What the HP Split Tells Us About HP's Managed Print Services

It's an outhouse.  Made out of the shipping container for Edgeline.

For years the definition of managed print services has been bandied around like a beach ball on Labor Day Weekend. Your definition of MPS rotated around your particular strengths.

For instance, if you refilled empty toner cartridges, your MpS is all about less expensive toner. If you're a copier dealership, your MpS may orient around centralized MFD's and optimization means a single brand of devices. Still, if you are a big box, office supplies vendor, your MpS is all about desk side toner delivery.

My definition of MPS tries to be encompassing: my monitoring software is in on a screen inside my NOC, right next to the CCTV and Level Platforms. My optimization, for example, includes reducing the number of devices in an accounting department to zero and implementing digital workflow systems and dual monitors.

So, back in 2009, my MPS included everything from ink and service delivery, staff augmentation, Sharepoint, laptop imaging, and unified communications. I was a big HP house. I sold only HP toner, servers, laptops, printers and...oh yeah, Edgeline multifunction behemoths.

The Death of Spreadsheets

That's an Edgeline Shipping Pallet, converted.

"Knowledge will no longer be trapped on paper... or under glass."

9/24/2014

We were talking about Big Data - it's what we do - when she exclaimed, "It's the Death of Spreadsheets...people will need to swallow faster..."

I was stunned and not sure what swallowing had to do with Big Data, I'll let you ponder that one.  I did, however, understand her observation about Big Data, or specifically, the use of Big Data and the end of spreadsheets.

Spreadsheets are on the path to oblivion, just ask Microsoft.

The rise of the 99 cent algorithm and the fall of "=@if(A, B, C)".

Algorithms are workflow.

Automating processes with algorithmic discipline is changing everything.  Why generate formulas on static spreadsheets when a preconceived formula, connected to live data, streams actionable information directly to your device, pane of glass, or contact lens?

Imagine saying the words,  "Computer: what is the most profitable group of devices in my fleet, today?"

Not only is the answer reported orally, but a running, graphic representation of your profitable machines is presented as well as comparative representations from around the globe - all in real-time.

Beyond words, what if the 'cloud' knew exactly what you wanted to see and when?  Instead of you asking, the information(vs. data) is presented to you nice and neat, in real-time, anywhere on the planet.

No paper, no historic or static.

Funky, eh?  There's more.


Apple just released, to a rather conservative fanfare, the latest addition to the iPhone lineage.  Some were waiting for a "Dick Tracey" watch and others lamented a "phablet", instead, Apple released some less expensive color devices and a new 5s - in Gold.

To many, the device was less than expected - I took note of the A7, 64-bit processor.  In a word, "Awesome" and I'm not an Apple FanBoy.

The A7 is the first 64-bit of its kind to be found in a phone, processes twice as many bits per cycle, and incorporates built-in, on-the-chip encryption.

This all means the little gold box will do stuff faster, crunch more numbers and drive cleaner video - all in the palm of your hand and this is just the beginning.

Back to big data.

Soon, we'll all be carrying around enough processing power to compress massive calculations and connect from anywhere on the planet.  Our customized, 1:1 news will stream flawlessly, and profit, commission, productivity, and financial reports, both personal and business, will seamlessly appear.

In the cloud, huge amounts of calculating power will collect data from billions of sensors all around the planet.  For example, when one of your Konica Minolta is repeatedly misfeeding, AND throwing off ambiguous errors, our newly ubiquitous business intelligence network will:

• Analyze the multitudes of sensors inside the copier...
• Backtrack the units manufacturing chain of custody...down to every component
• Research the composition of toner and examine the entire supply chain...
• Research the composition of the paper, all the way back to the tree...
• Measure the humidity fluctuations and compare them to occurring misfeed times...
• Compare the reported symptoms with millions of other devices and every other device ever recorded... 
• Measure the incoming power...
• Report back a meaningful diagnosis - or simply make corrections remotely - and then report back...

