Another Managed Print Services Announcement: Canon UK

In an article by Written by Fleur Doidge, at CRN, Matthew Searle, channel partner director at Canon, describe Canon's MPS approach - albeit thin on details.

Apparently, the Canon UK MPS strategy is built around it's UniFlow software.

"... uniFlow lets Canon resellers monitor and control a wider range of variables that affect print while keeping costs within bounds. Information collected can be fed through to break-fix, allowing printer fleets to be maintained well and maximise their useful life..."

“It goes right through to those who manage the print fleet on an outsourced basis,” said Searle. “Another part of our [MPS] offering is follow-me-print.”

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The release is very short on detail and has a "we do MPS too..." feel to it.

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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