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First San Antonio, now Amsterdam: Photizo Group Managed Print Services 2009: World Domination

At the MPS Conference in San Antonio, one of the discussion topics around the dinner table with Photizo, was where to host the European MPS Conference.

Barcelona, and Dusseldorf were mentioned and I believe Amsterdam was a late entry. I would love to have been in on that meeting.

After a very successful MPS Conference in Austin, Ed and the gang are heading of to the old world.

This should be interesting as Europe appears to be a decade ahead of the US when it comes to MPS.

Check out the site, here.

Anne Mulcahy to Retire as Xerox CEO; Ursula Burns Named Successor Xerox

Xerox Corporation's board of directors announced today that Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and chief executive officer, will retire as CEO effective July 1. Ursula M. Burns, current president of the company, was named by the board to succeed Mulcahy as chief executive officer. Mulcahy will remain as chairman of the board.

“As CEO, Anne successfully led a multibillion-dollar turnaround of Xerox and transformed the business into an innovative digital technology and services enterprise,” said N.J. Nicholas, Jr., lead independent director of Xerox’s board of directors. “She has consistently demonstrated values-based leadership, strong strategic insight, broad expertise and a remarkable ability to create ‘followership’ through the respect she earned from Xerox people. As important, Anne has focused intently on developing the next generation of leadership at Xerox, with Ursula Burns prepared to strengthen Xerox’s industry-leading position in the marketplace.”

Mulcahy, 56, became CEO of Xerox on Aug. 1, 2001, and chairman on Jan. 1, 2002. Prior to that, she was president and chief operating officer of the company from May 2000 through July 2001. She began her Xerox career as a sales representative in Boston in 1976. During her 33-year tenure with Xerox, Mulcahy has held senior management positions in sales, human resources and marketing, and led the Xerox business division that sells products for reseller and dealer channels.

The hallmarks of Mulcahy’s leadership include a close connection to Xerox customers – she is often referred to as Xerox’s chief salesperson – and an unwavering commitment to innovation. As a result, Xerox has completely overhauled its product line during her tenure, launching more than 80 products in the last three years and earning the number-one revenue share position in its industry. In addition, Mulcahy created and scaled Xerox Global Services, which offers document-related outsourcing, imaging and consulting services, and last year generated $3.5 billion in annuity revenue.

“I joined Xerox because it offered a level playing field – a sales environment where meritocracy ruled. And, I stayed because the values of the brand, the culture and the people are so closely aligned with how I think every business should operate,” said Mulcahy. “It has been a privilege leading Xerox. The decision to move on is made easy only in the fact that Ursula Burns is so well positioned to take Xerox to the next level. Our strategy is sound and well defined. And, despite a tough economy, we are generating cash, building our technology and services pipeline and poised for a period of steady profitable growth in the future.

“Ursula takes on the leadership role the old-fashioned way,” added Mulcahy. “She has earned it. And, for that, she has my deep respect and confidence.”

Ursula Burns, 50, joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern and later assumed roles in product development and planning. From 1992 through 2000, Burns led several business teams including the office color and fax business and office network printing business. In 2000, she was named senior vice president, Corporate Strategic Services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. She then took on the broader role of leading Xerox’s global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery. In April 2007, Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership to also include the company’s IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts.

“During Anne’s tenure, Xerox has become a stronger, financially sound company, serving a broader base of customers – from small businesses to large – with broader capabilities than ever before,” said Burns. “She leaves the CEO role having created a rich legacy that I am honored to build on. It is humbling to follow such a great leader and to serve as CEO of such a great company. I’m grateful for the opportunity and, like Anne, focused on creating value for our customers, our people, our shareholders and our communities.”

Managed Print Services spike an increase in FMAudit installations

This article refers to "PrintSolv" in Australia, not the PrintSolv from Synnex, here in the States.
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Sydney, Australia - PrintSolv, the Australian distributor of FMAudit software and a leader in managed print services applications, has reached a significant milestone by distributing over 1000 licenses of the ‘FMAudit Onsite' application in April. PrintSolv resellers now extend the benefit of remote meter collection and automated toner fulfilment to over 15,000 end-users in Australia. PrintSolv

This remarkable growth has been facilitated by both advances in deployment capabilities and the rapid growth of the PrintSolv reseller base. "Photocopier and printer resellers Australia-wide are now turning to PrintSolv with high demand for vendor agnostic automation of meter collection and consumable fulfillment," says Andrew Tsiorvas, General Manager of PrintSolv. "These repetitive processes have traditionally been ‘pain points' for both reseller and end-user, because of the manual methods that were required."

