Photizo Group CEO keynote helps CXOs learn about managed print services corporate benefits

Print & Imaging Summit Keynote Explains MPS Trifecta: Saving Time, Money and the Environment

Highlights:

     

     Photizo CEO Edward Crowley shares study results that validate corporate MPS advantages of cost savings, environmental benefits, IT productive 

     

      MPS can help companies cut costs by up to 30 percent and regain up to 10 percent of IT time

      Photizo Group is strategic event partner for Print and Imaging Summit

April 12, 2011, Midway, KY -- Organizations considering a move into managed print services (MPS) have a lot to gain -- and a lot to learn. The average firm cuts cost by 30 percent, but these MPS savings do not happen overnight. 

MPS is a more complex and far-reaching undertaking than most realize. In his Print and Imaging Summit keynote, Photizo Group CEO Edward Crowley helps CXO executives understand the complex issues – and powerful advantages – of a corporate MPS initiative.

Crowley is founder and CEO of Photizo, the worldwide authority on MPS trends and techniques, and the leader in MPS data collection, analysis and reporting. In the opening keynote on Tuesday, May 3, 4:15 – 5 PM, he brings valuable guidance and perspective to the corporate market. He will introduce MPS concepts, explain the challenges of embarking on MPS projects and acquaint the audience with benefits they may not have considered, such as reducing CO2 emissions and improving IT productivity. He will also share insights on what's next in convergence of IT outsourcing and MPS, with IT and business process optimization.

DOTC Prime - TheDeathOfTheConsultants

...this is a rant...good for the soul...from July 6, 2013

During the first 12 months, of our incorporation, we've explored the many nooks and crannies of a sector of our niche typically haunted by trainers, coaches, advisers, analysts, gurus, sages, and prophets.

Often, when we attempt to tell people what it is we do for a living, we get one or more of the following responses:

• "Oh, you must be consultants like Photizo..." - understood, but no.
• "Oh, you work with end-users, helping them weed out MpS programs..." - goodness, no.
• "Oh, you're trainers like Strategy Development..." - nope.
• "Oh, you're providers like Preo..." - huh?
• "Oh, you're an MpS Practice, like OnePrint..." - sorta, only not.
• "Oh, you're analysts like IDC..." - not even close.
• "Oh, you're recruiters..." - again, sorta, only not.
• "Oh, you're writers..." - isn't EVERYONE?

These responses make sense because folks think of us as people who have answers. To be fair, with a combined 40 years in this nutty business, we easily slip into the consultant role.

Is Managed print Services experiencing "the third day..."

Yes, MpS is coming back.  I know dozens of successful MpS practices engaging clients, supporting MpS, and making a profit today; it isn't that we've completely abandoned the idea.

But, I'm observing that we've left MpS to pursue the latest shiny object, managed services.  I'm not deriding that effort - worthy is the quest away of print.

And no, clients haven't fallen prey to our hypnotic social media or cold call campaigns - they've heard the "30% savings" mantra and see through the "optimized fleet" scheme.

What I see is that we've come full circle.  MpS programs, benchmarks, best practices, and philosophies have been rooted and everyone has logged their "10,000 hours. 

Today, we've got programs and associations:

CompTia's Managed Print Services community, Xerox PagePack, Canon MDS, Ricoh MDS, HP MPS, Toshiba Encompass, Lexmark MPS, Sharp MPS, Muratec MPS, Kyocera MDS, Okidata MPS and the grand daddy of them all, your Managed Print Services Association.

Today's software, unavailable in 2008, reads devices and spits out proposals in the blink of an eye. 

Like cities in the dark, MpS programs dot the landscape: Supplies Network, Digitec, LMI, Clover, Synnex and more provide sales training, assessment/TCO tools, and automatic toner fulfillment. 

These managed print services pillars are proven, standardized and in place.  In other words, managed print services is the status quo.

The establishment is MpS.

Consider the following:

MpS is part of a stale and complacent offering.
Is there anything staler than copiers, printers, and paper? No.  There is nothing more old-fashioned than marks on paper.  Don't believe me?  Ask your customers.

The providers are not in touch with customers.
While we've been promoting OEM-specific solutions and telling prospects about our 14 new models,  businesses have been shifting from copying to scanning, relieving themselves of those big, nasty A3 copiers, and going paperless - without our help.  

Think I'm wrong?  Check Xerox's earnings for the past 3 years; review HP's numbers for the same period and feel for those Lexmark CxOs, crash-coursing Mandarin.  They all lost touch years ago.

These shinny offerings are wedged into old business models.
I've had paying clients tell me, "...if it(managed services) doesn't fit into the 'blah, blah, blah', copier dealer business model,  it will never work..."  Indeed, even successful managed print services practices utilize yesteryear's example; contractual services tied to equipment placements.  What once was our strength, is now our greatest weakness.

"Complacent, out of touch, old business models"-
I challenge you to google, "How to Recognize an Industry Ready for Disruption" - you'll find that we are sitting on the bubble.  

The niche is primed for major turbulence; bigger than experienced at the beginning of MpS, and separate from current consolidations(OEM/Dealer).

I suggest that you and I are on the cusp of a Revelation and Revolution. The MpS 'third day'. Resurrection.

This time, the MpS revolution will be carried forward by in-the-field, MpS practitioners, free of stifling processes and discombobulated compensation plans...

This time, executives who've forgotten how to sell, aren't fashioning a strategy designed to secure more self space, create equipment quotas then calling it 'managed print services'...

This time, we help our clients move away from ink, away from printers, away from copiers, without the promise of 30% savings...

Who's coming with me?  

This moment will be the moment of "....something real and fun and inspiring in this God-forsaken business and we will do it, together..."

Click to email me.

Managed Print Services, Copier and IT Sales Employment: More Signs or Bucking Trends?

The business landscape is improving in all directions, but check out these employment charts from indeed.com:

managed print services Job Trends

Managed Print Services jobs

Manage print services spiked back in '09, yet looks like its about to either level or fall off a cliff.

copier sales Job Trends

Copier Sales jobs

The roller coaster that is copier sales! A bump in 2010.  Still, my neck hurts just looking at it.

