meager attempt to take HIS customer.
"How droFor IT Providers: Managed Print Services Could be the 24th Chromosomele..."
They do not respect printers and the people who derive a living from this industry. If you think about it deeply, you know what I say is true. Seasoned MPS reps are numb to IT people talking down to us but it is there...always has been.
I am done trying to evangelize to the IT community about managed print services for three, basic reasons:
1. They are too prideful (snobs)
2. Print is declining
3. The IT/VAR/MSP niche will decline FASTER than office print
Call Great America, today or buy out one of the smaller MSPs in your neighborhood.Today. Now. Stop fooling around. This is one of those cases that supports the, "go out and sell it now, we'll figure the rest out tomorrow."
Pride goeth before...
Sure, there will be a few VARs/IT/MSP organizations who dabble in MPS if HP takes the deal and the paper, but for the most part, they are not going to deploy an ‘engineer’ into the field to clear a jam. This is a cost and emotional issue.
Going, going...
Dave Ramos, a colleague, and friend presented interesting findings about print decline, sighting one of our favorite slides from International Paper and linking the latest paper plant closing in Alabama. A4 paper is in such decline IP had to close a plant whose primary output was 8x11 - this one location supplied 8% of the office-sized paper.
They've Got Their Own Kettle of Fish...
Here's the big reason - the IT world is going through a much bigger transformation than we are. The 'cloud' represents a move away from hardware - Zero Client and IAAS both support the realization that organizations DO NOT NEED HARDWARE-CENTRIC VALUE ADD. Today's IT providers are blind to this and in no position to adapt. The biggest shift is going to be elimination and evacuation. For example, they're talking about 'moving to a service-based' business model with 'recurring revenue streams' as though they've just heard of it.
Don't expect to see copier techs badged up by your local MSP anytime soon. They're not coming to the MPS party. Just like retail computer stores dissolved overnight, so too, will your trusty down-the-street VAR/MSP. Bottom Line...
What about you, the copier dealer, the toner supplier, and the printer organization? Think of it this way, managed print services manages the decline in print, managed services helps customers manage down their dependence on local servers, software, hardware, and the people(local) who provide value-add.
Now is the time to get into managed services - the low barrier of entry and distracted fragmented competitors. Don't overstudy. Forget about heavy evaluation.
Call Great America, today or buy out one of the smaller MSPs in your neighborhood.
Today. Now. Stop fooling around. This is one of those cases that supports the, "go out and sell it now, we'll figure the rest out tomorrow."
One more thing...
Forget about getting all your reps trained on "IT Services", like it's different from managed print services - well, I should say, the offering is different, but the approach is similar. There are too many managed services sales experts who have never sold, proposed, or closed a complex, all-inclusive engagement.
The outsiders from the IT realm coming into the copier world don't get us, they've hired the wrong 'advisors' to help them grow their share of our wallet and some are increasing their value for the next round of VC or prospective buyer.
Go out there and learn it the best way - in front of prospects.
Your reps don't need some other guy's super secret sauce and you shouldn't measure yourself against somebody else's benchmarks
IPG no longer exists, yet "Printing" is report separately at $5.5B, in Q3. YTY growth has been dropping steadily all year, and operating income hangs in around 18%.
Meg mentioned "managed print services" more often than most of the other reports and referred to a change in the "go to market strategy".
$HPQ reports strong movement forward as a company, although the print business, especially supplies, is off.
Is it time to sell the print business? Have any idea what the multiplier would be for IPG?
The concept of inkjet printing originated in the 19th century, and the technology was first developed in the early 1950s. Starting in the late 1970s inkjet printers that could reproduce digital images generated by computers were developed, by Epson,Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Canon. - Wikipedia.
The best marketing dollars are spent inviting 'analysts' to an event, feed them caviar, fillet, and tell them how important they are. Lo and behold, a fountain of cool-aid drinking marketing content disguised as 'fact' splashes across websites and the industry's remaining print media. No blame, its just the way of things.
"My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail is a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!"
