Successful MPS Conference Is Further Validation for Managed Print Services Industry

Conference attendance more than doubles; attendees enthusiastic about program

LEXINGTON, KY – June 4, 2010 – To say the managed print services market is growing would be an understatement. As evidence, consider the powerful participation in the recent MPS Conference hosted by Photizo Group. Attendance more than doubled from the 2009 event, from 135 in 2009, to 290 at the 2010 gathering in San Antonio, TX.

“As one attendee noted, the conference and swelling number of attendees is yet another confirmation that MPS isn’t a sales pitch it’s not just a strategy, it’s THE business strategy for the industry,” said Ed Crowley, CEO of Photizo Group.

MPS Selling Appointment: "This is Turning Out to Be One Hell of a Morning!"

6/2010

It's 8:15 AM.

You are prompt and waiting in the lobby of Galactic RailWorks - fifteen hundred users.

Your appointment is with the CFO.

On the phone, he told you he is not interested in any of those "large, enterprise-level engagements" but wants a local provider who is flexible and will listen.

Great.

Your MPSA 2010 MPS Leadership Awards Winners

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is proud to announce the winners of the 2010 MPS Leadership Awards. Of the 60 different submissions across 53 different organizations in 12 different countries, the MPSA found quite considerable leadership and innovative thinking from all of the submissions.

Based upon the balanced scorecard voting that rated submissions in Core Abilities (30%), Best Practices (30%) and Business Benefits (40%) the following are the top winners in a highly competitive process.

Managed Print Services IS Business Process Optimization

The theme of the 2010 North American MPS Conference was "Change".

Change is pretty certain and if you've been in the MPS arena for the last three years, you have sure seen a lot of it.

For me it looks like we have settled into a good understanding of the first 2 stages of MPS Adaption: Control and Optimize.

There is a huge amount of business and profit nestled into both stages, but I wonder if we are forgetting this is only the beginning.

It is really no surprise that Stage 3 is turning out to be a bit tricky for some to get their minds around.

Indeed, the easiest application of this stage, Enhance the Business process, is traditional EDM packages. If you know the difference between and performed both a document-flow and work-flow analysis, you are waist-deep into EDM/The Third Stage.

In my humble opinion, if all we do is provide supplies and equipment management services, we are not reaching the full, MPS potential.

This is one reason I reject the typical "assessment" - it is mostly, usually, simply an inventory of equipment and a recording of static data around the fleet.

The simple stuff.

What really frosts my fritters is the fact that almost every assessment is, or should be, a business process survey - but most don't see it that way.

The assessment is the cornerstone of every MPS engagement. All too often the engagement starts and STOPS with the assessment.

Don't be afraid of Business Process Optimization, you are probably already walking right by it, during every site assessment you perform.

Memorial Day - Say Thanks to A Vet...

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Citi Reiterates a 'Buy' on Hewlett-Packard (HPQ); Confidence in Near-Term & Long-Term Growth Outlook

May 28, 2010 9:37 AM EDT


Citi reiterates a 'Buy' on Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE: HPQ), price target $65.

Citi analyst says, "We reiterate a Buy on HP’s shares following a day of meetings with the co’s Imaging and Printing (IPG) management in San Diego. During the meeting, IPG management outlined its strategy for sustained IPG growth beyond the current recovery, with core distributed inkjet and laser printer growth (80-85% of IPG revenue) driven by emerging markets and share gains and non-core growth driven by Managed Print Services (MPS), Commercial/Graphic Arts, retail kiosks and minilabs (2,400 storefronts currently going to ~7000 by year-end) and workflow solutions."

Year Two: Managed Print Services Focuses on Change

Ed posted this over at ChannelWeb, here.

I commented, and then I cut and pasted - enjoy.
--------------------
Ed Crowley
Posted by Ed Crowley on May 28, 2010 1:43:34 PM

The first North American Managed Print Services (MPS) conference was launched in April of 2009 amidst the very ugly depths of the economic crises of 08-09 at a time when other conferences were seeing their attendance fall by 50% or more.