All real-time. No paper because the paper is too slow, no glass, because glass is too restrictive.

Chew on that.

PS - I used a copier as an example but you and I both know, there won't be any copiers left, don't we?
#Wink #DOTC #NoReallyThisTimeItIsPaperLess

1910 -

The Mundaneum

Founded by Paul Otlet (who outlined a concept of a globally connected network of computers in 1934) and Henri La Fontaine, The Mundaneum aimed to "gather together all the world's knowledge and classify it according to a system they developed called the Universal Decimal Classification".

Originally posted on Walters & Shutwell, Inc. Sept, 2013.

_________

Remastered by GPT4.0, 3/2023

The rise of Big Data and the increasing use of algorithms is transforming the way we process information, leading to the obsolescence of traditional methods such as spreadsheets. This was an observation made by my colleague Jennifer during a conversation we had about Big Data.

Algorithms are becoming the new workflow, automating processes with greater efficiency and accuracy. Why use static spreadsheets when a preconceived formula, connected to live data, can provide actionable information directly to your device, pane of glass, or contact lens in real-time?

For instance, imagine asking your computer: "What is the most profitable group of devices in my fleet today?" The answer is not only reported orally but also displayed as a running graphic representation of your most profitable machines, compared to similar devices worldwide.

But the impact of Big Data extends beyond visual representations. Soon, our customized, 1:1 news will stream flawlessly, and personalized financial reports will appear seamlessly. In the cloud, massive processing power will collect data from billions of sensors all around the planet.

For example, if one of your Konica Minolta repeatedly misfeeds and throws off ambiguous errors, our newly ubiquitous business intelligence network can analyze the multitude of sensors inside the copier, backtrack the unit's manufacturing chain of custody down to every component, research the composition of toner and examine the entire supply chain, research the composition of the paper all the way back to the tree, measure the humidity fluctuations, and compare the misfeed times. 

Then, it can compare the symptoms with millions of other devices, every other device ever recorded, and measure the incoming power to provide a meaningful diagnosis or make corrections remotely, all in real time.

These advancements are leading to a paperless future and could even render traditional office equipment such as copiers obsolete. As we look to the future, it's worth remembering the Mundaneum, founded by Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine in 1910. 

They aimed to "gather together all the world's knowledge and classify it according to a system they developed called the Universal Decimal Classification." It's remarkable to think how far we've come since then, and even more incredible to imagine where we'll be in the future.

_________

Tweet: Big Data is changing everything! From automating processes to providing real-time insights, the possibilities are endless. #BigData #Automation #RealTimeInsights

Intro paragraph: In today's world, Big Data is becoming increasingly important, as it has the power to revolutionize the way we process and utilize information. With the rise of algorithms and automation, traditional methods such as spreadsheets are on the path to obsolescence. The ability to connect preconceived formulas to live data provides actionable information in real-time, changing the way we work and make decisions. Big Data is not just about processing information, but it's also about how we use it. From customized 1:1 news to personalized financial reports, the possibilities are endless. In this era of digital transformation, Big Data is changing everything!

Click to email me.

$HPQ InkJet vs Toner - Five Reasons You're Hearing so Much

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.

Nice ROI.

TheDeathOfWebOS Took Less than a 3 year Lease.

I sold the "Hawk": HP/Konica Minolta and Ikon's nexus of the absurd. HP's first toe-dip into the copier industry.

I sold Edgeline.  HP's second and "this time, we'll get it right" attempt to play in the copier industry.

I own a TouchPad.  I wanted to own one.  I was an HP head, as much as could be, without being employed by Mother Blue.

So when the TouchPad was rumored, I maneuvered into a position to get one.

When the rumors came down the channel that HP was going to market their E*Print along with the new tablet, as an MpS Practice manager, under the HP OPS banner, I was doubly excited.

I was not alone.

