ITEX 2009 - Where did all the A3's go?

3/2009

How do you define "copier"?

My definition is, "...any output device whose design and manufacturing heritage includes walk-up copy functionality, a healthy amount of copies each month, and 11x17 media handling - defined in our industry as A3 devices. There was a time when to be a copier, the unit simply was not connected to a computer. Makes sense.

When I attend shows and meet people for the first time, give them my card, and nine times out of ten, a smirk comes over that person's face. Soon to be followed by, "what the heck are you doing here? Don't you know everybody here sells copiers?"

Samsung Rolls Out Managed Print Services - Press Release

Seoul (Korea Newswire) March 25, 2009 09:20 AM --

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading brand in the world of consumer electronics and information technology, today announced the strategic road-map of their Managed Print Services (MPS) platform which will provide their European channel partners with the necessary management information & billing software tools to create unique MPS offerings for their customers.

“Samsung has designed this MPS platform to enable its channel partners to create customized hardware and software solutions to meet each customer’s individual business needs,” said Graham Long, Vice President of Samsung’s European Printing Operation. “This will enable our channel partners to develop more strategic relationships with their customers through ongoing service and consultancy.”

MPS offerings can help channel partners to streamline a customer’s printing infrastructure - from diagnosis and remote management to ongoing tracking of the effectiveness of the printing environment and automatic consumables ordering. As such, Samsung has developed a range of software to support this type of functionality:

· Assessment Consulting Tool (ACT): The first step towards achieving a more efficient printing environment is to diagnose how a company is currently running their printing infrastructure. Samsung’s new ACT is a USB device which can be plugged into any networked PC and automatically assess a company’s current printing environment. The ACT rapidly scans status information and IP addresses and reports on how many prints each printer and MFP has produced. The ACT has full multi-vendor capability, so is ideal for use in mixed fleet environments.

· Cost Simulation Tool (CST): After assessing the printing environment with ACT, the CST compiles data which shows how much a company’s current printing infrastructure is costing. It then runs a cost simulation to demonstrate to customers how much money they could be saving with a MPS solution. This tool helps channel partners to quickly and accurately respond to customers with data and recommendations on their printing environments.

· SyncThru™ Admin 5 device management solution: Designed to help IT managers in companies manage their printing devices, SyncThru™ Admin 5 device management solution has an easy-to-install plug-in architecture. It offers simple management with a dashboard for quick monitoring and also provides dynamic printer group summary information on machine usage and performance. The service is also customisable to allow IT managers to design alert management processes as well as personal profile setting, ensuring that they get the information that they need to effectively run their printing infrastructure.

· CounThru™ 2 Pro managed print service solution: CounThru™ 2 Pro managed print service solution is a powerful tool which allows the channel partner to remotely manage printing devices for customers and can monitor supplies and outputs from hundreds of devices in real-time. Eliminating the need for an on-site manager to oversee printing devices is especially cost-effective for partners with multiple customers in dispersed locations, such as banks and insurance companies. Channel partners can use this solution to monitor and manage an entire printer fleet for companies ranging from small-to-medium businesses to enterprises. This service compiles a clear picture of realtime printer status and consumables usage, making it an effective tool for tracking usage and allocating print spend, as well as for forecasting consumables budget and identifying printer faults.

Looking to the future, Samsung is creating an innovative, full-service offering to enable channel partners to:

· Perform an initial needs assessment
· Deliver the equipment and consumables
· Perform the repairs
· Provide the technical support
· Offer long-term tracking
· Bill on a per-page or per-seat basis
· Cover existing assets, if required, or allow existing assets to be covered by a third party

“At Samsung, we are focused on developing a successful MPS business for our channel partners,” said Graham Long. “MPS will play a vital role towards the achievement of our goal to become a leader in the printer market by 2012. The tools that we are announcing today are the foundation of our MPS offering and demonstrate our commitment to developing this further.”

After Starting Analysis in 2003, Boeing Finally Reduces Cost of Printing 27%

The total, world-wide roll out will be complete in 2011.

According to an article in CIO, Boeing spent "a year and a half researching different vendors. "

Boeing settled on Dell for infrastructure, Lexmark for equipment and has reduced total imaging spend from $150 to $110 million annually.

From Channel Web, back in April of 2006:

The Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker, which signed a five-year managed services deal with Boeing in 2003, said it will now add print managed services to what it does for the company.

Plans call for Dell to provide installation, repair and asset optimization for Boeing, as well as print supplies. In unveiling the deal, Dell said Lexmark would be “a key partner to Dell in delivering the printer management solution to Boeing sites."

And from another article at Red Orbit, October 2003:

In addition to the managed services contract, Boeing uses Dell enterprise hardware including desktops, workstations, notebooks, servers, storage and high performance computing clusters (HPCC).