The emergence of managed print services is also a major factor in the month-to-month increase of FMAudit installations. A land-grab for managed print service opportunities is currently underway - and by installing the FMAudit application, PrintSolv resellers are first in line to strike. Instant fleet visibility and the print volume data collected by the FMAudit application are crucial to any managed print services offering. "When it comes to MPS," says Tsiorvas, "I firmly believe that the FMAudit product range gives our resellers an advantage over their competition."

About PrintSolv and FMAudit.

Based in Mosman NSW, PrintSolv is the exclusive distributor of FMAudit products in Australasia and the market leader for print management applications in the region. FMAudit specialises in data capture and analysis software that enables print assessment, account reviews, automated meter collection and supplies replenishment. PrintSolv has over 200 active print and copier resellers utilising its products across Australasia. PrintSolv resellers currently service the following regions; All Australian Capital Cities, All New Zealand Capital Cities, Papua New Guinea, Newcastle, Wollongong, Tamworth, Orange, Kalgoorlie, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Townsville, Geelong, Warragul, Ballarat and Bendigo.

MaNAgeD PRinT SerVIces - Does it Really Matter How WE Define It?

May 2009-

The first people who wanted to define Managed Print Services were, of course, the consultants. Define it, measure it, survey around it, create reports about it, and sell the data. Nice model.

Not far behind those folks are the "trainers" - oh yes, we all know those guys.

Anything new has got to be figured out - everything new has mystery about it, and as Max once told me,"...where there is mystery, there is margin..."

And when you act as an authority and have a track record of sorts, never mind that the record was based on an archaic and outdated, equipment model, people will pay big time to hear you tell them how to "succeed".

After the "trainers" come the "Providers" - BTA Dealers, copier manufacturers, VARs, and software people. Those who sling gear and sell CPC service agreements.

The last group are those who claim to "...have been selling and providing MPS for 8, 10, 20, 30 years..." - these are the ones who really crack me up, but they are in the "boat" too.

If one were to Google MPS just 12 short months ago, one may have found some hits regarding HP or Xerox and most certainly Photizo - but not Lyra or AIM or BTA, or Kyocera, Konica Minolta, or a great number of copier dealers.

Now, MPS is everywhere - dealers provide it, manufacturers provide it, software people provide it, marketing firms, toner re-manufacturers, and even technology providers talk MPS.

And today, more copier reps are on the street waving their dongles and selling the hot new product, MPS, than ever before. (Managed Prints Services - That "Hot, New, Thing...")

Synnex, Ingram, InfoTrends, and Water provide "MPS training" for the salesperson, the dealer, and the owner - honestly, I am a proponent of the "selling is selling, no matter what you sell..." theory. So even though all the MPS Sales courses are simply re-hashed "copier CPC" selling or "Solution Selling" subject matter, that's ok. Any knowledge is good knowledge.

I think the biggest and most significant issue to remember, and one echoed by Xerox's Ashby Lowry at the Managed Print Services Conference last month is that true MPS strives to REDUCE the number of prints and REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MACHINES(IN FIELD).

But how does this reconcile, for example, with Kyocera's need to find homes for more machines? Will they reduce production schedules because they now offer MPS?

How does OPS affect the number of Konica Minolta's vs HP's?

How does this balance with Ricoh/IKON's need to convert more Canon customers to Ricoh? Is there a significant, MPS-based reason to move from Canon to Ricoh?

How does real MPS jive with Xerox selling 3 Phasers with every copier?

Are they paying lip service to MPS or simply defining MPS for their own purpose?
Recently, Lexmark released data defining how much the government is wasting on inefficient printing policies and procedures. The results are not surprising; big government wastes tax dollars, duh. And the Federal Government is a great prospect for solid MPS.

But is it just me, or do you get the feeling that the next article is going to be about how Lexmark, by supplying only Lexmark gear, saved the taxpayer's gajillions?

Is there a good answer to this, no? Is it wrong that when Lexmark wins an MPS deal, it consists of Lexmark(or Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Samsung...) only gear? No, not really, because of how they define MPS. Their flavor is tainted with their machines - not a true MPS.
Real Managed Print Services is NOT a technique. It is not a product. It is not a marketing campaign.

Managed Print Service is a process. A process that reduces costs, over a period of time, and enhances the overall, business process and workflow of any company/organization.

