The MpS Ecosystem Contracts: Who could be next? I See...software and hardware...merging as One.

So he says to me, "Greg, what the hell happened in Orlando? Since then, it seems DOTC has been watered down on the hot babes."

Point Taken. So instead of watering them down, let's break out the oil, pop cycles, and champagne.

And for good measure, throw in a goofy, baggy-crotched pants guy, sporting a wicked, Tourette-like twitch.

Caution - Kitchen counters are slippery when wet.

Perfect.
-----
I am certain the acquisition wave is not completely ashore, just yet - but who is next?

Shall we spread a rumor about White Castle buying Canon?

Can you see Lexmark part of anybody once her patents run out? (didn't know about that one, did you?)

Or should we focus on the fact that Ricoh is going to lay off enough employees to form a separate MDS company?

No. I'm scaling down my vision and looking to the east. East Coast of the U.S. that is...oh, and a bit north. Into Canada...


Machine to Machine(M2M) communication refers to one machine communicating with another. Telemetry in the old days.

We in MpS are familiar with this as it is part and parcel of every remote monitoring software out here. My fleet of machines"report" back to me.  More appropriately, back to a server/machine.

MWA Intelligence is a company on the hardware side. Developing M2M apparatus.

PrintFleet created software that reads the MIB and reports back to a server.

I dunno - maybe somin happens, the way things usually do, and baddah bing, baddah boom - Mike's chocolate is in Brian's peanut butter...

I'm jus sayin, stranger things have happened, capeesh? For-get 'bout it...

Honestly, I have no idea, no evidence, nobody tells me anything.

Click to email me.

Does Your MpS World Reside in Toner & Service?

6/1/2011

This is a three minute advertisement. Unfortunately, Oracle hasn't paid me a dime.

The statistics within are stunning - reflecting a huge scale and compressed timeline like never, ever before. Moore's Law applied to content.

I love the folks who argue "...paper will never go away..." or "...MPS is only about devices, toner remote monitoring and increasing volume..."

Well, sit back, watch this three minute reflection and projection - and listen to all those 'clicks' fade...away...

Content is increasing, not prints...


Prezi on steroids!


Click to email me.

Immortals - "The Gods Chose Well..."

Managed print Services Tunnel Vision - Are You Focusing On One Thing

Yeah, that's me.  'ballin it up and rockin the Leopard.

"An informational silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation with other, related management systems..."

So says the Wiki.

A closer example is your accounts payable department never talking to your accounts receivable department. Resulting in the invoices you receive from a supplier not coinciding with the ones sent to your customers.

Or an accounts payable department that simply pays Xerox 700 times a month, for overages, but never cross-references back to each department - no oversight.

And then there's an industry cliché; Sales makes the promises Service has to keep.

Silos lead to less communication. Then to stress. And then breakdowns.

Inside these silos, knowledge workers and decision-makers concentrate on a specific set of functions designed to support the organization's goals, maintaining their focus.

Necessary and dangerous, just ask Sony. ( a reference to the failure of the Walkman)

A Bridge Too Far...

Memorial Day - Remember...just for a second...or 12...

This video is from Rolling Thunder, 2010.

The annual motorcycle ride into D.C., honoring the Fallen.

This Marine, this Lone Marine stood at attention, for the entire parade.

There were reportedly, 250,000 bikes...the parade lasts for hours. You can see it on his face, in his salute and his tears.

At the end, at the end of the clip, This Marine mouths out, "...OORAH..."

And what the Hell are you doing this weekend? Like me, going to wash down some dogs with a cold Bud.


Find a vet, and say thanks...

No Matter Where you sleep tonight or how Far You Run...She's the One...

Xerox/NewFieldIT - HP/Printillegent...Cloak and Dagger Information

5/2011

DOTC Operatives stationed in Orlando, NYC, Portland, Imperial, California and elsewhere are reporting in.

By carrier pigeon, encrypted satellite transmission and smoke signals, a solid shape is taking form.

Big interest in the HP/Printellegent arena:

Is HP buying a channel?  If so, who is next?

Will the devoted and committed, remaining OPS partners find themselves competing with a bigger, broader, potent HP/Printellegent with a global footprint?

Xerox/NewFieldIT:

What will happen with NewField's current customer list?
How does this effect PagePack? Does it at all?
Will the tool be scaled up? Down?

...interesting...

HP is not buying a channel.

HP will dump assets into the Printellegent model, assimilating, expanding and scaling out as a platform for the channel.

Yes - FOR THE CHANNEL. Of course, we may be redefining "channel".

By mid-June, Printellegent will be no more; "I am Locutus, of Borg"


Xerox will use AssetDB as the 'face' of XPS, and rounds out the tool set.
NewField may lose their inroads to other OEMs as well as some existing customers, but the deal with Xerox out weighs any possible loss.

There will be more assimilation - PrintFleet is being mentioned.


...continuing...


Click to email me.

Ricoh Announces Purchase of White Castle - Strengthen Channel with "Bags of Sliders"

What can only be described as "Unbelievably Mind blowing", Ricoh announced their purchase of 400,000 White Castle locations.

