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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Is Hurd funding IPG's Demise with IPG's Revenue?

In a very interesting article by Ned Randolph at NewsFactor, he discusses HP's move into other, non-traditional printing areas like Photo Kiosks and on-demand, uniquely individualized newspapers.

Buried toward the end of the article is a quote from Gary Peterson, a principal analyst with Gap Intelligence in San Diego.

"... the printing industry is a mature one, and there is a movement within HP to use IPG's 18.5 percent profit margin not to grow the printing segment, but move it into IT services, where IBM Relevant Products/Services dominates..."


Peterson goes on, "What we've seen from (CEO) Mark Hurd is that he's very interested in infrastructure Relevant Products/Services services. He wants to slowly evolve HP into IBM."

And they're using IPG profits to power Relevant Products/Services that transition, he said.

"It's really a matter of IPG funding the transitional costs of acquiring EDS and funding how that division of HP grows and succeeds," he said. "They purchased EDS to get a better foothold in the enterprise Relevant Products/Services market."

For example, when IBM approaches a huge company like General Motors, it can give them high-level customized server Relevant Products/Services, software, hardware and support..."

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Over the past few months, HP has overtaken Dell in laptops, purchased EDS and is actively working with Intel and the G6 - CISCO is getting into servers now as well.

It isn't like HP is going to leave the printer and output space completely, just come at it from a different direction.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Managed Print Service Conference - Day One.

The rooms overflow.

Copious notes have been had.

Topics as mundane as remote monitoring and as unique as internally branded Managed Print Services dominate conversations.

And still, the definition of Managed Print Services eludes...


Memorable quotes of today:

Ashby Lowry, Vice President, General manager Enterprise Print Services Xerox Global Services:

"...it is our estimate that each knowledge worker represents $3,400.00 in annual printing related costs...this cost contains nearly 300 components..."

"...the goal of any good MPS is to lower the number of prints over the life of the engagement..."

Robert Simmons, Development Manager Printer Market, Samsung regarding MPS penetration:

"...we look to increase our MPS programs by 40%..."

Steve Pearl, Group Manager, Solutions Business Planning, Konica Minolta, regarding getting a Managed Print Services practice started:

"...you're not launching a new product, your launching a new business..."

Day one of the first annual Managed Print Services conference is in the history books.

Lyra's Senior Analyst Steve Reynolds Discusses 'State of the Industry and MPS Predictions' at 1st Annual Managed Print Services Conference

First MPS Conference, so far…Great!


Another Look into the World of An IT Guy: The Evaluation Process


More specifically, the IT person's process, not yours.

A post by Jay Rollins over at TechRebublic is very interesting.

The premise is software selection, but the basics apply to anyone approaching the IT folks.


The account is quiet funny - especially, because all the things he went through, we can all see happening.

Thomas the Tank Engine as a tool?

A Pizza Party for ALL THE SUPPORT TEAM?

Oh, and a pushy sales person - no way, can't happen.

The best quote from his post, "...The next time a vendor wants to impose their process on us instead of the other way around, I’ll tell them to take a hike..."

LOL!

Watch out!

Read it here.


From an IT Director: "How to Shut down vendor cold calls"...this is good stuff.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Do You Sell for A Living ? We all Sell.

Copiers, printers, Blades, paper, toner, MPS, PM, managed services, paperclips - if you sell, keep selling, sell today, sell in a recession, sell in a depression, sell even though the gov't takes half, never stop.

You sell. You don't run from history.

You make it.

It's tough out here - but here we are.

Thing is, it can always be worse -



Superbowl, 2002. Just months after 911.

The nation was in mourning - we needed something to get ourselves back up. Soldiers were cool again.

Do you remember the Empty Sky's of 9-12? That was scary.

Superbowl, for us, represented something more than a football game - it meant we were still here, the US, we Americans were still standing.

Still here to do what we Americans do: watch football, buy music, dance in the frickin streets, flaunt those who hate us, those who would kill us, and to sell.

We were celebrating life while remembering those who went before us.

It took a few crazy Muslims to tear down the towers.

But a rock band from Ireland, it's lead crooner sporting goofy blue shades, helped us remember who we are and helped us tell the world, we weren't going anywhere.



Let the cube rats play in the dark. Let the sales managers who have forgotten their passion and left their soul somewhere in the corporate cafeteria, try to keep score.

Keep going, no matter who, no matter what gets in your way - don't let them win.

Not the congressmen we elect, not the fat, lazy, bureaucrats, not your covetous neighbors, not the terrorists or that overly pompous PA can keep you down. You know the score.

It can all end tomorrow, for them it will be a period at the end of an empty life.

For us, we who make things out of nothing, we will be complete.

Go Sell.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Flying out to San Antonio Saturday: Will be Tweeting and Posting From the Managed Print Sevices Conference

The conference should be most xlint - I will be trying to get into every session.

Follow me on Twitter

Friday, April 24, 2009

Execs Leaving HP


Predictably, EDS executives leaving HP. Wonder if they will end up at Lexmark, Dell, or CISCO.

Hewlett-Packard Co. confirmed on Friday that as part of the recent merger and integration of Electronic Data Systems, four EDS executive leaders will be leaving their posts as the company realigns its structure.

The company confirmed that Mike Koehler will be leaving his position to pursue other opportunities, replaced by Andy Mattes who will oversee the company's Americas region.

As Mattes transitions into his new role, Robb Rasmussen will over Mattes' former job leading application services.

Bobby Grisham, who oversees EDS sales, is retiring in June. A search for his replacement continues, the company said in a statement.

Tom Haubenstricker, who leads EDS finance, is leaving the company in mid-May to explore other opportunities, while Pete Bocian, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, will serve in the role on an interim basis as the search for a replacement continues.

Mike Paolucci also is leaving as vice president of human resources at EDS. He will be replaced by Shawn Williams.

Both H-P and EDS employ thousands in the Sacramento area.



Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193