This leads me to a simple list of qualifying questions:

If you sell only toner, are you in MPS?
If you sell only Ricoh's, are you in MPS?
If you sell paper, are you in MPS?
If you sell data storage, are you in MPS?
If you sell marketing materials and production of those marketing materials, are you in MPS?
If you sell single-function laser printers, are you in MPS?
If you sell and service only one hardware manufacturer, are you in MPS?
If you sell power control and monitoring devices for the data center are you in MPS?
If you sell directly, exclusively, and strictly to the Purchase Agent of any company, are you in MPS?
If you sell fax servers, are you in MPS?
If you sell laser printer service, are you in MPS?
If you sell contract negotiations, and bid management, are you in MPS?
If you sell office supplies, are you in MPS?
If you sell archiving software, are you in MPS?
If you sell leasing and financial services, are you in MPS?
If you sell into a CRD environment, are you in MPS?
If you sell your business expertise and cost reduction acumen, are you in MPS?

Any one of the above, indeed perhaps a score or two more, can qualify as a component of MPS - that is of course except for one. There is one item in the above list, that completely, unequivocally disqualifies you as an MPS provider and negates your membership as one who plays in the MPS niche.

Care to take a guess at which one?

For us on the "inside" the definition of MPS, of course, is complex. Because MPS can be any one of the answers from above - MPS, true enlightenment in MPS would include ALL of the above and more. But once this is achieved, it no longer is MPS it becomes MIS.(back to the beginning, again)

The ultimate One Throat To Choke.

Back to my original question, "Does it really matter how WE define MPS?"

NO, it does not.

I am reminded of a statement made by Randy Elliot from Dow Chemical at the recent MPS conference. For him, he really didn't care how we defined MPS - it is unimportant to him, as a customer.

Wow.

That should truly sum it all up - what matters isn't how we define MPS, what matters is how our prospects and clients define MPS.

Samsung, Xerox, PrintAudit, NER, Great America, Nationwide Insurance, Bob Jones, Kearns, DOW - Managed Print Services CON'09: Oh, what a Time We Had..

5/2009

I have never seen a better, "home-made" crop circle tattoo - ever.

The first annual Managed Print Conference ended a bit ago, and although I have enough notes to choke a horse, I have been holding off writing about the meeting.

Waiting and looking for indications that what I saw, the conversations I had, the passion, or the lack of passion I observed, somehow could be found in my everyday MPS world.

The Conference did represent MPS Nirvana - but out here in the real world, it's different.

It's a world of competitors waving their little "dongles" around, jumping up and down spewing 5 year old Gartner facts and pitching MPS as "the hot new PRODUCT" - gag, upchuck the boogie...

So it takes some heavy Korn tracks TwistedTransistor, to name one, to dislodge my apathy and write - God help us all.

About the time of the Lyra conference in Palm Springs, the first time I met Ed and really started to get to know the folks from Photizo, the future of the Managed Print Conference was realistically in question. Indeed, just a few months later, at the beginning of ITex, questions were still lurking.

But all it took was a walk through the floor at ITex, to see MPS was everywhere and was the "new black".

That's when I knew the conference was not only going survive, but be a success.

Ed and I walked the show, shaking our heads in awe. The market was truly coming towards Managed Print Services - that is at least from the vendor side.

After Xerox stepped up as a Platinum sponsor, credibility grew as did the list of sponsors. Weekly, more and more firms jumped in - a larger room was soon needed for all the vendors.

Our work as judges for the first annual MPS Awards grew as well - page after page from nominated contestants arrived in my in box. There was a good deal of work that went into those 4 awards.

And as the big day grew closer, that anticipation increased. Ed even received his first "troll" attack on the MSP Mentor site; you know you're on the right track when someone tries to attack your credibility. As of today, the Troll has made no subsequent appearances.

The beginning of the conference went marvelously with introductions to new people and re-intro's to familiar faces.

The tone was set early.

As the group of attendees was not huge, around 174 people, it was easy to get to see and talk to many people. Not so many as to be overwhelming but more than enough to lend credibility to the MPS market as a growing and significant niche.

Make no mistake, if you were unable to attend, it's ok- MPS will be growing and there will be opportunities to get together with industry leaders again.

If you were there, you know.

Which brings me to a personal and at least for me, a very interesting observation.

I am sure that there have been times in your life when you belonged to a group of friends or an organization of sorts when it felt like you knew a cool secret - and that only you and the members of you group understood.

For me, it was Paintball and the society of "early adapters" within the sport. It was weird, but we all knew each other, even if we had never met, because we shared a common passion for a game, a sport, not many knew of and fewer even understood.

It is like a secret fraternity.

Well, I felt a tinge of the same, "wink and a nod" feeling.

Sitting in front of a pretty good sized crowd, especially for the end of a conference, and looking out at the faces looking at me and my colleagues, I could tell that this was a special moment in history.

Albeit a moment in MPS history - for whatever that's worth.