Seems Dell may have been way ahead of this MPS/MSP thing - interesting.

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More Death of the Newspapers: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - OMG!

The financial and automotive industries are not enough, now they want the remaining print media(s?).

The upheaval in the newspaper publishing industry is a result of how people perceive DOCUMENTS vs INFORMATION.

This issue is an important commentary on the evolving state of the printed word- newspapers or invoices - all the same.

Reuters - Here.

U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers
Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:05pm EDT

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.

A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.

Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.

Because newspaper profits have been falling in recent years, "no substantial loss of federal revenue" was expected under the legislation, Cardin's office said in a statement.

Cardin's office said his bill was aimed at preserving local and community newspapers, not conglomerates which may also own radio and TV stations. His bill would also let a non-profit buy newspapers owned by a conglomerate.

"We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.

Newspaper subscriptions and advertising have shrunk dramatically in the past few years as Americans have turned more and more to the Internet or television for information.

In recent months, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, the Baltimore Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle have ceased daily publication or announced that they may have to stop publishing.

In December the Tribune Company, which owns a number of newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy protection.

Two newspaper chains, Gannett Co Inc and Advance Publications, on Monday announced employee furloughs. It will be the second furlough this year at Gannett.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Abbott)

(Editing by David Storey)

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HP Announced "Makes It Counts" Campaign for SMB and Enterprise. In Thailand.

"In Asia Pacific, HP MPS experienced strong growth, recording increased customer traction with total contract value growing by 108 percent in financial year 2008 over financial year 2007.

New MPS customers in Asia Pacific who are going to yield cost reductions in the output environment.

As a leader in Imaging & Printing industry, HP has implemented 'When Everything Counts' campaign in Thailand to address SMB and enterprise segments.

We believe that this campaign will help our customers to reduce their hidden cost and manage their printing environment efficiently in this challenging economic situation and enable longer term growth when market recovers. Customers can count on HP to help them save cost up to 30%," concluded Somchai.

"The global economic downturn has increased businesses' urgent focus on making every cent spent count. During these times, companies can count on HP to partner with them to find immediate and near-term ways to cut their operating costs. The first step toward maximizing efficiency and reducing cost is to know where to look," said Somchai Soongswang, general manager of Imaging & Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand).

"The strong momentum in HP Managed Print Services is testament that the time is ripe for customers to turn their attention to this low-hanging fruit as an urgent cost saving opportunity today - to optimize and manage their costs and generate productivity in their output environment. Additionally, streamlining their document workflows is the next frontier for IT and business cost optimization opportunity, which will also allow for longer term growth for when the market recovers."

The complete article here.

Dell Managed Print Services Pilot Programs: BMC, PEQ, Digital Controls

Dell has been piloting a multi-vendor, supplies, service and remote monitoring Managed Print Services program.

They currently have three IT integrators; BMC Solutions in Kennesaw, GA, PEQ, Inc. and Digital Controls both in Miamisburg, Ohio fully boarded MPS.

It is important to point out that neither of these are traditional "copier" dealers. They are IT Consultants/Managed Service Providers.

This time last year, March Wyatt, Dell Channel Printer Account Exec, was charged with helping Dell "grow the printer business". Last Wednesday, the 18th, during the MSPmentor Live: Hot Seat webcast, she revealed that Dell has been piloting a Managed Print Services solution for some time, but the program roll out date is yet to be determined.

What is more interesting to me was that accompanying March was Peter Klanian, Senior Manager Channels Sales, to discuss Dell's recently acquired MSP Platform, SilverBack. (see, MSPs Worry As Dell Enters Market With SilverBack Deal)

I see this as yet another example of how IT will incorporate MPS within their realm - choosing to "in-source" MPS utilizing legacy remote monitoring and management platforms just like SilverBack.

Details are sketchy, but from the webinar, it sounds like the Dell MPS program will be multi-vendor supporting, allow the Dell partner "exclusivity" on "registered" opportunities and include supplies and service.

I also heard the phrase "Life Cycle Management" - an IT derived expression typically refferring to managing the sale of newer equipment(servers, PC's, laptops, etc.) - we call it "churn". And so it seems that the printers/output devices may fall into the IT purchase cycle, under MPS.

The standard take-aways were present; the authorized VAR will have complete account control, the program will provide assessment and monitoring tools, current application can recognize approximately 2,000 machines.

Granted, this was a brief introduction and very short on MPS details.

Joe asked a very good question at the close, "...what do you think the inhibators for MPS have been?"

March responded, "there seemed to have been more of a focus on aquisition costs versus the total cost of print...not looking at the whole cost..."

Peter answered, "if printing is a core part of what they do, we see success..."