"As part of our $300,000,000.00 investment in MDS program, this acquisition puts us even further ahead by strengthening our ability to deliver services and solutions through our channel partners to SMB customers,” said an unknown Ricoh source.

“We’re reinforcing our commitment to our channel partners by bringing them a level of grease-technology and 2:30 AM experience that is unprecedented in the industry.”

Managed print Services - As The World Turns: First HP/Printelligent today Xerox/Newfield

5/2011

Whose Next?

WOW!

A few of my acquaintances, wait they are more than people I simply know, two close, MPS Pioneers, have now become part of the Machine. In a good way.

Congrats to Robert and his team at NewfieldIt and congrats to Greg, Rob, Lawton and the entire crew at Printelligent.

Well done, well deserved - good luck.

Okay - Now What? This is almost as exciting as when Ricoh bought Ikon.

Questions, questions...

Nature moves in 3's, is there a third shoe to drop?

HP Buys Printelligent - Whadda Think 'bout THAT?

DOTC 5/2011

From an article on CRN -

"Founded in 1988, Printelligent was an early mover in the managed print space, launching its first MPS solution in 1993. Once the deal closes, Printelligent’s work force and technology assets will become part of the LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions unit within HP's Imaging and Printing Group."

This makes it sound like the integration will be at the enterprise level...but then...

"This acquisition puts us even further ahead by strengthening our ability to deliver services and solutions through our channel partners to SMB customers,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's Imaging and Printing Group, in a statement.

Joshi makes it look like this is a channel move.

Time will tell, it always does.

I will say this; the OPS channel is chuck full of MPS training and content.

I know the guys at Printelligent (congrats!) - they are smart. They understand Stage 3/4.

If this is a move to replace the channel, look out.

If this is a move to improve the channel, look out.

Very, very interesting.


OverLords assemble - the Big Three descending.

Childhood's End.

Click to email me. 

You Know Who You Are - You're Not Alone.

What in the hell does this have to do with MpS/Copier Sales?

Nothing...Everything...

DOTC, TheDeathOfTheChannel - More From 2011 Global MPS Conference

I am a big fan of those ad-hoc meetings around the watering hole, in the lounge or on the bus to Harley Davidson.

You never know who may end up sitting next to on the bus ride over.

This year some of the offline talk revolved around the OEMs - indeed, we had Xerox, HP, Ricoh, and Canon all on one stage fielding questions.  I don't think this has ever happened before.

One conversation that struck me was about 'control' or better yet, the lack of control the OEMs have relative to just 2 years ago.  Control over the industry, over the channel, over the customer.

I detected a bit of anxiety, bitterness.  Granted, the relationship between dealer and OEM has always been strained, right?  And over the years, we've all heard the common complaints, the same gripes  -

• "manufacturers quotas are unrealistic and they keep changing"
• "they are shifting their warehousing cost to us"
• "why is your service rate so high"
• "how can I compete when your toner pricing is so high?"
• "CBS vs. the Canon dealer"
• "RBS vs. the Ricoh dealer"
• "direct vs. the dealer'
• "Are they redefining an Enterprise Level Account, again?"
• "thank goodness for back-end and MDF..."

But this time it was different.  This time, as I listened, waftng through the angst was something different.  A bad smell.

Difficult to pinpoint. But then it hit me. It was the stench of fear.

You see, these self-proclaimed 'independents', were not simply complaining, they were scared.  For a second, I felt badly as they seemed to prefer ignorance over fear.

In the end, all I felt was pity.

What Does Harley Sell? "...The ability of a 40 year old accountant to drive through a small town, and scare people..."

MWAi/Intel Reception from Misty Hamel on Vimeo.

"And then, right there, he lit the Harley up..."

"See you in Berlin..."

Pictures and everything....

You Think its Just About Printed Documents, Toner Hitting Paper? Wrong..."One Word, kid...Content"

May 2011 -

Get ready for a "new" term: "Content".

And all the eyes at AIIM roll.

Another broad DOTC stroke here - MpS, is losing the "P".

Because the P is diminishing, just ask Xerox, and the C(ontent) is starting to come into focus.

Oh...you didn't know that? You didn't get the memo? What, you're still selling MPS as toner and service on your single and multi-function devices?

Stuck in S1 and 2? And you're happy, may I suggest in a state of bliss?  Stop looking at her and listen.

What are you going to sell when your clients don't need to print?

How do you think they will feel the moment they discover you don't want them to stop printing?

When they wake up and recognize they are simply part of your 'revenue stream'? When their level of consciousness sees the bogus truth of  'mobile printing'. That's right, bogus.

Most importantly, how are you going to fend off somebody like me who comes into your 'secure' account blathering on about MIF reduction, vitalization, Unified Communication, Content, CISCO, Help Desk, and the NOC?

All this under a vision of  MOS: The Optimization of EVERYTHING...no, really everything...

Ferocious, ain't I? Does your head hurt yet? I understand this occurs right before it explodes.

Ok, let's simplify and start with a single word before we take on the Dark Galactic Rift.

One word: Content.

Bright as Day, Black as Night, No Evil...

MPS InsightPro - I'm a Pro, You Should be Too...