Across the country, honorable, trusting, HP believers, and employees,  fanned out to the channel exalting the next big thing in print; mobile print through HP tablets and phones.  WebOS was to be installed on every printer, MFP, laptop, phone, and tablet.

Ubiquity.

We were encouraged to invest and build mobility practices. Indeed, HP VARs all over, hired, shifted, and built business plans around the "Blues Clues' handy-dandy notebook" and print.

At the time, we saw Apple as pulling tablet use up for everyone - like the rising tide lifts all ships.

Of course, it ended up not being the tide, but a tidal wave, dashing the hopes and dreams of mobility practice managers everywhere into the rocks of BYOD.

Looking back like this feels as though I'm 'piling on' as Meg tries to right the lumbering behemoth - jettisoning tens of thousands and returning to HP's hardware roots.

HP will survive.  It's too big to fail.

What is to be learned from this Shakespearean tragedy?  What can we as individuals take from the meteoric arc?

1.  Everything dies, baby that's a fact...
2.  What is strong today, can be gone tomorrow
3.  Logic sometimes, doesn't prevail
4.  The obvious isn't
5.  When you forget who you are, you're just aching for a smack-down

Currently, HP, Canon, and Samsung have announced, each in their own way, that they are now, always have been, and always will be, hardware manufacturers.  Defining who you are and promoting yourself as true, is the only way to survive these days - we can debate over the sustainability of a pure hardware play, my money is on Samsung.

Period.

The truth is finally revealed.  No more talk of 'solution-based selling', or 'on-ramps to EDM', or such nonsense.  For these guys, the value is, 'best product', 'reliable performance', "affordable price', 'simple to use', printers and copiers.

For them, MpS will always hold a capital "P" and a small 'm'.  Oh, they will protest, flaunting symbolic MpS programs, designed by marketing departments and tasked with landing more equipment.

Period.

So it is with great nostalgia that I combed through this article from The Verge, regaling the rise and fall of Pre, WebOS, and TouchPad.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen - $1.6 billion write-off? - ain't nothing but a thang, just ignore that.

The Underbelly of Managed Print Services & Copier Sales: Last Week'sLanier Rep is Today's Edgeline Rep - Oh, really?

2012

If you've been in this industry for any period of time over 3 years, you either know or have heard of what I call a "Roaming Gnome" - there may even be one a couple of cubes over.

That sales rep who travels from dealer to dealer, employer to employer in search of the perfect sales position. Bringing with him years of experience, a Rolodex chock full of purchasing agents and expiration dates. A pocket full of promises and a wheelbarrow full of "Bravo Sierra".

It's legend - copier reps jump from Ricoh to Ikon to Konica Minolta to Toshiba. Or get out of Toshiba/Ikon/Xerox only to return in a few years.

Old, cromagnum sales interviews start with, "how big of a sales book can you bring with you from "fill in the blank/your current employer"?

Before you go off all half-cocked, accusing me of not understanding, I know this occurs in every industry, especially with salespeople. It is not illegal and it is not uncommon.

As a matter of fact, selling expertise and business acumen can only flourish under the light of many different Suns. And those who grow over time are professionals.

Switching companies isn't normally a bad thing. I am not criticizing the practice, only the occasional method.

The hacks I refer to as "Travelling Copier Gnome" carry not only baggage but character flaws.

They inflict more harm than good, perpetuating the shady side of selling.

In today's economically challenging MPS universe, many MPS and copier reps are looking for jobs; a quick search reveals IKON hiring MPS specialists like crazy all over the country. A floating deckchair in a turbulent sea?

As with most good articles on this tome, writing from personal experience supplants therapy and, I have found, generates plenty of "the same thing happened to me..." emails.

So, I feel the experience of one of my colleagues may have some relevance.

An MPS Practice I know of has gone through major metamorphosis - to date, its third. This recent iteration was characterized as a "bloodbath" resulting in major personnel changes.