IT sales Job Trends

IT Sales jobs

The 'other side of the fence' is experiencing a slow bleed.  IT sales futures "ain't what it used to be..."

managed print services hp Job Trends

Managed Print Services HP jobs

Mother Blue's, Mps evolution is trending...

home building Job Trends

Home Building jobs

Home building is creeping up.  Is this another sign of the recovery?  How many construction sites need copiers?


Click to email me. 

Paige Says, "Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance"

2011

This Unprovoked Attack on Me, is an Attack on You.

From my friends at CRN - Computer Reseller News, no less.

I have no idea how I even popped up on their radar, but apparently, I ruffled some back room feathers. I am an easy target, my name is all over my blog, unlike the fictitious "Paige Coverage"; an obvious Xerox marketing creation, and yes, I actually have real pictures of me.

Thank goodness I didn't post pics of my children, for they would have been thrown under the bus with me.

What befuddles me, beyond comprehension, is what nerve have I struck?

Perhaps the Xerox folks I have been working with for the last year, evaluating PagePack and ColorCube as possible offerings here at SIGMAnet, will be able to answer that question.

Perhaps the members from TeamXerox, who I met with last week during a Synnex event, can help me understand why I would consider moving forward, or even recommend anything from Xerox to my executives, prospects, clients, members of the MPSA, or the thousands of  DOTC readers.

Really?

I have cut and pasted the entire post below.  But please, check it out for yourself.

Read and tread lightly for this isn't just an attack on me.  No, this goes deeper.  Much.

What Paige/Xerox has done is shown its colors - they don't like, they don't want, dissension.

THEY FEAR CHANGE, THEY FEAR YOU, THEY FEAR US.

Paige is a creation, like the Monkeys and a shill for Xerox.  Paige represents the will and vision of the Big X.  For all we know, Paige Coverage is Ursala Burns. In the end, Paige is Ursala.

The Summer of 2011 DOTC vs. X - un-fuking believable. Oh the fun we are going to have...

And yes, I know this is all a sham to get more hits on their small, pathetic site - God, I love this country.

Read on...

Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance
Posted by Paige Coverage on Jun 21, 2011 11:27:02 AM

When he's not parading past you his music library or posting You Tube videos on his site, Greg Walters hacks out a confounding and scattershot blog called "The Death of The Copier is the Death of MPS."

Presently he's mourning the sad and premature death of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, but he'll soon be back to getting his facts wrong, and contradicting himself with his bizarre attempts to frighten you out of a business he himself claims to be successful in: Managed Print Services (MPS).

Like spotting someone you've placed a restraining order on, I was reminded of Greg when a colleague forwarded me this rusting blog of his from December.

In it, Walters rekindles his addiction to managed print defamation by claiming that:

“Just as everyone figures out how to spell MPS, industry pundits kill it. Photizo called heavy growth rates in MPS Engagements through 2015 - of course this was back in the "olden days" - 2009! Last year at Lyra, consultants and statisticians explained that we will never return to the same levels of units (copier) sold, pre-2009.”

Same level of copier units sold? This is not an argument for the death of managed print services.

And Walters – who describes himself as “an MPS Practice Manager at medium-sized west coast VAR/MSP (whose) GP is consistently at 48% - fleet is doubling year to year, my goal is to quadruple in 2011” – should know this.

Managed print services is not about pushing boxes, anymore than managed IT services are about selling more PCs, or virtualization is about selling more servers, or cloud computing is about selling more storage hardware. A managed service is about optimizing existing resources. Sure it’s nice to sell some hardware, and everyone does. But service dollars outdistance hardware and software sales by a country mile, and have so increasingly for years.

Walters’ blog post goes on to feature quotes from those either too unsure of themselves to enter the managed print market, or are under the misconception that “it will make us millions on printer revenue.”

Walters’ opinions are just plain nonsense sprinkled with rock music lyrics, and no reputable technology reseller of any kind would allow this child to speak in front of their employees or customers.

It’s a shame that just as everyone figures out that certain blogs and social media sites can be of benefit to helping the channel drive more revenue through services, irresponsible self-promoters like Greg Walters come along to contaminate the well.

At least - by his own admission - no one is foolish enough to pay Greg Walters to write.

Below: Greg Walters sitting on a motorcycle.

It is not a motorcycle, its a Harley...

See how the story ends, with apologies, here.

HP Recognized for Leadership in Managed Print Services by Global Industry Analyst Firms

I have reprinted the presser from HP.

In summary, IDC, Gartner, and Photizo all laud HP as a global leader in MPS.

The first line of the release,

"HP today announced its managed print services (MPS) offering has been recognized as the preferred choice for enterprise customers by IDC..."

Key Phrase: Enterprise Customers.

For all of us here in the SMB space, or maybe slightly higher, this means nothing.

As a prospect with 1,110 employees, this means nothing.

As a BTA member, schlepping copiers, this means nothing.

As a IT VAR, venturing into MPS, this means nothing.

And not just from HP, but Xerox too. Remember, they are BOTH in the upper right corner of the Magical Quadrant; and for us, this means nothing.

Why?

Because, Global, Enterprise sized MPS Engagements look nothing like what we see every, single day. The tools, process and "talent" do not trickle down to the channel(s). Case in point, Canon and HP.

Canon through HP is for Enterprise Accounts only. There is no way Canon would jeopardize its small, fledgling channel by allowing the HP behemoth to sell Canon gear through an HP channel.

Canon is smart on this issue, perhaps not becuase Canon is afraid of the HP channel taking business from existing CBS and Canon dealers. But maybe Canon doesn't want to be part of another "Hawk" or "Bear" debacle.

Just my crazy mind working overtime...

Enjoy the PR.


PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 16, 2009 – HP today announced its managed print services (MPS) offering has been recognized as the preferred choice for enterprise customers by IDC, a leading provider of IT research and advice.

