IBM and Ricoh Managed Print Services via Tivoli

As first mentioned on DOTC back in April of 2009 here and here, IBM and Ricoh are working together to give clients complete control of their output devices along side their PC's, servers and network appliances.

Today announcing, "...they have developed an advanced device and printing management system which infuses office devices with real-time tracking and monitoring to help firms significantly reduce their print-related costs, improve service and cut back on carbon footprints..."

"IBM's design collaboration with Ricoh on this initiative demonstrates how we are bringing a new level of 'smart' to offices, and significant operational savings for the customer," said Bruce Anderson, general manager, IBM Electronics Industry. "As CIOs work to drive down costs, printers and other office devices offer an attractive target for improvement."

What does this mean? The enterprise MPS niche just got a little bit more competitive.


It's a "see I told ya so" moment.

Press Release:

IBM and Ricoh Deliver Intelligent Print Monitoring and Management System

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PULSE -- IBM ( IBM) and Ricoh today announced they have developed an advanced device and printing management system which infuses office devices with real-time tracking and monitoring to help firms significantly reduce their print-related costs, improve service and cut back on carbon footprints

Through an Application Specific Licensing agreement with IBM, Ricoh will bundle the new system, which is based on IBM Tivoli software, with its multi-function products (MFPs) making the new systems available for enterprise clients.

While IT services have become more managed and optimized, most businesses still do not have enough insight into and control of their printing devices' use and costs. These costs extend beyond the hardware and printers to include consumables, labor for repairs and system updates as well as the high cost of energy and resulting carbon footprint. Underscoring the need for better print-related cost controls is recent Gartner research data which indicates that organizations that manage their printer, copier and fax fleets can save between 10-30 percent of their print costs.

"This new, enterprise-class system will give our global customers complete visibility across their fleet of printers and MFP devices, helping them to better manage and optimize printing as an office function," said Hede Nonaka, executive vice president, Marketing & Document Solutions and Services Division, Ricoh Americas Corporation. "The solution will also be a core technology for our Managed Document Services (MDS) offering."

Tivoli software can manage a range of assets beyond the datacenter including office equipment such as printers, office MFPs and production printing machines. Tivoli technology manages policies to control end-user printing features and tracks energy usage and carbon footprint for print services, reporting at the device, department and individual level.

In addition to print management and monitoring carbon footprints, the new system can identify service issues with devices and automatically route alerts to local service desks for remediation before service is affected. It will also capture and manage assets and supplies information, improving accounting processes.

"IBM's design collaboration with Ricoh on this initiative demonstrates how we are bringing a new level of 'smart' to offices, and significant operational savings for the customer," said Bruce Anderson, general manager, IBM Electronics Industry. "As CIOs work to drive down costs, printers and other office devices offer an attractive target for improvement."

The Death of Managed Print Services : Photizo Identifies The Fourth Horseman

HP, Xerox, Ricoh and Dell: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ricoh and IBM Alliance:The Shape of Things to Come

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The IT VARs Are Already in Your Accounts and Now they are Doing Managed Print Services

Not only are more and more VAR's getting into MPS, they are leading with MPS.

Utilizing their existing infrastructure as leverage and presenting MPS as an entre into ALL of their services.

Quick, Google, MSP (Managed Service Provider)

I found this video on the MSP Mentor forum.

It is mostly about I.T. services, "propeller head" stuff.

But, later into this interview, MPS is mentioned at 3:05.


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Here's the deal.

If you are selling copiers today, odds are, you will not be selling copiers 5 years from now.

Improve yourself - start by studying MSP's.

Talk with your IT contacts, ask them what they look for in an IT provider. What are the challenges they face and what would be a perfect relationship.

People to stay away from? Your corporate insiders; i.e. Sales/Service Managers, Owners, peers.

There is a great deal more out there than speeds and feeds.




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Staples Is Now Selling IT Services: Didn't They Just Start Selling Managed Print Services?

"I think VARs that read this will be a little envious of what we have to offer here.

With Staples, we have a Fortune 100 organization, great relationships on the product side, and we can offer very competitive pricing and a great services story for customers as well," - Joe Kalinoski, vice president of finance for Staples Technology Solution.