"This is the plan; make printing so cheap the act of printing is as thoughtless as watching TV. Friends, I give you one possible timeline for the Future of MpS - self-imposed irrelevancy. Rejoice and make mirth for the sun shall shine on our faces forever! So be it. Just because the Motley Fool thinks this is a bad idea, doesn't mean it won't work(mopier). We all know how innovative HP can be (TouchPad) and their commitment to customers (2007, product delivered to the highest volume accounts only), employees(25,000 layoffs), and suppliers (thousands of canceled laser engine orders to Canon) is beyond comparison (pale)." - GRW, 2013
Well here we are, not even a year later and HP is bringing its brand of MpS to the SMB - without you.
"H-P’s numbers buy CEO Whitman some breathing room. Hewlett-Packard Co.‘s first-quarter earnings declined 16% as the technology giant continued to see weaker sales across all its divisions, including its core personal computer business, reports the WSJ’s Ben Worthen. Shares nevertheless soared in after-hours trading as H-P’s numbers beat Wall Street estimates..."
We listened to HP's earnings call (Feb. 21st) our 4th, and for the life of me, I can't find the 'silver-lining everyone else sees - but there is one.
HP is following the tried and true public formula for companies on the mend -
Admit problems...
Clean house...
Blame economic headwinds, past leadership and bad deals of the past...
Make the future seem as though it is going to be very bad...
Report numbers that are "less bad" than the original thought/projected...
Get the street off your back..
There's a concept in military science called, "shaping the battlefield". In HP's case this means setting expectations so incredibly low, feeding detractors fog and allowing media-allies, 'privileged access'.
When you hear, "...HP beats Wall Street analysts projections..." question what data these analysts utilized establishing their forecast.
For the rest of us, here are the numbers that hold relevance. The largest technology company in the world, the company that grew from humble beginnings into the corporation we all work for, the entity that rode the output wave, encouraging over printing along the way, is fighting for her life:
This isn't to say that Gerstner couldn't save HP - what he accomplished back in the 90's is a case study in turnarounds. It's simply not the same environment today as it was in 1993.
There are, however, some spooky similarities between HP of today, and the IBM Gerstner inherited.
When Gerstner took over, IBM had just experienced an 8 Billion dollar loss - at that point, this was the largest corporate loss in history - their stock was down 6%. Many pundits strongly recommended breaking IBM up into "Baby Blues" - the breaking up of Big Blue, into little divisions and selling them off - being the only way IBM could survive.
IBM was the largest, most profitable computer hardware manufacturer of the day enjoying 40% margin on hardware. At the time, selling services was completely alien and new not just to IBM, but to an industry.
And that industry was dying. These words from Business Week, 1992 -
"As the monolithic mainframe gives way, the industry breaks into leaner, faster, smaller parts... It sure looks like an industry on the skids. The signs are everywhere and grow more painful every day: Worldwide leader IBM Corp. is shedding 40,000 workers this year, for a total of 100,000 since 1985. No. 2 Digital Equipment Corp. ousts its founder, after taking $3.1 billion in charges over two years to cut 18,000 jobs and vacate 165 facilities. Wang Laboratories Inc. files for Chapter 11 protection. France's Groupe Bull lays off 8,000 workers and closes 8 of 13 factories; Italy's Olivetti downsizes by 20%; Siemens Nixdorf plans to lose 6,000 workers. And the list goes on."
Gerstner incorporated a great deal of strategies, most remember and point to a few key unusual approaches that, today, are part of every company's 'come-back plan':
Huge losses, massive layoffs, transformation on a global scale - and yet is seems more is needed.
How about creating a Mobility Practice and doubling, no tripling, no quadrupling down on a the consumer play and go after the BYOD crowd? With a tablet? Knowingly competing with the iPad, iPhone, iWhatever?
"...It(the Q3 loss) is likely to be the worst loss since HP started in 1939. Chief executive Meg Whitman is still coming up with plans to turn around the company, after a year on the job. One of her initiatives is to cut HP’s staff by as much as 27,000 over a couple of years, recording a charge of $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion.
HP is banking on a revival for its PC business as Microsoft launches its Windows 8 operating system on Oct. 26..."
HP plays to the street, always has. So Meg is rolling a bunch of bad news into one announcement, a cleansing of sorts, the loss from EDS as well as the hit generated by layoffs and early retirement offerings presented for all to see. (Who gets to retire, with full benies nowadays at the age of 47?!!)
I am rooting for Old Blue. I see a future for HP, there just isn't any printing involved; 3D or otherwise.