There was a time when the only MPS information one could find, was is supplied by direct marketing firms with content referring to advertising print jobs.

Then, slowly, the trainers got involved, starting to pitch MPS as nothing more than CPC in different garb.  Releasing loosely disguised marketing pieces as white papers.

InfoTrends wasn't there.

Gartner, didn't care.

CompTIA was years away from getting in.

There was no PagePack, Twitter or FaceBook

Back then, if you 'googled' Managed Print Services, nothing came back.

But one day, a few returns started to populate the Google alert you set up for "Managed Print Services"(ok, I know I was the first one ever to do this, back in the day)

And somehow, a complete Managed Print Services article appeared.  The brainchild of some firm whose name you didn't know how to pronounce.

You 'googled' φωτίζω and saw the light.

"Managed Print Services" is dying. Let's Kill it Together...

5/9/2011

The 2011 Global MPS Conference is part of history.

I have a unique view of both the evolution of the show and our industry.

It goes a bit like this:

-Year One, 2009: What the hell is this thing called MPS?
-Year Two, 2010: I've made so many mistakes. How in the heck do we make the change?
-Year Three, 2011: Now what? There has got to be more.

So, as a proponent of MPS, as one of the first evangelists.  As a fully engaged, MPS Practice Manager.

As a  "thought leader", somebody who has spoken at each MPS Conference, sat on panels of experts, queried the titans, investigated every single MPS package, program, and type; as a dangerous, True Believer -

How can I possibly, in good faith, call for the destruction of Managed Print Services?

How?

Well, welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, step inside...

"Managed Print Services" is dying.

Let's Kill it Together...

The juice is in the white spaces.

MPS can stitch together the Columns as the Green Box.

Once this is done, the Columns have no further need for MPS.

The only path to rebirth, renewing, is through Death.

Ed is going to flip.

Fire. Walk With Me.

Through the darkness of future past,

the magician longs to see,

one chants out between two worlds,

fire walk with me.

- Lynch

5/6/2011

Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon

Click to email me.

What the Hell?

It's just for fun...

OMG, HUSH! Jennifer Love is Singing! By All The Gods of Music, How did I Miss This One?

This is good enough to listen to...muted...

Managed Print Services Stuck in Stage 1&2 - And I Know Why...

5/2/2011

I bet the folks at AIIM know why too, if they even care.

Stage 1 - Control

As you know, S1 includes establishing a baseline cost, fulfilling service and supplies on the fleet(usually everything but the copiers) and billing on a cost per image basis.

Stage 2 - Optimize

Again, simple. Optimize the existing fleet in terms of age, function, work load, document flow, on and on.

Both stage 1 & 2 are supported by a continuous revenue streams - as long as the fleet keeps printing, even when volume decreases, meter reads are traded for invoices.

With this in mind, it is no surprise how easy it is to stay right there.  

Much like a deer in the headlights...


I know.  MPS is difficult.

Getting the right toner to the correct end user at the right time, requires a great deal of infrastructure with lots of moving parts.

Guaranteeing your tech will show up under SLA but not the influence is taxing.

Ordering parts from HP, Lexmark, Dell, Xerox, et. el. has its challenges.

Coordinating all this and maintaining 49% gross profit a gargantuan task.

And still you do.

Nobody would blame you for staying right there in S2.

You know Stage 3, "Enhance the Business Process" has something to do with EDM software and document flow and that new 'cloud' thing. Still, like the early morning fog, your vision is not quite clear.

I have the answer. I know why you can't get your head around all this S3.

S3 requires software, and expertise beyond speeds, feeds and deal crafting. Different, but not that different.

Here's the big reason - S1 and S2 create revenue streams, the relationship although shallow, is ongoing.

S3 is PROJECT based; projects that need to be designed, implemented and managed.

S1-2 is Continuous, S3 is Job Shop.

To illustrate, consider the difference between how your Ford 250 was produced versus how the Maybach  is hand crafted.

The Ford moves through a continuous process, down a production line.  As the chassis moves   everything is attached and assembled. At the end of the line, a complete pickup truck is driven off the line, out to a lot. Hundreds leaving the plant each day.

Compared to the Maybach - the automobile is built completely(mostly) in one spot as a project.  Technically, each Maybach could be unique.

Indeed, the volume of Maybachs compared to Fords is very low.  But quality, price and margin should lean toward the project.

There you have it.  Getting into S3 requires a shift from continuous revenue to project based thinking.

A challenge for some.

Click to email me.

Tonight...

The MPS Con starts in the morning...tonight is not for show prep...

Managed Print Services - I Swear, You Learn More from a 3 Minute Record...

If DOTC has an anthem, there are two:

Running With the Devil, Van Halen

and

No Retreat, No Surrender...Bruce

"...I'm ready to grow young...again..."

DOTC - Dirty Little Phreaks

"...Raise your glass...if you are wrong, in all the right ways..."



"...we will never be anything but loud and nitty-grity...Dirty Little Phreaks..."

Finally, We're All In Managed Print Services - Now What? "The MPS Immortals", that's What.

First things first.

I am tough on OEMs, I come down on copier reps.

I point out the glaringly stupid MPS training guffaws.