HP Managed Print Services transforms business processes by optimizing a company’s imaging and printing infrastructure, effectively managing the total imaging and printing environment and improving and streamlining document workflows. It helps customers cut costs, increase productivity and reduce their environmental footprints.

HP was identified as the leader in a recent survey conducted by IDC, “Managed Print Services – Global Market and Provider Analysis.”(1) Within the survey sample, HP had the highest share of new and outstanding MPS contracts among hardcopy manufacturers.(2)

“HP has expanded its capabilities to strengthen the MPS industry with its IT heritage, and we continue to increasingly capture the growing MPS market and surpass expectations,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “Our recent momentum is a powerful proof point in HP’s strategy to establish long-term contractual relationships with the world’s top companies as we continue to lead the digital print transformation.”

The IDC report is the latest in a series of third-party studies that show HP’s leadership in MPS. Others include the 2009 Magic Quadrant for MPS from Gartner, which placed HP in the Leaders Quadrant(3) and Photizo Group’s 2009 MPS Market Forecast, which positions HP as the global leader.(4)

“The IDC study, coupled with HP’s recognized leadership in similar reports, firmly demonstrates that HP remains the best choice for customers as they invest in MPS and look for new ways to reduce costs and improve productivity,” said Bruce Dahlgren, senior vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “Once again, HP’s extensive product portfolio, strength in networking and services, and expert knowledge has positioned the company as a leader, demonstrating that customers continue to choose HP as their trusted partner in managed print services.”

In related news, HP recently announced a Managed Enterprise Solutions (MES) global business unit led by Bruce Dahlgren within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG), an expanded alliance with Canon, enhanced channel-led programs, hardware and solutions, the HP Payback Printing Campaign and the largest ever rollout of HP printing workflow solutions.

The first of its kind for its comprehensive, demand-side coverage, IDC’s “Managed Print Services – Global Market and Provider Analysis” covers 10 countries in four geographic regions – the United States, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The analysis shows that cost cutting is the primary motivator of adoption for MPS, with optimizing the printing infrastructure and environmental sustainability as other key motivators. Motivators also examined were regulatory compliance and security, paper document storage, business process transformation, a merger or acquisition, or a services contract extension.

“The results of the survey show HP’s strength in MPS,” said Angèle Boyd, analyst and group vice president, IDC. “With HP’s IT assets and HP Enterprise Services, formally EDS, IPG is a significant force in this growing market.”

Selling Managed Services: Whose going to get Slapped Around?

10/2014

The oldest profession in the world isn’t prostitution, it’s selling.  One to one; one to many; many to many; retail; B2B; to that hottie in the corner; to your girlfriend, wife, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sales manager, cop, judge, jury; to ourselves – we all sell, and we always have.

Today, our industry is turning another corner – contracting and expanding at the same time. We’re looking for the next frontier and eyeing the IT cluster.

You're pondering selling servers, storage, networks and network management, aren’t you? Putting those monitors, PCs, switches and hard drives under one contract tied into a 36-month “rip and replace” strategy, right?

Sure.  How hard can it be?

Copiers have been connected now for more than a decade. All your devices scan; you’ve sold or heard of a “fax-server.” Your dealership has at least one “Content Specialist,” and RiKon/Xerox employs thousands of cycle-extending PS peeps – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Again, how hard can it be?

Well, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. The good news is better than we hope; the bad news is worse than we think. It usually is.

The Bad News:

We have approximately 1,500 effective, well-run, imaging dealers/resellers in the U.S. The number of VARs is 15,000. The figure may not be accurate, but the scale certainly is; there are 10 times as many of them as there are us.

They are already in your accounts; they own the network, hold contempt for most salespeople and think they know more than you – which they probably do.

Hubris permeates.

They hate copiers – still – and love brand names. Even if Dell servers suck, once a Dell house, it is difficult to displace. They distrust those who wear a tie and can spot a Polo-shirt-wearing poser with their 'peripherals' – they are militaristic in the use of acronyms.

The Princes of the VAR are the customer-facing subject-matter experts (SME), the guys with all the letters behind their names. They are smart, certified and can speak in front of crowds or directly to CIOs – as peers. But don’t tell them that; most believe they have no peers.

Their deals are complex, multidimensional and project-managed. And I mean real project management – with resources, GANT charts and such.

Most likely, the VAR front-line salespeople, often called BDMs, never physically receive a PO or process an order; they have an inside team to do all that stuff. This gives them more time in the field, in front of their clients – your prospects.

The Good News:

VARs/IT folks don’t really sell; they take orders and write SOWs. They tend to throw technology at everything, yet employ little in-house. They’ve been trained to believe “real cold-calling” happens on the phone. “Sales training” is nothing more than a vendor like Cisco, Lenovo or HP coming in, spewing product, pricing and distribution data, then leaving “leave-behinds.” Yeah, I know – that part sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Most VARs define “service” as pricing, logistics, deal registration, imaging (not the kind we know), prompt delivery, discounts and accurate billing (again, not the kind we know). Client relationships are built on “lunch and learn” giveaways and trading POs for iPads.

Transactional margins are in the single digits; charging for shipping equals margin. Back-end rebates equal margin for the house. Trip-fees are the norm, they have no idea how to manage to “call avoidance,” and trunk-stock is a foreign concept.

So, what to do?

Competing with a VAR head-to-head can be difficult. Especially when your prospect has bought into the belief that copier companies aren't sophisticated enough for real IT issues.  If you can get in under the VARDAR, you have a good chance, since most are not looking at MpS as a serious value-add.  Those who do are experiencing the same mistakes we did – YEARS AGO. They’re stuck in the “powered by” stage of MpS.

Three ideas, 2011:

1. Work with your existing purchasing/facilities contacts without raising much dust. Sell S1/S2 without talking about software, business process management or EDM. Don’t set off any IT red flags.

2. Shore up your internal IT services pedigree. Now is the time to re-evaluate your current talent pool. Tough decisions — there are fewer devices out in the field; therefore, fewer service calls. Figure that one out.

3. Reach out and establish a solid relationship with a VAR as their MpS engine. This is a temporary, parasitic relationship filled with teachable moments. Again, figure that one out.