People were let go and people left.

It's no secret that I bash the bad in our industry. It's a target-rich environment - there is plenty to bash.

However, I hold a special place, a bull's eye, for the "typical copier sales person".

That churn and burn, rip and replace, 60-month lease recommending, sour-grapes, decision challenging, slick, schlocky, box-moving, toner delivering, non-customer-centric, closed-minded, a square peg in a round hole, never going to change, FUD using, gear slinging, never attracting always selling, jolly, hard-closing, Traveling Gnome types.

Case in point, recently, one of the sales reps, at my colleague's MPS practice, decided to move to greener pastures.

Nothing wrong with that, right?. We've all done it.

As matter of fact, picking up and leaving is a decisive act any one of us can execute. Changing employers is like turning the page, ending another chapter in the book of your life. No biggie.

And when done correctly, there is honor in this; an opportunity to either show some class or reveal to the world your true, sliminess.

Character is what you do when nobody is looking most often exposed under pressure - think about the last time you experienced a death in the family or any other high-stress event. Who remained calm and focused, and who "cracked".

Or how about the last time something went wrong with a customer - who ran around with their hair on fire and who acted like they had been there before?

Character.

Your character is exposed not only in bad times but also in good. Can anyone remember the last time a running back scored a touchdown and simply handed the ball to the ref?

Act like you've been there before.

Back to my colleague.

He found himself in quite a pickle - all the client files were missing.

And by client files, he means, assessments, SOWs, proposals, spreadsheets, orders, quotes, contact records, notes, databases, and laptops.

That's correct, inspection showed very few signed original agreements - nothing left behind, uh, oh.

Again, little surprise, nothing too far out of line, seen it before, been there, got the coffee mug.

But then, they received their first notice of service cancellation.

A quick look into E*Automate revealed this defector-client had been "stocking up" on supplies over the past 3 weeks -capitalizing on confusion and the vacuum - it was obvious the customer had been coached.

And then, this ex-sales ne'er-do-well started reaching out to "his" old clients who are now part of my colleague's current base. Huh.

Again, sad and unprofessional and not at all surprising.

You see, when we sell with passion and believe in the product, service, and company, we can become blinded, falsely believing the client relationship is with us - it's our Ego talking - not reality.

The client relationship, no matter how personal the sales professional makes it, is between the client and company; not the selling professional.

We forget that sometimes, don't we? We fall into the trap of thinking "we" are the only reason clients work with our company.

How foolish, how naive, and how very old-fashioned - quaint, almost.

So, who is at fault here?

The destructive Sales-schmo, The Roaming Gnome? For sure.

"Greener Pastures and New Beginnings" mean just that; a New Beginning can only happen after an Ending of a "period" not a comma. Get over it, move on, and begin fresh. Show some class.

The new employer, absolutely.

What kind of loser organization still hires Sales people under these beliefs? Can this really be? Are we still in the '70s? Has Selling devolved? PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN! Did I miss THAT memo? Show some class.

Any client who follows him? These imbeciles are just as unscrupulous.

I mean really, it's just business, I know, but this is pretty lame.

The Lesson, if there is one?

We in the selling profession take a beating from our prospects, customers, sales managers, and family for engaging in something we love to do; meet new people, take on new challenges and create something out of nothing.

It's a shame when some of us lie to clients, trap customers into deals, push our agenda, and do harm. The bigger shame is these instances hurt all of us in sales.

This sort of thing may never change, unless we start calling out the evil-doers, exposing this ilk for the sham artists and hypocrites they are.

Managed Print Services in 2012: The Year the VAR's come calling...

11/27/2011

Is it too early to write about next year? No, it isn't.

The Death of The Copier calls out the obvious:

2012, the year of the VAR?

More specifically:

The year the VARs try to learn meter reads to billing...

The year the VARs try to sell MpS like every other managed service...