The cold-calling newbs and their trainers are easy victims - idiot sales managers worthy of the Wrath.

Short sighted sales schleps and their equally plebeian masters; drill and fill toner pirates lost in hubris, all get what they deserve. As much as I dislike the current belief that MPS is simply S1/S2, at least it's in the flow, part of the plan.

But - and there is always a "but" - no matter what the motives, however they got here, all of us are part of the MPS Ecosystem.

For better or for worse, we are all in.

Now what? Now that we're all in, what can we do?  What should we do?

Build MPS Systems like the Immortals would, that's what.

I'm talking inspiration from three immortals: Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo.  Not the Ninja Turtles, the other ones.

Managed Print Services Global Con - "Leopard One" Speaks

The jig is up, the news is out the time has come.

The MPS Global Conference is literally hours away - next stop Brazil.

I am humbled and honored to be part of this year's show.

My contribution includes pontifications about:

Business Acumen - Good Lord, they're teaching Professional Selling in Universities now...we're all doomed.

4/28/2011

"...we learned more from a three minute record, then we ever learned in school..."

- No Retreat, No Surrender. - Bruce.

You love training classes, don't you? Certifications, tests, demo contests - teachings and ramblings from those "more learned" than we.

Tweed jacket, pipe smoking, know-nothings, droning on and on about "TCO", lease ex-dates, and scan-once, print many.

Academic.

Very little practical, field tested, tools.

Professional Selling demands more.

In order to be ready, to truly own our destiny, we need to improve on our own.

We cannot rely on corporate sponsored, consultant based teachings.  Status quo dogma packaged as training "...designed to help you succeed..."

The only person you can rely on or trust to be looking out for your success is the one staring back at you in the mirror.

Nobody else.

I spoke with a student at Cal Poly - International Business Marketing major - he told me he is attending a  "Professional Selling" class.(IBM 306).

My curiosity piqued, "Oh, really?  We're now teaching kids how to sell? Impressive..."

The professor doesn't use a textbook, simply pontificating in front of the white board.  Exam questions are based on lecture material.

The tests are take home.  At this point I'm thinking, "how the hell does one get THAT gig?"

Course descriptions:

IBM 306 Professional Selling (4)
Focus on professional selling within the context of relationship marketing. Emphasis on precision selling process. Team presentations. 4 lecture/problem solving.
Prerequisite: IBM 301.


IBM 435 Advanced Professional Selling (4)
Analysis of the sales representative as a professional marketing tactician in a marketoriented
firm. Emphasis on applied and theoretical approaches utilized to effectively manage a sales territory. Analysis of sales representatives in different industries. 4 lectures/ problem solving.
Prerequisite: IBM 306.

Perhaps I am showing my age - by the way, it isn't the age, its the mileage - but since when did college's and Universities quantify the art of selling?

More important, what can all this mean to you?

Our higher education system is now churning out kids who fancy themselves Selling Professionals,  thinking they know as much as you and I.

This in itself is not terrible, a rising tide lifts all ships, but consider this next time you're sitting in a sponsored, "MPS is TCO" seminar: while your there pretending to stay awake, there is a young buck out there learning how to sell "within the context of relationship marketing" - whatever the hell that is...

Your next competitor may have grown up not with email, but texting.

He will not expect to stay at the same company for decades.  He will know how to Google faster than you.

He will demand more from his boss.

Yeah - I know, you ain't scared. You shouldn't be.

Sales is the ultimate school of hard knocks.

You can't get acumen, from an overpriced textbook, or take home quiz.  And self-esteem is not the result of some 12 step program.

Sell on.







Click to email me.

Managed Print Services Another DOTC Leopard - ReDux - Jennifer Shutwell. How to Steal MPS Clients

It's a re-intro and a re-post of her original article back in January, 2011.

Anything worth reading is worth reading again and again.

Jennifer is one those deeply profound veterans - she approaches MPS from the FM/Production arena.

Comfortable with enterprise level selling, Jennifer can maneuver the high halls of the Fortune 500.

She is an accomplished student of human behavior, easily applies her knowledge in the business world and shares with the MPS Ecosystem at large.

She is speaking at the 2011 Global MPS Conference in Orlando, on how to Steal an MPS Client.

 Enjoy.
==================

Global Managed Print Con, 2011 - Behind the scenes...

Deep within the bowels of the DOTC bunker, Western Command, a vast array of intelligence collecting apparatus hums 24/7.

Intercepting encoded messages revealing secret MFP plans. This machine sees all that is important.

But as every intelligence organization knows, human assets, feet on the ground, are most efficient and valuable.

And so it is with DOTC.

One of our 'assets' has been buried for years working as a lowly videographer at Photizo.

Let's just call her, Agent 99.

Eagerly awaiting activation, her GO code was issued April 1.

She has been covertly collecting 'behind the scenes' evidence of untold awesomeness.

Beware dear reader.  What you are about to witness is chilling.

2011 Global Manage Print Conference - DOTC "Great Expectations"

The North American MPS Conference, Orlando, May 2-4 2011.

This will be the third MPS conference, the last two held in San Antonio, TX - "Remember the Alamo". I believe at the first conference, 140 or so folks attended. Last year, nearly double that.