The times, they are changing. At our core, this niche, the imaging industry, is crowded with resilient, business-minded problem-solvers. We can do this, and for a profit.

Three more ideas, 2014:

Prospect/Sales side:

1. Seek out companies who do not employ any internal IT support staff - resistance is guaranteed
2. Talk to the owner and confirm he values IT is a strategic component of his business model
3. Look at your internal IT. If you don't value IT services, you'll attract folks don't as well

Internal/Infrastructure side:

1. Partner with a master managed services provider like Collabrance.
2. Train your copier reps how to recognize and qualify IT services prospects
3. Do not call in 'managed network services' - why be chained to a network?



Originally posted by Greg Walters on 08/08/2011, 1105 Media.

Managed Print Services, the Copier and the Traditional Copier Dealer : End of Days

2011

I've been saying it for years now.

For my observations, I have been chastised, rebuffed, chortled at, poo-pooed, and mocked.

Heck, the first time I took, TheDeathOfTheCopier "out in public" (Lyra, 2009), some guy looked at my name badge, cocked his head, and practically yelled, "...Death of the copier? Do you know who we are? We're all dealers!" Like I knew his sister, biblically or something. Yikes.

Well, it doesn't make me all that happy to report the name of this blog is starting to look more prophetic than humorous. The Fourth Horseman is soon upon us.

Managed print Services : 2008

It's just my view. These are MY "top of mind" events and posts in 2008, in no particular order:

1. Ikon/Ricoh - Easily the biggest event of the year. After much rumor and guessing, Ricoh NOT Canon steps up.

2. WEB 2.0 - The Wild, Wild, West The BlogaSphere, social networking. From MySpace to LinkedIn. It is crazy out here. There are no rules, everyone is an expert on how to "monetize" your site, but nobody has a track record - it's all new. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can instantly become an "expert' - I do not understand this phenomena and I have practically given up trying.

2.1 Andrew Keen's book, the cult of the amateur. Monkeys with typewriters - that's what we are. Thanks to him, I no longer reference Wikipedia.

3. The Death of The Copier - Why Do You Write? I write to read what I write. The "success" of The Death of The Copier is not measured by how many views occur(16,000/month) or the average time spent on the blog(two minutes 48 seconds). I measure the success of the blog by how often I go back and add to it.

If my interest is still there, than the blog is succeeding for me. An unforeseen and added benefit of TDOTC, has been all the people I have met out here; unknowing mentors, colleagues, cohorts, planners, visionaries and all around great peeps.

4. Photizo - defining and elevating Managed Print Services From start up, first two newsletters, now two locations, a conference and more, the folks over at Photizio, Ed and the gang, I have found to be the most knowledgable group in terms of Managed Print Services and the industry. I found them quite by chance, via a google search, and it has been a pleasure ever since. I look forward to watching and working with them in 2009.

5. LinkedIn - MySpace all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEO's...well, maybe. Quite by chance, I fell into LinkedIn. Early, I joined MySpace, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. - but LinkedIn, for some reason has held my attention and gets most of my input when it comes to "social networking". I do not tweet.

6. Napa - The Dump, the Wine and the Hot, Microbiologist - Huba, Huba As I mentioned in point #3 above, The Death of The Copier is for my entertainment and one of the most "entertaining" posts I have(in my opinion) is about an HP Green Symposium in Napa. It still makes me laugh right out loud.

7. Magic Castle, A Week in The Life - Every now and again, I am suddenly reminded why I like it so much out here.

8. Single Unit Install - Not the biggest sale of the century, not even close, but a significant and fulfilling experience. One that I did not write about. This past year, one of my clients involved a 90 day cycle which included a 30+ day trial for a single Edgeline.

The total sale was for ONE Edgeline.

But, this one particular engagement had every nightmare available: bad lease, terrible service, a color machine (K/M) that did not perform, a single line of color text costing a dime each. Monthly volumes were around 10,000 images, mostly color and 95% printed.

Today, as I click over to the PrintSolv tab in my Mozilla browser, I can see that total life count on the Edgeline is 99,000 images. (Since August) This month they have 5,900 color images, all of them printed - no color copies. We solved many issues: Recommending they purchase instead of lease (because of the benefits of the Economic Stimulus package of 2008) was "refreshing" and negated any "bad taste" they had from their current lease.

Although they went with a new Edgeline, the existing lease is still in effect, the old machine is tucked away and relegated to "back-up" duties. Color overages - a perfect fit for Color Accent, saving thousands in "click" charges. Automated Supplies Ordering - the machine emails us when it needs supplies. This in addition to the information available via PrintSolv. Easy to use scanning, and simple mis-feed resolution with "live" video walking the end user through the process.

And this is as good as it gets: “Greg, I just wanted to say that we love the CM8060...it prints consistently and much faster than the Konica c500. I’ve noticed it handles its tasks much better. I can scan large document sets to myself via email while it is printing other jobs, and continue to scan while it is still processing the previous scan batch – all with no hiccups. Your response time to our requests has also been very good. Thus far, it has been a pleasure to work with the HP Edgeline..."

9. The Hardware Begins to Disappear; Customers get Smarter - Machines are all the same but people still care Are clients smarter? As the commoditization of output devices continues, does it really matter if there is a little blue label that says "HP" on your printer?

Clients are looking for more - more help, more business, more control, more vision...but they are not in our industry, they wake up in the morning thinking about their business model, not printers, copiers or Managed Print Services. So, how can they be "smarter" then us? Maybe more informed then they use to be, but they should never be smarter then us - ever. I found (once again) the smart clients are the ones who understand that they do not know everything and need to surround themselves with experts. Experts who posses business acumen, people who are not walking spec sheets.

10. Gas Prices/Mortgage and Credit Crunch - The Gas Price restricted the miles I would travel, the Mortgage crisis eliminated two of our largest customers, the Credit tumble slowed or delayed commercial purchasing decisions - but all of these factors shot the interest in Managed Print Services through the roof.