The year the VARs make all the mistakes we did, five years ago...

2012 the year we lose the 'p'..

2012 the year the little fish consumes the big fish...MpS devours MS...

Oh my...

Coming soon! Xerox Color Qube: The DOTC Review

For the last 30 days, I have kept output from a Xerox ColorCube, both 8.5x11 and 11x17, on the dash of the LandRover.

It sat in the Ontario(California, not Canada) extended stay parking lot, for a week.

The interior temps exceeded 100 degrees.

Happy to report, no runs, no drips, no errors.  As a matter of fact, the cracking along the fold closely resembles what happens when color toner is folded.

I anticipate installing an evaluation unit into one of my most important and discerning clients, within the next 30 days.

I know, I know, MpS has nothing to do with hardware - I got that.

Still, the entire story is delicious - I could write a book titled, "The Evolution of Edgeline: From ink, to Oblivion, to Wax..."

Hey...that's not a bad idea...

HP IPG: Indestructible

2011

I know, I know...somebody filled my beer bong with HP-Blue KoolAid at last week's OPS Elite conference.  I can't see who exactly is holding the funnel up - pretty sure it's not my MES rep.  Could be my PBM. Huh..

The HP OPS Elite resellers. You know these guys. That one-time very exclusive collection of core IPG channel players who jumped through hoops to earn the opportunity of a lifetime - selling Edgelines.

Yeah, that was us - I guess things have changed.

Today, if you are a Global/Xerox dealer and you have a pulse, 'little blue' will authorize you for OPS.

Today, if you have a retail door, hang MpS on a peg board next to the paperclips and white out, kick down a pulse, 'little blue' will authorize you for OPS.

Right, I busted my ass to install 79 Edgelines - all still in the field. Today, 'little blue' doesn't even have the Edgeline SKU in their system. (okay, that might be extreme, but you get my point. TouchPad anyone?)

The propeller heads over in PSG are whining over a little shift? Give me a break. Those of us tied into IPG have been surfing the whirlwind of "scratch your head" logic since the MoPIER.

Remember those?

As easy as it is to throw poop at mother blue, I ain't going to, I'm done.   The last 90 days may be remembered as just another bump in the dark as it appeared mother blue is trying to commit suicide, shooting every foot in sight - this isn't about all that.

HP is the biggest gorilla in the house.  Actually, HP is a great, big, humongous, blue gorilla in your bed.  She can roll over, squish you, and not even lose a wink.  Talk about a 'walk of shame'.

Last year was in Phoenix - this year in Orlando.  Last year the presentations were old-skool and it seemed mother blue couldn't spell 'MpS'.

Well, what a difference a year makes.

HP, MotherBlue, Just Sneezed...

No, really, potatoes.

September 2011.

Change?

You could say that. Transformation is 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.

Off the Edge, remembered, honored, and let go...

TheDeathOfThe PC: A Call to the Channels Transform Now

My Rover, Grass Valley Fire, 2007

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.

This is What HP Should Do with TouchPad/WebOS: "Execute Order 66"

Give more TouchPads away.  And by more, I mean to give another 500,000 away.

Quickly put together a Mega-Cloud, now.  

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'm not done yet.

"The Sky will Blow The Heavens into Stars" - The Future of our Imaging Industry, Xerox, IBM, HP, Content

2011

Autonomy Corporation

"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.  

Shrinkage.

HP To Offer Toshiba's to Enterprise Accounts - In Asia

More "strange bedfellows" news:

HP has formed an alliance with Toshiba as part of its managed print services (MPS) strategy.

At the HP Innovation Summit at Singapore, the vendor revealed that key high-volume MPS enterprise customers will have access to a select range of Toshiba multifunction devices.

HP already has a similar agreement with Canon announced last year.

Managed Print Services: The Summer of 2010 Rising Stars - Constellation One

When I was a kid back in high school, I remember being told that humans were the only species on the planet that could crane their necks and face the sky.