Three years ago, if one were to Google "managed print services" two or three names would come up, Photizo, TheDeathOfTheCopier, and ChangeForge.

The other day, reports (in2) say that "managed print services" was searched 550,000 times last month on Google.

It seems everybody is into MPS, and almost impossible to believe, the MPS buzz is bigger then ever.

What a difference a few years make.

Business Acumen - Another Contribution from Leopard David Ramos. "The World of Selling"

4/24/2011

By Dave Ramos

I was listening to this consultant/trainer speak at a national show this past week and he made the statement “The world of selling hasn’t changed much in recent years.” Then he continued to dole out the same old tired advice, instructions, and stupid clichés that were taught decades ago…at least the guy is consistent (see, I always spin it in the positive).

The only problem with his philosophy is that those teachings are the reasons, that today, so many salespeople more than ever are struggling to survive.

Here is what I know. The world of business, in general, has changed DRAMATICALLY. Yet for whatever reason, one area of business that has been remarkably stagnant and continues to fiercely resist change is sales.


Make 2011 about your personal development in your sales profession. Leave the stale, crusty, techniques of the past behind. Focus on effective techniques and self-education that will truly have an impact on your career. Focus on building and expanding your business network. If the CIO is your target in the MS or MPS world, then you should understand the network CIOs live in and connect wherever you can.

1. CIO’s team – cultivate relationships inside the circle. Learn who their staff is and learn to leverage contacts one level removed.
2. CIO’s peers – they are trusted more than any other source of information. References and referrals count. Learn how to ask for them and leverage them.
3. Also other relationships they might have with trusted supplier partners, consultants, etc...

Next, learn to do some research people. Did you know the #2 annoyance of technology buyers is reps showing up unprepared for meetings? Un-freaking-believable!!! You mean to tell me we go through all this effort to get a meeting then show up unprepared?! Here is a basic checklist that I use to test sales reps on their accounts prior to them engaging a prospect or client on an appointment.

1. Who is the account’s CEO, president or owner? Who are the key contacts by department?
2. What is the company’s highest priority goal or objective?
3. What is their mission/ vision/core values?
4. What is their key product or service?
5. Who is their toughest competitor?
6. What is the biggest problem they face in their industry?
7. Is there pending legislation that will affect their industry?
8. What is their greatest strength?
9. What is their strategy: a) Low-Cost b) Differentiation c) Niche Player?
10. Who is their largest customer?

Lastly, develop some business acumen. Business acumen can be described as an understanding of how a business works and what it takes to make it profitable. It is about comprehending topics such as amortization, assets, balance sheets, book value, cash flow, fixed assets, liquidity, margin and return on assets, to name just a few.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Reading business publications and watch specific business channels can provide current information about business trends, markets, or economic factors affecting various businesses and industries.
2. Join a professional networking organization (there it is again, networking, sorry cold call lovers!) and association dedicated to sharing business information with their members can offer networking events, conferences, and seminars.
3. Attending evening or weekend courses focusing on business topics can build one’s knowledge on matters such as understanding financial statements and P&L (Profit & Loss), cash generation, or revenue growth.
4. Finding a mentor with a strong business understanding is a great way to learn how businesses operate. The mentor can be a co-worker, a former boss, or someone who is a member of the same professional association that you joined to do NETWORKING.

In today’s fast-moving world, we may face some of the same challenges, but the answers are constantly changing. If you do not continue your learning curve and have an open mind to alternative ideas and approaches, you will be left behind. Those who continually adapt are better at getting ahead, while those who insist on clinging to their old, “right” answers will become obsolete.

About the author: David Ramos is a sales operations consultant for Strategy Development, an industry management consulting and advance sales training firm providing sales, sales management, service & MPS information.  He also instructs a selling skills workshop called “Sell With Success”. You can reach him at ramos@strategydevelopment.com.

Click to email me. 

Jack's Back - "...you can sleep when you're dead...push on!"

May 20th...

Managed Print Services - Another DOTC Leopard Speaks, Sarah Henderson

4/21/2011

The DOTC throng continues to grow -  there be Leopards about.

I would like to welcome Sarah Henderson, from Great America to the fray.

Sarah chimes in with some insight around branding.

Enjoy.

----------------------------------
Where is the Brand?

By Sarah Henderson
Director, Strategic Marketing
GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation

So you are a copier dealership, consumables reseller or IT VAR who have made the decision to offer Managed Print Services (MPS)….welcome to the table! During the past few years, I have the privilege of working with providers of MPS through the Navigator program, attending and teaching at industry events. This experience working hands-on with your peers implementing MPS has demonstrated a lack of attention to the MPS marketing message that leaves customers confused and asking “Where is the Brand?”

The MPS marketplace is maturing and I see few markets where end-users have not been exposed to some form of MPS messaging or offer for a “print assessment”. From the big box stores, IT VARs, Copier Dealers, OEMs, print resellers and office suppliers, there seems to be an MPS offering available on every corner. This places pressure on you to not only build an MPS program but also brand it in a way that is unique in your marketplace. In the midst of building your MPS program, don’t get in such a hurry you skip over some important considerations for your program roll out and marketing plan.