Many skeptics debated whether this would be a huge failure, or at best, moderately successful. Well, the first conference ended with 35% more attendees than planned, tremendous excitement and enthusiasm, and the formation of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA).

Friday Fun Video - Guns, Women, Tuxedos, Range Rover and Astin Martin

Managed Print Services - "How to Sell MPS". A Willing Audience, until Bluto Smashes the Guitar

The crooner strums.

A willing audience smiles, and rocks to the expected, comfortable melodies.

PowerPoint slides confirm student's expectations - this is what they paid for. To hear, "all is not lost". You're going to be ok, MPS is easy. As long as you have a plan. Our plan.

Oh, and our plan takes 18 weeks and $3,500.00 bucks.

The instructor, talking about cherries that have no stones, stories that have no end.

All going according to plan.

Attendees oblivious to the obvious, this guy doesn't know crap.

But the words sound so nice.

Managed Print Services Conference 2010 - See It All, again and again...

It seems like just yesterday, Leopard Headbands, great speakers, firing all the copier schleps, and Indiana Jones.

I imagine, somewhere in an underground bunker, the Photizo Clan has initiated the Countdown Clock for MPS-Con/2011

Until then, or Barcelona, we can stream video of the MPS Titans(excluding myself).

Printers Are Sent From Hell...

A cute little diddy over at The Oatmeal.com about how printers are sent from hell to make our lives bad.

This from an IT guy?

The Death of Print, Predictably, Sooner than We Think

"Book Sellers, defend your lonely forts!" - John Updike, 2006.

Newspapers, except possibly the Wall Street Journal, are not the only organizations facing the same fate as buggy whip manufacturers.

"By the end of 2012, digital books will be 20% to 25% of unit sales, and that's on the conservative side," predicts Mike Shatzkin, chief executive of the Idea Logical Co., publishing consultants. "Add in another 25% of units sold online, and roughly half of all unit sales will be on the Internet."

In his book, "the cult of the amateur", Andrew Keen reflects on the demise of the record store - blaming the internet.

Keen pines about record stores like the Tower Records that spanned three blocks in New York's Greenwich Village or his beloved record store at the corner of Bay and Columbus in San Fransisco. How, ultimately, change came to this world of hidden imports, ad hoc concerts, U2 and Madonna sightings.

Like the music store, book stores, the brick and mortar type, are doomed.

What has all this got to do with Managed Print Services?

If you are seriously asking, leave right now, and never come back to this blog again.


A New Business Model -

This year, publishers agreed to implement an "agency model" for digitally distributed content. The publisher receives 70%, e- book sellers 30%, of the digital price.

Seems publisher can read the writing on the wall - change is a necessity for survival.

The Gorilla in the room, Apple, is poised to rule the publishing channel as it already does the music channel with iTunes.

Consider Barnes and Noble -

In mid-March, Barnes & Noble's named a new CEO.

This new CEO is a veteran of the digital world and is seen as a change agent shaking things up, hiring from e-commerce and technology companies.

His talk track includes the phrase, B&N is "as much a technology company as we are a retail company."

Change or die.

Newspapers are dying, books are changing, retail is evolving - Is it any wonder our little industry, MPS, is considered a $60 Billion market?

Consumers are demanding easier, more portable mechanisms allowing them to read/acquire information and entertainment.

These consumers not only own iPads, DROIDs and netbooks - they have jobs; they work in offices, they interface with paper every day.

How long will it be before they expect to receive the company newsletter, financials, invoices, statements, medical records, mortgage documents, kid's report cards, DMV documents, tax filings, credit card and utility bills, and the latest King novel, etc. on their iPad/Slate/Droid/Kindle?

Change is. This may be "new" to you, to me, to us. But this isn't anything we started, the fire's been burning since the world's been turning, we're just the latest to enjoy.



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