I have since learned this is more a romantic notion than factual as birds are thought to navigate via the stars

To me, the real difference is our ability to assign patterns to the star filled sky and create stories around those pictographs - a uniquely human quality.

In this spirit, I present to you dear reader, my Summer of 2010 Constellation of MPS Rising Stars.

These few are in my opinion, walking the walk and talking the talk when it comes to MPS.

Does this mean that everybody else sucks? No, not at all.

What it does mean is that we who play in the MPS sandbox, can look to this pattern in the sky, and study. Learn. Adapt. Improve.

Alas, it is a shame that I need to even mention this, but, as with everything else I have ever posted, this is MY opinion only.

NOT the MPSA.

And this is not a scientific study.

Also, I don't take money from any of these stars, so it's not like the "quadrant".

I am not part of a multi-national, media conglomerate, so these stand-outs don't pay to be in any of my trade shows or "published" in any poser magazines.

I am not carpetbagging "How to Sell MPS" classes.

You are free to disagree but please remember, I write for an audience of one: me.

Submitted for your review, off the Shoulder of Orion, the DOTC Summer of 2010, Rising MPS Stars:

HP Transforms Walmart Photo Departments Nationwide with "Prints in Minutes" Service and Advanced Creative Tools for Customers - Son of Edgeline?

HP retail publishing footprint set to grow 300 percent in 2010

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- HP (HPQ 45.22, -0.02, -0.04%) today announced that Walmart is rolling out the HP "Prints in Minutes" retail publishing service in 3,600 of its stores across the United States.

By the end of the summer, U.S. customers of the world's largest retailer will be able to take advantage of a fast, high-quality photo print service as well as a broad array of personalized printed merchandise, such as calendars and greetings cards, and access to images from brands such as Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. and Live Nation.

This rollout in Walmart stores, along with incremental growth in other retailers' stores, marks a more than 300 percent growth of HP's global retail publishing presence in 2010. Over the last year, HP has expanded its customer portfolio through agreements with leading retailers such as Tesco, Rossmann, Duane Reade and Kmart Australia.

"Our agreement with Walmart is another milestone in HP's drive to help retailers transition from traditional photo services to dynamic publishing centers," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "With new customer agreements with many major global retailers, including Tesco, Kmart Australia and now Walmart, we're bringing consumers new opportunities to conveniently print both personal and branded digital content that is meaningful to them."

A better, faster self-serve photo experience

As of Today, Edgeline is Gone: The beginning of the End Started in Vancouver

Just under three years ago, Edgeline hit the market.

At the time, all the hoopla and programs felt like a plan, a strategy - not simply wishful thinking.

Over a year ago, January 27, 2009, I reported the shuttering of the Edgeline group in Vancouver.

I knew then.

For the last 12-15 months I have been counseling clients on this development and making plans.

Last month, I installed 15 Edgelines.

Between now and the end of May, I have five for sure and another 17 possible.

HP should discontinue product (and not tell anyone) more often.

Parts and supplies will be support for five years.

From InfoTrends InfoBlog, Robert Palmer writes:

"These types of MFPs are typically leased under a click-based service contract, and HP’s reseller channel is simply not equipped to support that type of sales/service motion..."

"...HP admitted as much when the Edgeline-based MFPs were announced, noting that the products would primarily be sold through direct engagements with large corporate accounts. The CM8050 and CM8060 served an important role for HP in its initial forray into Managed Print Services (MPS)..."

"...In short, HP does not have an adequate channel to move the volumes needed to support the Edgeline platform long term..."

That last sentence pretty much summed it up.

It was fun while it lasted, and the Edgeline technology will live on.

Today, it can be said, that HP is out of the copier business.

How much longer before HP evacuates the printing, hardware business all together?

See More Here.

Click to email me.

An Interview From Adventures in Office Imaging

Yup! More self-promotion.