Enjoy this drive-thru review of how MPS program structure and messaging impacts brand:

You're Not In Managed Print Services If -

...if you look to 'refresh the fleet'...

...if you don't know what a NOC is...

...if you use  'monthly cleanings' in your value prop...

...if you can't show your client how much you've decreased volume...

...if you still work with Purchasing...

...if you can't tell your client what percentage of their output is 11x17...

...if you don't compare the above with the percentage of the fleet 11x17 capable...

...if you have the phrase, "Powered By..." right under your MPS Brand...

...if instead of eliminating a machine, you provide your client with a re-furb'd unit...

...if you think a fax server is the beginning and end of Stage 3...

...if you don't know your replacement ratio, for your entire fleet...(4 machines removed for every 1 placed, 4:1)

...if you don't see how dual-monitors in your clients' Order Entry department is MPS...

...if you don't pay your copier reps the same way as your MPS reps...

...if your comp plan is 3 pages long...

...if you sell MPS as "Green"...

...if you sell 'cloud printing'...

...if you separate copiers from MPS...

The Separation Begins: Managed Print Services True Believers Leaving the Pack

4/2011

It's in your DNA.

We knew it, you knew it, there should be no surprises.

Nobody grows up wanting to be a "copier salesperson". (I read this somewhere.)

We had higher hopes and dreams; future policemen, Presidents of the United States, Firemen, Doctors, or Nurses - but someone who "sells"?

A "fast-talking", pushy, slippery salesman? Proprietors of Office Equipment, no less?

Thirty, forty years later, you're lucky not to be living in a van, down by the river.

But here you are now, selling copiers and moving into MPS - the "final frontier" in imaging.

Today, you are faced with another choice.  The MPS Ecosystem is moving on, the players separating.

Which way do you go?  To whom do you travel? 

What is best for YOU - not your boss, owner, VP, company, or industry.  "They" don't want you to think this way.

"They" want you to stay in a box until you're in a box - the final box - the most patient box.

It's all about YOU.  Well, no, that's not entirely correct - In here, it's all about me.

Managed Print Services is Managed Services: Are You Fighting Convergence? From Paper Mills to Data Centers

Sweet, delicious, irony - the sticky, syrup of life.

Those once carbon-spewing, river clogging, tree-killing, 'death-plants' - I am of course referring to the paper mills and newspaper printing plants, are being assimilated by the very force that destroyed them; Google.

In a post over at InfoTrends, Jeff talks about how these huge facilities are perfect structures for mega-sized Data Centers.

This is nothing new.  A plant in Chicago, developed by the R.R. Donnelly Co in 1929, once churned out the Sears catalogs.

Closed in 1993, the facility was sold off and in 1999 converted into an IT and telecommunications center.

Today, the building is powered by more than 100 megawatts, supporting Chicago's commodity markets.

And the Borg? I mean, Google?

Well, their buying old paper mills all over the world - like in Finland.

Priest

2011 North American Managed Print Services Conference - Ken Stewart

Fellow DOTC Leopard and Photizo guru, Ken Stewart will be presenting at the 2011 North American MPS Conference.

Looks like he and his crew, are going to get real and put forward some everyday, proven information.

The day-long session is being held May 2.
This pre-conference workshop "will provide MPS dealers, resellers and IT VARs with fundamental information for MPS success."

Should be great.
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Ask yourself this:

"Are you tired of seminars promising the secrets to your fortune in MPS?"

I hear all too often, quick phrases  are leading to empty promises.

Then get real & learn how the pro’s get it done.

Ken's  hands-on day is all about  being effective with your customer. No theory. Just lessons from pro's who get it done.

• You'll learn effective ways to reach & retain your customers – including branding techniques & social media tactics.
• Unlock your differentiators, learn how to stratify your customers & run effective Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs).
• You can't get there if you don't plan to...create your own unique 10-step business success.
• What about after the sale?  Uncover the real secrets to running effective deal implementations & look like a hero in front of your customer.

Photizo Group CEO keynote helps CXOs learn about managed print services corporate benefits

Print & Imaging Summit Keynote Explains MPS Trifecta: Saving Time, Money and the Environment

Highlights:

     

     Photizo CEO Edward Crowley shares study results that validate corporate MPS advantages of cost savings, environmental benefits, IT productive 

     

      MPS can help companies cut costs by up to 30 percent and regain up to 10 percent of IT time

      Photizo Group is strategic event partner for Print and Imaging Summit

April 12, 2011, Midway, KY -- Organizations considering a move into managed print services (MPS) have a lot to gain -- and a lot to learn. The average firm cuts cost by 30 percent, but these MPS savings do not happen overnight. 

MPS is a more complex and far-reaching undertaking than most realize. In his Print and Imaging Summit keynote, Photizo Group CEO Edward Crowley helps CXO executives understand the complex issues – and powerful advantages – of a corporate MPS initiative.