11. Managed Print Services - Changing the copier model and creating another. The Photizo Group, as do I, call them the Hybrid Dealers.

12. Bill Caskey Bryan Neale and Brooke Green - These folks are on the cutting edge when it comes to Selling and the sales process, the mental attitudes and beliefs needed to succeed. And they are overall good people.

13. Web 3.0 - The Death of Print? I still have not figured out Web 2.0 and now there is talk of the Web 3.0. The next decade will be the decade when printing is truly redefined into something we can not fathom today.

It should be fun.

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...

Last to The Table - Canon Makes Us All In - Canon Managed Document Services

Ok - this makes it final - everyone is on the MPS bandwagon.

In Vegas, Canon announced it's Managed Print Services program, "Managed Document Services".

As you probably already know, and according to the Rob Sethre, senior analyst, the Photizo Group,

“MPS is the fastest growing segment of the imaging industry, growing at a compound annual rate of 30 percent. Although historically MPS has been targeted to mainly large accounts, Photizo anticipates that MPS will become increasingly popular with small- and medium-sized enterprises, thereby putting dealers who offer these services in excellent position to capture a larger share of customer opportunities.”

So the biggest issue with the Canon announcement is, "What took you so long?"

The Press Release:


LAS VEGAS, Sep 22, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Setting a new standard for delivering managed print services to regional and global customers, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital document imaging and advanced office solutions, today launched Canon Managed Document Services (Canon MDS), a new unified, global initiative for outsourced print and document management services.


In concert with Canon Inc.’s recent global announcement consisting of a standard service menu and methodology, Canon MDS provides the infrastructure, tools and support to serve small to enterprise offices and CRD environments on a global scale, while also serving the needs of customers with a local geography.

Based on a common menu of tools and services, the Canon MDS offering evaluates a customer’s needs and ensures continuous improvements through a five- phased approach, including:

1. Discover and Analyze


2. Design


3. Deploy and Transition


4. Support and Manage


5. Evaluate and Review


As small- and medium-sized business customers look to take advantage of managed services models, Canon MDS empowers its network of authorized dealers to provide document services by packaging sophisticated tools and technologies that can easily be leveraged in customer deployments.

In the U.S., Canon has been successfully delivering managed print services to many top-tier organizations in the region for several years through its Canon Business Solutions subsidiary. Now with a common menu, Canon can offer its global customers a consistent approach and range of services regardless of their location.

“Today as customers increasingly recognize the monetary and workplace efficiency benefits of migrating to an outsourced solution, customers and dealers alike are looking to print manufacturers to deliver the complete print and document workflow solutions that will help reduce total cost of ownership and improve overall efficiency,” said Sam Yoshida, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A.

“This new Canon MDS offering, in combination with the technological innovations available with our products, such as the new imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series, will allow our customers and sales channels to tap into a single-point-of-contact to utilize and leverage the regional and global expertise and resources of Canon like never before for outsourced services.”

The Canon MDS offering leverages several innovative technologies and tools that uniquely combine Canon developed device functions, software solutions and professional services capabilities.

They include:

- imageRUNNER ADVANCE Content Delivery System, which offers capabilities for remote services, including remote installation of imageRUNNER ADVANCE firmware updates, embedded software options and MEAP applications

- imageWARE Enterprise Management Console with Plug-ins, which can be used for on-site enterprise device management, customer-managed meter collection and service alerts delivery

- imageWARE Remote, which enables the automatic submission of meter data and service alerts for pre-emptive support and consumables fulfillment, e-Billing functionality and integration with leading third-party Dealer ERP systems, such as OMD and e-automate

- uniFLOW Output Manager is an intelligent and highly scalable print management software suite with modules for Universal Secure Printing, Rules-Based Routing, Authentication, Desktop Accounting and Print Center Management

- Canon U.S.A. Professional Services brings the expertise to design and implement managed document services, from analyzing a customer’s print environment and developing new designs to reporting results and identifying areas for future improvements

- Canon MDS Knowledge Portal provides a secure Web site for business development and support, including business plans, training modules, best practices, white papers, case studies, industry analysis and more

The Canon MDS initiative will provide the framework and know-how required for Canon and its channel partners to effectively deliver managed services to clients. Based upon this introduction, Canon intends to capture a larger share of the growing market for outsourced document related services.

Greg's Top 12 Events of 2008 - Managed Print Services, Edgeline and Napa

from 2008...

It's just my view. These are MY "top of mind" events and posts in 2008, in no particular order:

1. Ikon/Ricoh - Easily the biggest event of the year. After much rumor and guessing, Ricoh NOT Canon steps up. 

 2. WEB 2.0 - The Wild, Wild, West The BlogaSphere, social networking. From MySpace to LinkedIn. It is crazy out here. There are no rules, everyone is an expert on how to "monetize" your site, but nobody has a track record - it's all new. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can instantly become an "expert' - I do not understand this phenomena and I have practically given up trying.

 2.1 Andrew Keen's book, the cult of the amateur. Monkeys with typewriters - that's what we are. Thanks to him, I no longer reference Wikipedia.

3. The Death of The Copier - Why Do You Write? I write to read what I write. The "success" of The Death of The Copier is not measured by how many views occur(16,000/month) or the average time spent on the blog(two minutes 48 seconds). I measure the success of the blog by how often I go back and add to it. If my interest is still there, than the blog is succeeding for me. An unforeseen and added benefit of TDOTC, has been all the people I have met out here; unknowing mentors, colleagues, cohorts, planners, visionaries and all around great peeps.

4. Photizo - defining and elevating Managed Print Services From start up, first two newsletters, now two locations, a conference and more, the folks over at Photizio, Ed and the gang, I have found to be the most knowledgable group in terms of Managed Print Services and the industry. I found them quite by chance, via a google search, and it has been a pleasure ever since. I look forward to watching and working with them in 2009.

5. LinkedIn - MySpace all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEO's...well, maybe. Quite by chance, I fell into LinkedIn. Early, I joined MySpace, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. - but LinkedIn, for some reason has held my attention and gets most of my input when it comes to "social networking". I do not tweet.