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

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

So with his permission, I am reposting here.


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

AIOI: What company do you work for?

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

AIOI: How many employees does your company have?

DOTC: We currently employ millions.

AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AIOI: What are some of your major successes?

DOTC: Ok, now we get serious.

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

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

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

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

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

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

AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?

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

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

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

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

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

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

AIOI: What company do you work for?

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

AIOI: How many employees does your company have?

Greg: We currently employ 100+

AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I worked the copier guy.

An interesting spin, wouldn't you say?

AIOI: What are some of your major successes?

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

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

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

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

AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?

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

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

March 2010

OK - Sorta. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ah yes, remember the good ole days, here? 

  Click to email me.

The Death of Edgeline

Feb, 2010

I was scrolling through some year-old posts and stumbled upon this one, from Art over at print4pay Hotel's, "MFP Solutions Blog". 

A year later, almost to the day. Has anyone heard anything, at all, about Edgeline? 

Huh. 

See my, historical journey through the odyssey that is Edeline, here. 

###

Wednesday, February 18, 2009,  HP Edgeline "What Went Wrong" Art Post 

 I had an email the other day from an analyst from a major printer vendor. In the email, I was asked "what went wrong with this program?" I thought, geez you're asking me?? 

Lyra 2010 - The Rise Of Managed Print Services - Stage 3 and TheDeathOfTheCopier

Things are never going to be what they use to be.

I stopped in at the Lyra Symposium last week, in Palm Springs: The Road to Recovery.

The year is what it is so far, my schedule has been filled with activities associated with what I call, my "day job".

So, I was able to catch just one day, the day with all the MPS data and presentations.

I was present for 8 hours and can safely say, there were no copier reps in attendance; if by copier reps I mean folks who would be on the phone closing a single copier deal between sessions, which I do, there were none.

I also believe the majority of attendees may have sold face-to-face in the past, just not in the past 24 hours.

Be that as it may, the data presented by Lyra is priceless.

Especially to we who sell, we in the thick, in the smoke, in the fire.

I am not advocating every Selling Professional attend this and other symposiums, but, I do recommend getting synopsis or any other information you can, from your manufacturer rep or your sales manager (yeah, right, sure...).

Why?

Information is King in your personal, and professional development. Your "personal, professional development" might get lip service from management - but it is just that, lip service. When the chips are down, you tell me who gets the ax.

The more you know, the more you can see where your dealership/management is falling down and the easier it is to chart your own course.

My top five Value-Adds from Lyra- 2010:

1. Historical data mined from their extensive database of devices, monitored by PrintFleet, is presented in spaghetti graphs.
2. Detailed analysis of each copier and printer manufacturer's financial standing and projections.
3.  Unrivaled views of our industry, where it was, where it is, and where it might end up.
4. Current reflections and projections around the economic free-fall and the Day After.
5. And of course, especially this year, Managed Print Services and the "experts" who extol the virtues of MPS.

---------------
The Number One piece of information, significant to me, personally -

The recession has bottomed out, but we will not get to pre-recession placement levels.

As a matter of fact, according to Steve and Lyra, we will be losing 2 million units in placement - they will never come back.

It's like 2 million copiers just died.

Huh. If only somebody had seen this coming and publicized his views somewhere easily accessible to others...that person could come up with a snappy title like, "Your industry is Dying"...or something...

IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT. - again.

Second, to MPS, the next big subject was the economy and the Road to Recovery.

The Industry -

In a nutshell, the industry leaders all sucked wind, some more than others, but still, they all ate it, in 2009. An occasional silver lining here and there, accounting trickery, but no surprises.

Steve Reynolds' presentation started by defining the Cyclical vs Secular effect of a recession:

Cyclical, meaning a temporary sharp drop followed by a sharp recovery

Secular, meaning the recession causes a permanent and fundamental change in behavior

I have seen for a year now, the economy changing the fundamental way businesses do business. Especially when relating to printing and documents - this is SECULAR.