Crowley is founder and CEO of Photizo, the worldwide authority on MPS trends and techniques, and the leader in MPS data collection, analysis and reporting. In the opening keynote on Tuesday, May 3, 4:15 – 5 PM, he brings valuable guidance and perspective to the corporate market. He will introduce MPS concepts, explain the challenges of embarking on MPS projects and acquaint the audience with benefits they may not have considered, such as reducing CO2 emissions and improving IT productivity. He will also share insights on what's next in convergence of IT outsourcing and MPS, with IT and business process optimization.

The Future of Managed Print Services: Look Back to IBM and See Your Future

MPSaaS - Managed Print Services As A Service

The 'cloud' is nothing new - it's simply a new label for a VAX or SYS36, dumb terminal, thin-client, ARCNET, centralized environment.

But it could be another example of the evolutionary path we in MPS are following, knuckles dragging.

It was a little quip, a trifle really.  Drawing my eye.

A post over on the MSP Mentor site by Nicholas Mukhar, "IBM's Cast Iron Acquisition Fitting into Cloud Structure" exposing how one of IBM's recent purchases is helping "customers move from legacy systems to hybrid cloud model more easily..."

Another Hybrid model.

2011 Managed Print Services Global Conference: MPS Purity, Pure Content, Pure Energy

What's the difference between a Conference/Trade Show and an Educational Conference?

The trade floor.

Remember when COMDEX was the shit?

How about the North American Auto Show, held each year in Detroit?

Or the Boat Show here in L.A.?

Does one attend any of these shows expecting to learn more than what the handout says?

Do I hear battle-stories from the trenches articulated by any of the booth-babes? Would I care?

Granted, one can learn something at each.

A new MPS players can glean insight off a marketing slick, establish a new working partnership and possibly find his new soul-mate.  Possibly.

Soul mates aside, the 2011 North American MPS Conference is striving to make their more educational and less sales-like.

I had a conversation with Misty Hamel, Director of Marketing with Photizo the other day and she calls out the difference between a trade show and educational conference - "Content".

Agreed. I push one step closer to the Edge and call it "High Intent".

High Intent + Educational Content = Pure Energy

Who And What is Your Managed Print Services Association? From LinkedIn

2011

I haven't mentioned much about Your MPSA.

Like some mysterious mistress she's there, just out of reach, misty, hazy and slightly out of focus....waiting for you to light the candles...ahem -

but I digress.

With the North American MPS conference, back drop for the MPSA - MPS Leadership Awards, just around the corner and our second annual MPSA membership meeting taking place the day after, now is a good as time as ever to talk MPSA.

Recently, somebody on LinkedIn expressed the feeling that one of the bedrocks of today's MPS, the 3 Stages, is flawed.

Interesting...


The Three Stages of MPS -

What was MPS to you, 3 years ago vs. what it is today? What will it be 3 years from now?

The thought leaders of the MPSA have been wrestling with ALL issues around MPS since the beginning.

This is difficult and challenging because once we, or anyone puts anything out there, once somebody makes a stand, the critics now have something to focus on.

And critics they are.

One of the touchstones in today's MPS are the Three Stages:

1. Control
2. Optimize
3. Enhance

Granted, they were first published by Photizo.  But they are ingrained in the basic understanding of MPS.

Is it possible that we are taking this process for granted? No.

Let me remind everyone, including my fellow MPSAr's and MPSr's:

The Three Stages where NOT created, they were discovered.
This mere distinction may blow right past most of us, copier dudes ain't the brightest bulb in the tool shed, yet try, I must.

The stages were observed as the process MPS CUSTOMERS traveled.

Let that soak in - the stages are customer not vendor centric.

And this point is at the fulcrum of the challenges encountered by the MPSA - we are trying to mirror and respond to MPS customers/users - NOT MPS Providers.

Let THAT soak in.

Imagine if you will an organization standing for something, and based on its core beliefs and philosophy could attract end-users.

Imagine how attractive this would be for an OEM to get in early and try to shape the battlefield. Not aligning with, but reigning over, the definitions, standards, awards, education, communications, and messaging. Think it wasn’t attempted? It was.

Can you fathom the interesting conversations as the MPSA tasked themselves with defining MPS?

Your MPSA Executive Board members come from every segment - including END USERs - the discussion was heated, and pulled in every direction. Those days were the wild west of MPS.

Still, we made a stand.

• We accepted the 3 stages as a valid observation.
• We considered, built and published a definition of MPS.
• We continue to hold the MPS Awards.
• We are building 'standards' around observed customer and vendor behavior.

In the end, one of our challenges is to maintain the MPSA as an organization who observes and publishes agreed ideas - ‘attracting’ the like minded – that being said, just like MPS, the MPSA is not for everyone.

I am an anti-hardware type of MPS’r.

I know that if we define MPS as simply toner and service (S1 & S2), we will whittle away and die. The MPSA has plenty of hardware-heads, folks squarely under the Bell curve – fine.

I will run out here to the extreme right of the curve. Tugging and pulling - stand by me, if you dare.

I challenge you – become a member of Your MPSA.

Get in on a committee.

Contribute.

If you find the Three Stages flawed  – tell them.

We named it "Your MPSA" for a reason - its yours.

Click to email me.

Who is Everything Channel and Why Are They Important to You?

I know, I know - one more 'industry magazine' to read.

One more collection of sponsored advertisements dressed up as 'journalism'.