More here.  And here.




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Printer Market Q4 2008: News That Isn't Fit To Print

By Michele Masterson, ChannelWeb
2:35 PM EDT Mon. Mar. 16, 2009

The combined market for printers, copiers and multifunction devices continued its downward spiral in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a new report.

Once again, the sour economy is blamed for the decrease, as both the consumer and the professional market shunned purchases.

In total, combined shipments fell 5.9 percent in 2008, compared with 2.9 percent growth in 2007, researchers at Gartner said.

Worse still, analysts said they don't expect the market to recover until sometime in 2010 as economic uncertainty continues.

"The strong economic recession that is gripping the most mature markets showed its impact on the printer, copier and MFP industry in North America during the fourth quarter," Gartner said in a report released last week. "Businesses put the brakes on major purchases, a trend not likely to improve in the next several quarters."

In North America, deceleration in the professional segment of the market led to a 25.3 percent sales decline of page printers, copiers and MFPs during the quarter, as both businesses and channels slowed purchases.

Shipments of page printers declined 28.5 percent during the quarter, led by a 29.9 percent drop in monochrome devices and 23.5 percent in color units.

"Some of this volume is clearly coming under pressure from a tight economy, where typical three-year replacement cycles are being extended," Gartner noted.

Color page printer shipments have decreased for three consecutive quarters, Gartner said.

ITEX - 09: MPS, MPS, MPS - Training, Tools, Marketing - Did I mention MPS?

Managed Print Services - Come on in the water's fine. Everybody's doing it.

Fresh back from the Vegas show, here are some of the most memorable quotes heard by me, on the floor.

"MPS is the new Black"

"We can help you service HPs and Samsung, Konica, Oki, ..."

"With MPS, you don't pursue the equipment sale you go after the clicks"

"We've been training MPS for years..."

"...it is not important who you pick to partner with, just pick one and go sell..."

"...your sales rep...won't need to do anything but run our tool, and the proposal with pricing and content, will be produced..." translation, "...with our program, any MONKEY can sell MPS..."

But, the number one, best quote of the show is...I mean not even Xerox has the hubris to say something like this:

"...this(Managed Print) is nothing new to us, we have been doing Managed Print for 20 years. We have the lowest cost, the best infrastructure, the sales process, the commission structure, marketing programs, monitoring tools, leasing, training programs to take a dealer from no MPS to full speed, 3 million managed images, in 90 days..."

oh, really? And I have never heard of your company, because....?

Because I don't resell "knock off" toner.

Because I don't believe the price and deliver time of supplies is the primary consideration in any MPS engagement.

Because a MPS talk track should not include,

"...the cornerstone of any Managed Print Program is the quality of the print cartridge..." LOL!

Because my definition of MPS includes supplies management as component of an engagement not the total engagement.
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This hearkens back to the definition of MPS.

I am a believer that any "buzz" even mis-guided and inaccurate "buzz" is a good thing.

The fact that so many people are pitching MPS infrastructure and that so many potential dealers are considering moving into MPS is a very good thing.

It's A Parade of Chaos

We are all heading in the same direction for now - getting MPS programs off the ground - like a homecoming parade. Everybody knows the parade will end up at the school. But although the theme is consistent, the floats are incongruous and each band member is playing off of different sheet music.

A cacophony of colliding philosophies, programs and tools - in a word "noise".

But this movement could be bigger than the pager to cell phone movement, the postal to fax movement, the analogue to digital conversion, or the A3 to A4.

For the dealers, sorting through this will be difficult and risky - but it must be done.

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Is Your Product Offering Like a Cold Cup of Coffee?

I would like to introduce, another guest poster, Ken Stewart, from ChangeForge. Ken has a keen eye for customer relationships, business processes, and sales, from both the "copier" and "IT" perspectives.

I am honored to have his work posted here.

Enjoy:

It's Monday morning and you are rounding out your morning routine by getting into the office, powering up the ole' laptop, and deciding by royal proclamation, "It's time for coffee." You make your way down the hall and pass a few offices as you waive to some of your co-workers.

You make your way into the company break room and smell that wonderfully cheap smell of corporate coffee. Not Starbucks' or Seattle's Best, but it's free, right?

You pour a slow cup while idly conversing with another corporate suit about the weekend happenings, all the while deciding which flavor of the Coffee-Mate you want to gamble on making this steely brew drinkable today.

You walk back to your office, cup in hand, and get pulled into 1 or 2 ad hoc and impromptu meetings someone just had to have you weigh in on. It might have been the Sunday's game or that latest promotion (can you believe it?), all serving to slow your return to your now-ready computer.