6. Napa - The Dump, the Wine and the Hot, Microbiologist - Huba, Huba As I mentioned in point #3 above, The Death of The Copier is for my entertainment and one of the most "entertaining" posts I have(in my opinion) is about an HP Green Symposium in Napa. It still makes me laugh right out loud.

7. Magic Castle, A Week in The Life - Every now and again, I am suddenly reminded why I like it so much out here.

8. Single Unit Install - Not the biggest sale of the century, not even close, but a significant and fulfilling experience. One that I did not write about. This past year, one of my clients involved a 90 day cycle which included a 30+ day trial for a single Edgeline.

The total sale was for ONE Edgeline.

But, this one particular engagement had every nightmare available: bad lease, terrible service, a color machine (K/M) that did not perform, a single line of color text costing a dime each. Monthly volumes were around 10,000 images, mostly color and 95% printed. 

Today, as I click over to the PrintSolv tab in my Mozilla browser, I can see that total life count on the Edgeline is 99,000 images. (Since August) This month they have 5,900 color images, all of them printed - no color copies. We solved many issues: Recommending they purchase instead of lease (because of the benefits of the Economic Stimulus package of 2008) was "refreshing" and negated any "bad taste" they had from their current lease. 

Although they went with a new Edgeline, the existing lease is still in effect, the old machine is tucked away and relegated to "back-up" duties. Color overages - a perfect fit for Color Accent, saving thousands in "click" charges. Automated Supplies Ordering - the machine emails us when it needs supplies. 

This in addition to the information available via PrintSolv. Easy to use scanning, and simple mis-feed resolution with "live" video walking the end user through the process. 

And this is as good as it gets: 

“Greg, I just wanted to say that we love the CM8060...it prints consistently and much faster than the Konica c500. I’ve noticed it handles its tasks much better. I can scan large document sets to myself via email while it is printing other jobs, and continue to scan while it is still processing the previous scan batch – all with no hiccups. Your response time to our requests has also been very good. Thus far, it has been a pleasure to work with the HP Edgeline..." 

9. The Hardware Begins to Disappear; Customers get Smarter - Machines are all the same but people still care 

Are clients smarter? As the commoditization of output devices continues, does it really matter if there is a little blue label that says "HP" on your printer? 

Clients are looking for more - more help, more business, more control, more vision...but they are not in our industry, they wake up in the morning thinking about their business model, not printers, copiers or Managed Print Services. So, how can they be "smarter" then us? Maybe more informed then they use to be, but they should never be smarter then us - ever. 

I've  found (once again) the smart clients are the ones who understand that they do not know everything and need to surround themselves with experts. Experts who posses business acumen, people who are not walking spec sheets. 

10. Gas Prices/Mortgage and Credit Crunch - The Gas Price restricted the miles I would travel, the Mortgage crisis eliminated two of our largest customers, the Credit tumble slowed or delayed commercial purchasing decisions - but all of these factors shot the interest in Managed Print Services through the roof. 

11. Managed Print Services - Changing the copier model and creating another. The Photizo Group, as do I, call them the Hybrid Dealers. 

12. Bill Caskey Bryan Neale and Brooke Green - These folks are on the cutting edge when it comes to Selling and the sales process, the mental attitudes and beliefs needed to succeed. And they are overall good people. 

13. Web 3.0 - The Death of Print? I still have not figured out Web 2.0 and now there is talk of the Web 3.0. The next decade will be the decade when printing is truly redefined into something we can not fathom today. 

 It should be fun.

10 Timeless Managed Print Services Truths - "I Wanna Get Better"

This piece first appeared in December of 2014, on The Imaging Channel.

After five years of managed print services, one would imagine a standard set of MPS rules would rise out of the fog. (I know, you’ve been doing MPS for 25,000 years) The debate over what exactly MPS stands for — not the acronym, but the vision and real value of managed print services - rages on.

Do you remember the great device-to-technician-ratio discussion of 2008?

Copier dealers had well-established ideas developed and honed for decades, but they didn’t apply in MPS. There are a number of “rules” associated with toner yields as well, but have they made you money or did they cost the last MPS manager his job? It is easier to see guidelines take shape rather than hard rules. Benchmarks are almost the same: MPS benchmarks are difficult to establish, and best practices simply hold us accountable to somebody else's model.

Four years later, at the 2012 Lyra Imaging Symposium, vendor scorecards showed lower profits and a majority of the industry OEMs have been utilizing the same rules since 1979. Today, they find themselves 41 percent behind Q4 2007 numbers. Stunning, isn’t it? What’s it called when one plays by the same rules expecting different results?

Roll in the evolution of less print: From 1991 to 2001, printing paper shipments increased 27 percent, but from 2000 to 2009, they decreased 27 percent; it is not that difficult to see.

MPS contributes to shrinking print and copy volumes, which in turn reduces the prospects’ need to buy OEM toner, parts, and machines, resulting in fewer printed pages, fewer printers, fewer copiers, and fewer virgin cores.

This has been and remains the biggest Catch-22 with MPS — the one issue OEMs can’t seem to get their minds around quickly enough: MPS contributes to the reduction of machines in the field, yet every single OEM has an MPS program in hopes of reducing the other OEMs’ machines in the field. Suicidal? No. Madness? Indeed. Transformative? Absolutely.

MPS moves fast

Time is accelerating as well. Yesterday’s enterprise was about print, copy, 60-month leases, CPC contracts, locking customers in, flexing, selling more capabilities for the same price, auto-renewals and built-in obsolescence — and that was less than 36 months ago.

Back in 2013, World Expo presented managed print services to a hungry audience. We were re-exposed to the MPS basics of toner, service, remote monitoring, and cost-per-image billing. Back then, discussing VARs and "managed network services" was fresh and new.

MnS is nothing more than managed services.

Technology evolves faster than we comprehend. It took a decade for everyone in America to have a car, a phone, and indoor plumbing. In only 12 months, back in 2010, Apple sold 14.8 million tablets and then matched that entire year in one quarter on the way to 40 million units in 2011 — which already seems a decade ago.