Another "leg" in the Research-Convention-Publication Triad.

Why yes...actually.

From their website:

"...Everything Channel is the premier provider of channel-focused research and consulting, events, media and custom solutions for the technology industry. Everything Channel provides integrated solutions to technology marketers for managing channel strategy to accelerate technology sales..."

I swear - I looked high and low, walked that site corner to corner and I could not find anything from RiKon,  KonicaMinolta or Kyocera.

I did find some entries from Xerox.

But down in the lower right-hand corner, under "Industry Events" I discovered a nugget -

"Print and Imaging Summit, Orlando Florida, May 3-4".  I seem to remember there being another show around the same time - an MPS show no less.

Coincidence?  Are there ever any real coincidences?

Ed Crowley, Photizo - 5 Steps for Implementing MPS/BPO/MSP/ITO/EDM/NOC/MOUSE

"I must tell you something, darling...
you...look...marvelous.."

Another guest author and fellow DOTC_Leopard, Ed Crowley (Photizo), chimes in.

This time, on the subject of 'implementation'.

Notice how the FivePoints can be applied to any discipline - expansive, isn't it?

Ed and I go back.

It is an honor to have so many fellow DOTC readers contribute - I consider myself fortunate.

Enjoy.
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Why is implementation important?

By Ed Crowley, Photizo


Implementation is the process by which you will construct the entire project and it is the frame and foundation, which anchors and shoulders the considerable weight of the entire project.

When I discuss implementation for managed print services, I don’t just mean the initial roll-out, but rather, the planning, customer-needs assessment, roll-out, on-going management, and evolution through the various MPS stages.

In my experience, the key to a successful MPS engagement begins with the end-user needs assessment. We often want to jump immediately into ‘right sizing’ the fleet, deployment planning, and all of those other activities that deliver immediate or near-term cost savings. Without an adequate understanding of the customer needs and the organizations environment, we can quickly turn from the hero to the villain.

Nothing can replace walking through the customers environment, survey where the equipment is, who is using it, asking about their needs, and issues. Holding internal focus groups with customers to understand what is and what isn’t working in their imaging environment is a great way to start. This can pave the way for a formal survey of all employees to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs and desires.

The net result of truly understanding the customer environment is that you will be able to craft a set of ‘policies’ for identifying how the products are rolled out and what are acceptable exception procedures.

Ed’s Top 5 for implementation :

Thor - Big Hammer Time

Click to email me.

HP to Purchase Xerox. Joins CISCO, IBM & MicroSoft in move offshore. Upside Down World.

In a late-night move, HP began buying outstanding Xerox stock. The Nikkei 225 responded by rising 5%  London's FTSE 100 hiking 3%.

HP's effort to gobble up one of its primary competitors is eclipsed by other stunning developments.

Reports of HP physically moving their headquarters to Sri Lanka are swirling around the water coolers and through the hallowed halls in San Jose. 

An unnamed source had this to say,

"...with the US economy growing at the speed of smell, and the apparent anti-business stance of both California and the current administration, we have no choice but to execute what we call Special Order 66.  This group of technology concerns will move all facilities and employees to special accommodations that have been constructed in Sri Lanka..."

Not only will this move include ALL domestic facilities and employees at HP, it appears that CISCO, IBM, and Microsoft have decided to exit the US as well.

X Men: First Class Another PreQuel

Hatchet Buried - Another New Contributor To DOTC - David Ramos, Strategy Development

Wait...what...who? HUH?

The World "Zigs" and the Leopards of DOTC "Zag".

"...I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. 
Someday you'll understand that..."

The World Moves.

No matter how important we try to make ourselves,  arguing our  negative effect on the world, that we are bigger, more important and outside the ecosystem; violators.

That humans can change the earth, freeze it, over heat it, drill holes in it's protective atmosphere, lower the sea level, raise the sea level - this cacophony of 'chicken little' rhetoric distracting us from the obvious - we don't matter.

Think I'm wrong?

While we install catalytic converters(devices engineered to choke my LandRover) and charge a buck per gallon "emissions tax" our "sacred mother earth" decided to move Japan eight feet closer to Cali.

If we took every single nuclear bomb, hell, every explosive device invented, used or envisioned throughout human history, we couldn't move that island nation an inch.  Put that in your Kyoto Accord.

And don't even get me started with May 18, 1980, 8:32 am PST - in a few hours, more toxic chemicals, carbon and "ozone killing" stuff was spewed into the air than ALL OF HUMANITY from the beginning of history.(Google it, no wait, Google, INC. is perpetuating the myth...)

"...don't amount to a hill of beans..."

So, it is within this context, out of a minor storm of controversy,  I introduce the latest contributor to DOTC, David Ramos.

Quite the lede, eh?

Unless you live under a rock, or are not part of the LinkedIn community, you've seen David's writings all over.

Strategy Dev. must have a pretty good S/M machine, a bit more "Push" than "Pull" for my taste - but that doesn't matter.

Content matters, and so far, I find David's content pleasing.  Appropriate content as measured against our own, high, DOTC editorial standards.

So it is with great honor, that I introduce to you, David's first DOTC article - Please Enjoy.

Click to email me.