To quote Steve, "...once enterprises have discovered and implemented more cost-effective processes with less or no printing, they will not go back..."

Indeed, monochrome laser printers, MFP, and color printer shipments will be flat through 2013. The only bright spot is color MFP with a moderate increase(approx. 250,000 units) between 2010 and 2013.

And if that isn't bad enough, Steve expects a price war to erupt.

You see, as the recession is declared "over", customers will creep back into the market with caution. Hungry vendors will be pressured into getting their share of the new demand.

The feeble and hungry will drop prices to move the product, the last gasp.

The strong and carnivorous will lower prices to kill the remaining, weaker players. It's a Japanese model practiced and perfected by Wal*Mart.

Imagine HP reducing their MFP pricing AND toner by 50%. An M9050 for 5k and $40.00 toner? Real, HP toner? Where's your MPS savior now, third-party toner guy?

Vector this with Photizo's and others' belief of a 50% failure rate, in the BTA channel, by those who have not embraced MPS we have ourselves an honest-to-goodness Perfect Storm.

Your customers are or already have realized they DON'T NEED AS MANY devices and that they don't need to stock thousands' worth of toner in closets.

Why? Because the recession made them look for areas of cost reduction, and the constraints of the last 4 quarters, forced all of us to do with less.

For example, did you lose customers because they couldn't get HP CM6040s even though they gave you a PO last August?

No, you, the VAR/Dealer didn't lose customers. You helped your client get through "these trying times" by encouraging patience and utilizing their existing systems.

Or maybe you helped your client extend his lease on a month-to-month basis. Copier still works?

We in the field didn't lose customers - HP and the industry, lost placements, lost "clicks" and lost face.

Managed Print Services -

Managed Print Services was all the rage.

Both Ricoh and HP talked about MPS, albeit from the Enterprise level. Well, to be fair, Tom Codd's (HP) presentation included one slide dedicated to HP's commitment to driving MPS expertise into the Channel - through Synnex, et el.

Another slide depicting HP's product lineup, in order to show the Canon relationship as a good fit, DID NOT SHOW EDGELINE.

Edgeline? What? Never heard of it...next?

Twice, the name "MPS" was assaulted as not adequate - especially the "P". The phrase "Business Process Outsourcing" was bantered about a couple of times.

It was felt that the current MPS ROI is immediate, but where does one go from there?

"One-word kid..." Software, the future is in software.

Yup, the Third Stage of MPS is, Enhance the Business Process. We barely get people into the 1st and 2nd stages and already stage 3 is upon us. Really? No, really? Business Process Optimization/Outsource?

Are we to expect a channel that still thinks color and duplexing are value prop's possess the wear with all to talk software and "business process"?

And SELL this? For Greenbacks? (which is just as good as money)

Right.

When a member of the audience asked, "...how do we motivate a copier salesperson to sell software?" the collective response was, are you ready for this, "...increase the commissions on software until you modify the salesperson's behavior..."

I nearly upchucked in my lap, right then and there. And I was a bit insulted. If I was holding a watered-down drink in my hand, I would have thrown it in their faces.

Is this all they, these experts, think to motivate the Selling Professional? A few more duckets?

We are truly doomed.

My summary:

MPS is now being swung around by the big players, the definition is being molded in their likeness and most of the data and "play" presented is a product of and pertains to, "Enterprise" level engagements. One exception that I can see, is Xerox. X seems to be working 'on'(instead of with) their channel, time will tell.

The economy is in a rebound, but our industry will never be the same. More ships will merge or sink, and more dealers will jump into MPS, listen to old skool consultants, run it as a Marketing Campaign and fail. Managed Print Services is a Secular change for dealers; it is not "just like when color came out..."

More MPS Professionals will end up working at OfficeMax, Staples, or RiKON.
-------------------
Click to email me.