Sitting in your chair, place your coffee cup on your desk, and saddle up to read the morning volley of e-mail exchanges over the weekend. Suddenly, the boss needs to speak with you, steps in, and closes the door (you know this is going to be a ride).

Thirty minutes later, your boss stands, shakes your hand, and leaves to go on with his day. Now that you have put his mind at ease that everything is under control, you reach for your coffee, pull it to your lips, and find it cold and lifeless.

"Blehhh!", you think. "Cold corporate coffee is worthless."

So you hike back to the break room and with a flick of the wrist, wash the foul brew down the drain - only to return to the same pot to pour another cup.

Notice a few things here:

1. The coffee is part of the routine.


2. It needs a lot of help to perform as expected.


3. There is no price, thus no value.


4. There is no thought in simply discarding it should it not meet expectations.

Much like corporate coffee, you have positioned your product to carry no intrinsic value. Have you instead all but given it away and continue to pander to your customer's whims while not seeking a solution to their problems, nor empathizing with their pain?

Well then, you can expect to carry the same value as the cup of cold corporate coffee I throw away and never drink. I pay roughly $4.50 for a medium-sized latte in most establishments. Crazy or not, the point is I almost always finish the entire cup - hot or cold. Why do you think that is?

1. The coffee is not part of a routine, but part of a ritual of enjoyment.


2. It exceeds expectations just about every time.


3. The price is quite high, and thus it carries a lot of value.


4. I will work with the Barrista to make right any deficiencies - so I will leave satisfied and with a product, I will enjoy.

This is simply food for thought on how you might make your product offerings better than just a cold cup of corporate coffee.

Did you have any?

Managed Print Services Jobs: Requests Going Through the Roof?

Wow! Check out this graph. It reflects the number of job openings with "managed print services" in the description.

managed Print services Job Trends

managed Print services jobs

Managed Print Services Association: See Your Future, Be Your Future

Evolution is a wonderful thing, even if it is inevitable. As those of us take pleasure in bantering about the "definition and re-definition of MPS" it becomes more evident that a single, unifying force, other than gravity, is called for.

Visionaries see this, critics - criticize, yet men(and women) of destiny, take action.

And so it is with the Managed Print Services Association forming with the help of the Photizo Group.

A bold endeavor to be sure, but we don't run from history, we make it.

Ed felt as though he was going out on a limb with his announcement of such a group. Indeed, in the first round of attention given to the association, on the MSP Mentor forums, arm-chair challenges and the veiled snobbery of the "intelligentsia" greeted the news.


Ed's post, Why Now Is The Right Time for a Managed Print Services Association is here.

Here is one passage I like:

"...One question that may be asked is why doesn’t another group (such as the Business Technology Association or COMPTIA) form an MPS Association. While this could be possible, I believe most of these groups have an existing constituency with their own set of pre-existing motivations, member preferences, and requirements. The MPS industry is unique in that it draws from a very broad base across the technology, reseller, and end user community. As such, I believe it would benefit from the formation of a new organization which does not have an existing charter or direction..."


...Only time will tell...

Managed Print Services to Double: Dude, Let's go to Asia.

Managed print services to double in Asia Pacific

In an article released by CIO Asia, the Asian market for MPS is predicted to be $825 million in 2011.

This according to a recent study conducted by Springboard - the study titled, "Dude, Where's My Printer - Asia Pacific Managed Print Services Market and Forecast".

Who says MPS researchers don't have a sense of humor.

The article is here.

Some excerpts:


"...In the MPS competitive landscape, HP is the clear leader with a dominant market presence in the region, followed by Fuji-Xerox, which has "leveraged its robust set of MPS offerings and a strong partner ecosystem to strengthen its regional presence," says Springboard's report.

Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) will remain as the largest MPS market in the region, cornering over 25 per cent of the market and expanding at a CAGR of 19.3 per cent to 2012. Springboard says that, while India is behind China and ASEAN in overall market size, India is forecast to be the fastest growing market a compound annual growth rate of 22.6 per cent.

"These robust growth figures indicate not just a vibrant MPS marketplace, but they also reflect the emergence of MPS as the best growth bet for the print hardware vendors in the region, who have seen a decline of hardware sales amidst the economic slowdown," said Sanchit Vir Gogia, senior research analyst for services at Springboard Research.

"Enterprises in the region are eager to test and adopt the 'next level' of printing environment, presenting the MPS vendors with a growth opportunity in a difficult economic situation," said Mr. Gogia...

"The MPS model is still in its infancy in Asia Pacific and enterprises in the region need to be educated that this is much more than an alternative print hardware purchase model," said Phil Hassey, vice president for services at Springboard Research. "The challenge for providers is to ensure they manage MPS offerings prices and offer solutions as a long-term strategy, providing immediate and successful results for enterprises."
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