We all felt part of a collective, a group of people who understood something that some of our peers would never be able to truly "get" - because they weren't there.

Is it as good as hearing Bell say, "...Watson...I need you..." or watching 12 seconds of the Wright Brothers first 120 feet - no, it is not.

But still, it's something positive. Something created out of nothing - and that is usually a good thing.

I must tell you, the times were good.

Good to Great Author Reflects on Xerox - Back from the Precipice of Doom

From the book, How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In By Jim Collins.

On the Business Week site, excerpts from the new book, talk about the five warning signs of impending, corporate doom, the "Five Stages of Decline". How to recognize them and what to do when you do.

As an example, the first sign "STAGE 1: HUBRIS BORN OF SUCCESS", can be applied to everyone from AIG, the failed dot.coms, automotive union leaders, and all the way back to manufacturers of buggy whips.

I found his reflection on Xerox and Churchill poignant beyond the five indicators.

Enjoy.

"...When Anne Mulcahy became chief executive of Xerox (XRX) in 2001, she inherited a company mired in Stage 4. With Xerox's debt-to-equity ratio above 900%, Moody's (MCO) rated its bonds as junk. With $19 billion in debt and only $100 million in cash, Mulcahy described the situation as "terrifying."

Mulcahy had never planned or expected to become CEO, describing her ascension as a total surprise. The consummate insider, she'd worked for nearly a quarter-century at Xerox, never drawing outside attention. For Mulcahy, it was all about Xerox, not about her. In fact, we found only four feature articles about Mulcahy during her first three years as CEO, a surprisingly small number given how few women become CEOs of storied companies.

Some observers questioned whether this insider, this unknown team player who had Xerox DNA baked into her chromosomes, would have the ferocious will needed to save the company.

They needn't have worried.

Their first clue might have come from reading her favorite book, Caroline Alexander's The Endurance, which chronicles how, against all odds, adventurer Ernest Shackleton rescued his men after their ship splintered into thousands of pieces as Antarctic ice crushed in around it in 1916. Drawing inspiration from Shackleton, Mulcahy didn't take a weekend off for two years. She shut down a number of businesses, including the inkjet-printer unit she'd championed earlier in her career, and cut $2.5 billion out of Xerox's cost structure.

Not that she found these decisions easy— "I don't think I want them to get easy," she later reflected—but they were necessary to stave off utter catastrophe. During its darkest days, Xerox faced the very real threat of bankruptcy, yet Mulcahy rebuffed with steely silence her advisers' repeated suggestions that she consider Chapter 11. She also held fast against a torrent of advice from outsiders to cut research and development to save the company, noting that a return to greatness depended on both tough cost-cutting and long-term investment. She actually increased R&D as a percentage of sales during that bleak period.

For 2000 and 2001, Xerox posted a total of nearly $367 million in losses. By 2006, Xerox posted profits in excess of $1 billion and sported a much stronger balance sheet. And in 2008, Chief Executive magazine selected Mulcahy as CEO of the Year. At the time of this writing in 2008, Xerox's transition has been going strong for seven years—no guarantee, of course, that it will continue to climb, but an impressive recovery from the early 2000s..."
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So as you can see, the author has a firm understanding of historical, Xerox recovery - and he uses Bank of America as a blaring example of the Five Indicators of Doom - if we drop all the names, all the big companies, we can apply these Five Indicators to our individual situations.

In sales, the Hubris from Success, can bring the "best" down.

Striking a chord, the author reflects that "failure is a state of mind". Meaning, failure is not total until you refuse to get up again.

Another excerpt, inspired by Winston Churchill:

"...Never give in. Be willing to kill failed business ideas, even to shutter big operations you've been in for a long time, but never give up on the idea of building a great company. Be willing to evolve into an entirely different portfolio of activities, even to the point of zero overlap with what you do today, but never give up on the principles that define your culture. Be willing to embrace loss, to endure pain, to temporarily lose freedoms, but never give up faith in your ability to prevail. Be willing to form alliances with former adversaries, to accept necessary compromise, but never—ever—give up on your core values.

The path out of darkness begins with those exasperatingly persistent individuals who are constitutionally incapable of capitulation. It's one thing to suffer a staggering defeat—as will likely happen to every enduring business and social enterprise at some point in its history—and entirely another to give up on the values and aspirations that make the protracted struggle worthwhile.

Failure is not so much a physical state as a state of mind; success is falling down—and getting up one more time—without end..."
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This phrase: "...Be willing to kill failed business ideas, even to shutter big operations you've been in for a long time, but never give up on the idea of building a great company..." rings bold, harsh and reminds me of HP.