Everything converges and accelerates into the future at a dizzying pace.

There is barely enough time to breathe, let alone establish a set of rules. The good news is there are natural laws that — when recognized — can help us keep our bearings as we boldly move through this unexplored space.

Consider the following a few suggested guideposts along your MPS journey and business transformation.


1. Be aware
2. Be adaptable
3. Be a partner
4. Be lean
5. Be a leader
6. Be open
7. Be defiant
8. Be basic
9. Be the ruler

10. Stand or fall


1. Be aware

The first rule is simple: Know who you are, your world, and your place in it. Self-awareness is the foundation of all change. For example, if you are strong when it comes to delivering toner, use this as a foundation to grow on.

When you look at your client base and see a vertical, use that information as an additive to your business personality and value proposition. Take a deep dive and perform an assessment of your entire business operation.

Are you flexible, open, and adaptable enough to look at how you have been running your business and then change it?

Caution is recommended here; there are just a few full-scale business assessments in our industry. “Full-scale” refers to every facet of your business: finance, sales, inventory, infrastructure, partnerships — everything. This is different than the standard “How are you selling?” and “How does your service desk work?” evaluations.

This transformation from copiers to MPS to managed services is a magnifying glass. If your current systems are flawed, adding a new process will turn cracks into crevasses.

Also, get to know your customer’s environment outside of printing. Look at the workflows, recognizing choke points and other areas for improvement from a business perspective — not a toner, services, or print perspective.

• Are they looking to move to IP phones or tablets? 
• Check to see if they are outsourcing their IT support today and how much they pay. 
• Do they feel the money is well-spent? 
• Do your customers use Twitter? 
• Do they write or read blogs? 
• Be aware of your world and the world around you. Open your eyes.

2. Be adaptable

The days of churn and burn are nearly at an end; this option is a dead end, but that doesn’t mean doom and gloom. The opportunities and directions are endless, but flexibility in all phases is necessary to survive and thrive. Compensation, for instance, has been reasonably stable over the decades.

Can you look at paying for performance differently? Are you flexible, open, and adaptable enough to look at how you have been running your business and then change it? For instance, if you are under the traditional toner supply model with notifications coming directly to you, consider and be open to a different model. If you see more documents heading toward screens instead of paper, would you consider reselling or partnering with a tablet's OEM? Adapt or die.

Join us over the coming weeks as we review the remaining "Timeless Truths".  Oh, the fun we will have.

Interview: Printing in the SMB market - Lexmark

In an interview with Kevin Goffi, Lexmark international vice-president and general manager of worldwide SMB and printing solutions, Matthew Sainsbury, at ARN, asks abut Lexmark and Managed Print Services.

Here are three questions, the complete interview is here.

Managed print services is an area generating a lot of interest. How is Lexmark involved with its partner in this space?

KG: We’re involved on a couple of levels, and it really depends on the maturity level of the partner. Some partners are more leading edge, and have already developed the capability to do managed print services. In that case, they’re not really looking at us for expertise – they are after a hardware and supply model that will fi t into the type of solutions they’re creating for end users. At a grander level, we will work with partners to help them understand the business – we have a managed print services offering that we do for very large enterprises and have been doing for a number of years. We believe we understand business well, and we will work with partners to educate them on it.

To what extent do you see managed print services penetrating into the SMB market over the next year?

KG: We see it as becoming significant, and it’s directly coupled with the economy. I see this as an opportunity for partners. If an SMB is looking to upgrade technology, in many cases they might put that decision off until they see how the economic situation pans out. I’m seeing great partners and customers moving more quickly when there’s a managed print services offering than a pure hardware acquisition.

Security in the SMB space around printing – is it much of an issue?

KG: It’s a similar discussion to environmental sustainability. The difference between an enterprise and an SMB is that typically an enterprise is going to have a strict security profi le that they implement through their IT department. SMBs, especially at the smaller end of town, may not have their own IT department or person looking after that. They will generally look to their IT reseller to help provide that. The desire is there, but the SMB’s ability to implement that is not going to be at the same level as an enterprise – and again that’s an area I see as an opportunity for our resellers\

#AdvanceCapture: A Simple Thing To Make Your Managed Print Services Better

I get asked this all the time, “What’s new in Managed print services?”

My response, “Nothing.”

Sure, commodity-based service, re-tread billing schemes and dropping margins could be considered ‘new’.  Let’s not forget software's latest consolidation – How comfortable are you with ONE company owning PrintAudit, PrintFleet, & FMAudit?

The internet has added new aspects to sales: Now days customers can know more about your solutions than you do and even purchase supplies on Amazon.

It is hard out here for MPS. I know.

I’ve often suggested providing additional services under the MPS moniker: Behavioral Modification/Rules, folding managed IT into MPS, branching out into other recurring revenue arena’s like water and coffee, even suggesting Telehealth as a growth area.

Some ideas took hold, others really didn’t resonate.  But today, it is difficult to make MPS shinny.  How does one engage more managed print services when there’s nothing new in MPS?  Sell on price - a losing proposition.

Fear not.  

I’ve got a stellar idea for diversification.  One that is not radically different, does not require getting out of your comfort zone and is already proven.

Hang on to your hats – I’m suggesting we embed ‘advance capture’ inside every managed print services contract.

Radical, isn’t it?

I know what you’re thinking, “Advance Capture is too expensive, complicated and time consuming to include in a simple MPS conversation.”  Normally, I’d agree with you.  For example, Kofax is a commanding, encompassing, soup to nuts, workflow and capture solution.  Expensive and complicated, it is a powerful robot.  Not something you want to pitch in the 15 to 100 printer deals, right?

Yeah, I know.

I’m suggesting you start selling a package that is really easy to install and use.  One that embeds on a slew of MFP’s, integrates with the biggest EDM systems and works well in the SMB.