According to sources, Staples Technology Solutions, the new division, will include access to "...certified specialists for Cisco Systems, Citrix, Linux and other areas; onsite and remote server and desktop support for Apple Mac, Windows and Linux platforms; printer fleet management; and data center assessments and other services ranging from sub-floor cleaning and 24x7 data center emergency supplies..."

- Holy Crap!

They can even clean your sub-floors! Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?


First off - quite the bold marketing statement from the vice president of finance. I can not think of too many VARs who would be envious of working retail hours, wearing matching vests, and conducting inventory twice a year.

And when was the last time you heard a VP of Finance delve into corporate Value Props? Doesn't staples have a marketing department?

This new effort will fall under Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples.

The prose gets worse, Joe continues,

"By combining these two entities we have a one-source supplier of office products, print solutions and managed print IT services," he said.

"It was a logical evolution to get into the technology space. It was a natural that we were answering our customer calls for not only office products but also technology products. We think we can be one of the lowest-cost providers."

RED FLAGS:

"one-source supplier"
"products"
"lowest-cost providers"

I guess Staples doesn't know what the "V" in VAR stands for.

The target market is focused on companies with 1-250 employees - they may have an IT department but they may not. Staples stresses an "intimate, high touch" strategy for this often overlooked niche.

"Staples is dipping its toe into the water in the IT services space," said Candy Murphy, vice president of Staples' Contract Technology Solutions.

Murphy said the goal is to offer the services nationally. Network and data offerings were the result of Staples' late 2006 acquisition of Thrive Networks, a Boston-area solution provider that services a large portion of eastern Massachusetts.

"The IT industry is highly fragmented," Murphy said, "It (Staples'reputation) brings the trust and the reliability of the brand name," she said.

Jim Lippie, president of Staples Network Services by Thrive said, "We bring a level of expertise and we've learned how the small business works," adding, "There's a real thirst for small businesses to have a larger provider while having the security, but high-touch of a smaller company"

Plus, "They want us to take ownership of all the headaches, mysteries, and risk associated with maintaining a company's IT infrastructure, and make it so they never have to think about them again," Lippie said. "In a nutshell, they want us to make their IT problems go away, and that's exactly what we do."

Time will tell.

But didn't IKON try to do this a while back? Everything except offereing to clean your sub-floors, that is.

Click to email me.

The Best In MPS: Your MPSA Managed Print Services Awards 2010

This isn't the Magic Quadrant, these awards are for you.

And everyone who submits, is a winner.

That's right, every submission will be reviewed and an article detailing your solution will posted by your MPSA.

Exposure.

Here's my take; there is no deal or solution or MPS implementation that is too small. Of course all the larger OEM's will submit, huge, global, galactic level MPS implementations.

Let's see some "normal", everyday MPS Engagements submitted - its not the size its the impact that counts.

Check it out, submit a your customer, your client, your process, your favorite vendor.


Managed Print Services – 2010 Leadership Awards
Gain the recognition you deserve

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is pleased to announce the start of the 2nd annual MPS Leadership Awards for our mutual industry. These highly coveted awards provide the industries only recognition for the leaders that are helping to shape and benefit the Managed Print Services industry.

See the following briefing documentthat covers the Award Categories, Benefits of Applying, and this year we have Simplified the Application Process.

New to this years awards:

All submissions will receive the following benefits:

1. MPSA Published Article profiling your accomplishments
2. Communications for your Article to all MPSA Members
3. Balanced Scorecard – Providing equal opportunity regardless of size
4. MPSA Disclosure of final scoring vs. other entries within your category

While award submissions can be received up until March 2010, the MPSA would like to receive your submission within the next 30 days if possible.

Special thanks to the Photizo Group LLC, for sponsoring these awards and their continued support of the MPSA.

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The Death of Edgeline

Feb, 2010

I was scrolling through some year-old posts and stumbled upon this one, from Art over at print4pay Hotel's, "MFP Solutions Blog". 

A year later, almost to the day. Has anyone heard anything, at all, about Edgeline? 

Huh. 

See my, historical journey through the odyssey that is Edeline, here. 

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009,  HP Edgeline "What Went Wrong" Art Post 

 I had an email the other day from an analyst from a major printer vendor. In the email, I was asked "what went wrong with this program?" I thought, geez you're asking me??