Remember, Xerox once sold workstations and invented the mouse.

Former IBM Executive Michael Maupin to Join the Advisory Board of The Water Training Institute

Press Release:

Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Former IBM Business Unit Executive Michael Maupin has joined the Advisory Board of The Water Training Institute (a division of Water, a New Jersey-based consulting & services firm).

Maupin, who is the Managing Director of the business development firm MBI and author of the book "The Billion Dollar Deal" (11/09 Oxford Hill Press), has also joined the sales training staff and will be delivering segments of The Water Training Institute’s Certified Managed Print Services Seller (TM) Sales Training & Certification Program beginning in September.

“Michael Maupin brings more than 15-years of exceptional sales performance, unsurpassed big-league sales management experience, and overall sales know-how to Water’s already-outstanding sales training team” says Bobby Smith, a Principal at Water Canada. “His sales credibility and credentials strengthen that of The Water Training Institute and supports our goal to provide absolute top-notch professionals delivering the best experience to our clients. And besides, anyone who has achieved 11 (eleven) consecutive 100% Clubs and 3 Golden Circles at IBM, as Maupin has, is a proven, exceptional sales performer.”

Smith and Maupin became acquainted back in 2004 when Smith was a consultant at HP and Maupin joined Water to deliver a Consultative Sales Training program to the entire Hewlett-Packard U.S. Imaging & Printing Group sales force. But Maupin’s association with Water goes back even further. “When I started at IBM in the late ‘80s,” says Maupin, “the foundation of our sales training was based on the techniques offered by The Water Training Institute. Later, when IBM eliminated its internal training, I personally relied on Water for the training needs of all of my new hires. Now, I’m excited to work with this fine organization.”

The Water Training Institute’s Certified Managed Print Services Seller (TM) program begins September 16-18 in Philadelphia, PA. The purpose of the program is to provide sales professionals with a thorough understanding of Managed Print Services (MPS), comprehensive MPS sales training, a tailored MPS sales acumen evaluation & development plan for each participant, and a Certification Exam that – combined with the other aspects of the program - would substantiate that the successful candidate has demonstrated a certain standard of MPS sales performance and comprehension. More information can be found at www.h2o15.com.

“As a former sales rep, sales manager, sales executive, and the current Managing Director of a firm that helps companies close deals, I know the importance of being able to consultatively sell service-based solutions in today’s market” says Maupin. “It is my opinion that – if companies are serious about preparing their sales associates to sell Managed Print Services effectively – they should strongly consider the Certified Managed Print Services Seller (TM) program as the vehicle to help them get there.”

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Death Star Over San Fransicso - I Wonder if they use Ricoh or Xerox Up There?

Another Swipe at Salespeople From the IT World: Telecom Sales People Are Funny

Sales Stories are standard conversation pieces at watering holes all over the world - always have been, always will be.

How often have we sales people made fun of "idiot customers" and remember that time we spilled coffee on the prospect's desk.

Or when we put that open, felt-tipped pen in our pocket, latter realizing while we were presenting, a spot of black ink expanded on our shirt, distracting the prospect and propelling our presentation into the annals of "funny sales stories".

It is interesting to see what the guy on the "other side of the table" thinks and what he thinks is funny.

Over at The Industry Standard, Johna Till Johnson, Networld World, pieced together this narrative about "...the sheer entertainment factor of the "dog and pony show" as carrier salespeople and sales engineers present their responses to the RFP..."

An excerpt:

"...The carrier obligingly scoped out a scenario, including a managed router connecting into the MPLS network, and a parallel Internet router connecting into the Internet (over a separate local loop). The carrier then added a Session Initiation Protocol trunking card to link the site PBX into one of the routers. The only problem: it plugged the PBX into the Internet router, not the MPLS one — arguing the customer needed to "keep the MPLS network available for data..."

My response - "huh?" Why is this funny? Did I miss somin?

The post is short - so go over and check it out if you like, here.

My favorite nugget is this statement, "...Carriers often invest a lot of time and energy in these presentations, typically bringing a half-dozen employees in to extol the wonders of their company..."

I have often wondered why competitors and at times, my own management, feels the need to bring an army of "presentors" to a client meeting.

Many times, it is quite comical.

Click to email me.

HP = MPS Powerhouse...in Portugal...

"HP Portugal currently holds more 50% of all contracts for Managed Print Services, and focused its strategy in large companies and leaving the market share of medium and small enterprises to their partners...operates a fleet of about 2,500 machines with 8 to 10 million printed pages per month..."

Seems they understand the difference between "operational" and "capital" costs...


Full article translated, here.