Imagine an MPS engagement that includes smart scanning, SharePoint and Office365, connecting  paper-based workflows, inbound emails and faxes to document management systems, databases, corporate file servers and content management applications.   This new type of MPS is more difficult to dislodge (“sticky”) and truly helps your clients beyond proactive monitoring and automatic toner replenishment.

Such a thing might be difficult to believe, but I just got off the phone with somebody who, in twenty minutes, put together a custom proof of concept (not a demo) and after another 22-minute review with a SMB prospect and dealer (remotely) closed a capture and routing engagement. 

It’s easy. It’s proven, affordable and the builds margin.  You remember margin, don’t you?

The name of the package is Scanshare, established in Europe, making its way into the US, and from what I can see, lighting in a bottle:

           

• Affordable – Purchased, on-premises software.  No license or subscription.
• Independent – Not caught up in the industry consolidation.
• Easy to Use – Graphic and simple to set-up
• Powerful - analyzes, processes and route the digital documents

I like this option for dealers and clients alike.  If you want to learn more, reach out to me directly or hit up my friend Frank Malloch.

Watch this all the way through.  If you don't get it, I hope some day you will.

The creative process. Producing a song or putting together a real, honest, organic solution...it is all the same...

 

The Next Managed print Services

From Los Angeles over to Davidson, North Carolina up to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; from IT to corporate identity programs to copiers, back to IT, then managed print services, managed services, and back to Managed print Services.

What a checkered, varied and wonderful path. The journey continues.

I met Dave Westlake years ago when he was pitching his print security package - back then, nobody cared about security and printers. So he pivoted into asset management. His mapping tool created interest, and received traction in the IT realm, not the print world.

One day, Dave called me up asking for my advice. He was working with a client who wanted to build an MpS practice and was wondering about the hiring criteria for a MpS Practice Manager, inside a $300M VAR. After a 20 minute outline/oration, I simply stopped and said, “Dave, there is nobody out there with this level of experience in BOTH imaging and IT - except me."

One thing led to another, interviews conducted, offers made and accepted. Five months after our initial conversation, I was on my way from Ft. Meyers, Florida(87 degrees, sunny) to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin(12 degrees, cloudy) with a mission to first see if MpS made sense for the organization and then build a practice.

My consultations revealed this VAR, just like many others, did not hold print as a very high priority - for the organization or their clients. The sales people were accustomed to quoting million dollar hardware deals, not $4,500.00/month service contracts. The money was too little, the effort too involved.

So nine months into an engagement, I got the call into HR. “Print is not a strategic initiative of the company. Your position has been eliminated.” All righty then - nice to have met you all, it was a thrill helping you discover you didn’t need me or my expertise. Have a nice day.

Life.

While employed, I pitched Dave’s software to the VAR as a great way to help IT customers integrate different software systems onto a single screen, and was roundly rebuffed. “Oh, it’s just an asset management package…” The interpretation was incorrect, but for some reason, I didn’t waste time or breath on the argument.

They missed the point. I had customers begging me for a solution like Atlas. IT Directors from large financial institutions and one of the largest healthcare providers in the world were asking me for a way to integrate data from dozens of disparate databases.

Red flags fluttered in my toner-fused mind. I kept my mouth shut.

Days after being let go, I called Dave. Remember, if it weren’t for his phone call 14 months back, I wouldn’t be freezing in Oconomowoc, a gajillion miles from the Pacific. We decided to work together and double our efforts in the already proven niche, IT Lifecycle management. He may have felt pity or guilt - not sure.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the IT Department - we started to see Atlas as a natural choice for copier and print providers looking to pivot from MpS into IT. It’s easier to talk about tracking hardware than outsourcing the help desk or configuring hybrid BDR solutions.

Looking at the different mapping, assessment, ROI, proposal generating, and TCO tools left me exhausted and mystified - I would never purchase or inflict any of those tools on a sales team. We can’t get reps to type information into SalesForce or Oracle, how the heck are to expect them to operate and drive these behemoths?

I’ve managed and built MpS practices. I’ve created and helped institute managed services practices inside copier dealerships. In my own practice and in every other MpS organization I’ve been involved, the tools to sell, service and run the business is a large, complicated, hodgepodge of strung together software packages.

If by chance, an organization had moved forward with an integrated platform, a system that generates everything from TCO to before and after maps, the system is cluttered, complicated and heavy. Lot’s of dealers and most customers do not need or want to review a plethora of charts, graphs and spreadsheets crunching print related data.

 I’ve heard them tell me so.

Atlas isn’t any of these things. I can conduct a simple walk through and interview, plot devices, capture machine data, document workflow involved, etc. right on my tablet or phone. MpS Practitioners can conduct assessments, utilize their wisdom and close more deals. It doesn’t matter if a DCA or thumb drive is utilized. Move forward with end user interviews, collect the data, plot devices, present your solution and close.

As a Practice Manager, I was always downloading invoice and toner costs out of EAutomate, collecting dispatch data from ConnectWise, merging Crystal reports and .CSV files in an Excel spreadsheet. After a few hours, I had a pretty good profit and loss presentation ready. Back then, I wondered if I would ever be able to boil all that data into a single screen, reflecting live data.

One can dream.

This is good stuff. Atlas helps MpS sales people, Practice Managers, Owner/Principles and customers managed and visualize the entire environment. What’s more, the system is designed to work inside existing workflows, organically optimizing processes and steps - not replacing existing tools in a ‘rip and replace’ manner.

For print specific providers, Atlas offers more than just toner/ink device management - out of the box, Atlas can track ALL assets, not just SNMP/MIB based. Manage the printers and copiers for 12 months, then move the conversation to IT Lifecycle management of PC’s, monitors, and phones. That’s just one

I’ve evaluated all the tools even working with some few know exist. I like simplicity. I like low overhead. I like tools that are implements, not replacements for creativity and thought.

That’s why I liked Printelligent. That’s why I picked Preo/Printelligence back in 2011 and promoted PrinterLogic in 2014 - simple, effective, relevant. I’m looking forward to evangelizing Atlas as an easy to use, scalable tool. A tool to be used in the field and in the board room.

Atlas - Mps, Find Your Way.