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Thursday, June 30, 2011

MpS Moving Away from Clicks, More Power to the Machines


When you were standing in the wake of devastation
when you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation
you build up hope, but failure's all you've known
remember all the sadness and frustration
and let it go, let it go.

And in the burst of light that blinded every angel
as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
you felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space
no one there to catch you in their arms...

let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go


6/30/2011

The evolution of MpS is thick. Everybody scurrying around, grabbing all the clicks/prints/toner sales possible; Finally.

We're making a living now in MpS - even those of us settling into Stage 1 and Stage 2.  The Big Guys have taken up their purchased positions, Xerox, HP, Ricoh, have or are committing to an MpS Channel program.  Others, Konica, Kyocera, Lexmark, Dell, Okidata, Muratec, etc. stubbed their toe and are taking a second swing at Mps.

And then there is Samsung.  Mysteriously lurking just over the horizon.  Literally. Heck, it isn't MpS, but even MemJet appears to be getting off the ground!

So what is next?  Stage 3, that's what is next.  But how to go about jumping from the hardware as a service into software as a service realm.

Stage 3 incorporates software. Though S1/S2 engagements utilize some sort of software package, most of us aren't yet comfortable with the whole "EDM/Managed Services" thing.

If only there were a 'bridge' from S2 to S3, an 'on-ramp'. A platform that doesn't require a staff of specialists, installers, engineers, and training staff, yet provides actionable information.

Wouldn't that be nifty?

Let not your heart be troubled, I see that bridge. It's been in front of us all along and its mantra is "...manage the behavior, not the print..."

How intriguing...

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Greg_Walters, DOTC, Top 27 Posts of 2011 - 2012

From 201-

Christmas in June.

Whenever writers find themselves getting a little behind, unable to get the flow of creativity, they rehash old subject matter and content.

Enjoy:
  1. Managed Print Services Engagements vs. Copier Service Agreements - Tell me Again, why we don't comp copier Reps on Service contracts?
  2. Managed Print Services Another DOTC Leopard - ReDux - Jennifer Shutwell. How to Steal MPS Clients
  3. Managed print Services Tunnel Vision - Are You Focusing On One Thing
  4. Managed Print Services - Practice What You Preach
  5. Managed Print Services, the Copier and the Traditional Copier Dealer : End of Days
  6. CIO's: What to Look for In A Managed Print Services Company. The Perfect 10.
  7. Achieve Managed Print Services Immortality "...Simply By Doing One...Great...Thing..." - Keep Walking
  8. Repeat After Me: "Managed Print Services is Business Process Management, MPS is BPM, MPS is BPM"" - FireWork
  9. "If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything..."
  10. Managed Print Services Practices Managers: Are You Selling MPS Internally ? - Over and Over again.
  11. CNET Needs Managed Print Services - So Says Molly Wood
  12. Skylar, Dr. Dre, Em, and Ri - On and Off Stage, an Orchestra, Lights, Video - Lot's of Moving Parts. Just Like Managed Print Services
  13. Managed Services: Let's Have a Cold Call Blitz!!
  14. You're Not In Managed Print Services If -
  15. The Separation Begins: Managed Print Services True Believers Leaving the Pack
  16. Who is Everything Channel and Why Are They Important to You?
  17. The Future of Managed Print Services: Look Back to IBM and See Your Future
  18. HP to Purchase Xerox. Joins CISCO, IBM & MicroSoft in move offshore. Upside Down World.
  19. History - Study It, or be Doomed to Repeat It...
  20. Managed Print Services, Stage IV: What the Hell is Managed Network Services(MNS)? You're Kidding, right?
  21. Ricoh Announces Purchase of White Castle - Strengthen Channel with "Bags of Sliders"
  22. I use to think Managed Print Services would be a sub-set of MSP, but maybe it will end up the other way around.
  23. Samsung Snags World's Largest ElectroWetting Company. What about the Silver Nanoparticles?
  24. Managed Print Services Stuck in Stage 1&2 - And I Know Why...
  25. "The Things We Think And Do Not Say. The Future of Our Business...", Managed Optimization Services
  26. Does Your MpS World Reside in Toner & Service? Your Scale is small, Depth Shallow, and Vision Stunted. Buh Bye.
  27. Another DOTC Leopard: 2011 MPSA MPS Leadership Award Winner, Kevin DeYoung, QualPath

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Paige Says, "Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance"




2011

This Unprovoked Attack on Me, is an Attack on You.

From my friends at CRN - Computer Reseller News, no less.

I have no idea how I even popped up on their radar, but apparently, I ruffled some back room feathers. I am an easy target, my name is all over my blog, unlike the fictitious "Paige Coverage"; an obvious Xerox marketing creation, and yes, I actually have real pictures of me.


Thank goodness I didn't post pics of my children, for they would have been thrown under the bus with me.

What befuddles me, beyond comprehension, is what nerve have I struck?

Perhaps the Xerox folks I have been working with for the last year, evaluating PagePack and ColorCube as possible offerings here at SIGMAnet, will be able to answer that question.

Perhaps the members from TeamXerox, who I met with last week during a Synnex event, can help me understand why I would consider moving forward, or even recommend anything from Xerox to my executives, prospects, clients, members of the MPSA, or the thousands of  DOTC readers.

Really?

I have cut and pasted the entire post below.  But please, check it out for yourself.

Read and tread lightly for this isn't just an attack on me.  No, this goes deeper.  Much.

What Paige/Xerox has done is shown its colors - they don't like, they don't want, dissension.

THEY FEAR CHANGE, THEY FEAR YOU, THEY FEAR US.

Paige is a creation, like the Monkeys and a shill for Xerox.  Paige represents the will and vision of the Big X.  For all we know, Paige Coverage is Ursala Burns. In the end, Paige is Ursala.

The Summer of 2011 DOTC vs. X - un-fuking believable. Oh the fun we are going to have...

And yes, I know this is all a sham to get more hits on their small, pathetic site - God, I love this country.

Read on...

Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance
Posted by Paige Coverage on Jun 21, 2011 11:27:02 AM

When he's not parading past you his music library or posting You Tube videos on his site, Greg Walters hacks out a confounding and scattershot blog called "The Death of The Copier is the Death of MPS."

Presently he's mourning the sad and premature death of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, but he'll soon be back to getting his facts wrong, and contradicting himself with his bizarre attempts to frighten you out of a business he himself claims to be successful in: Managed Print Services (MPS).


Like spotting someone you've placed a restraining order on, I was reminded of Greg when a colleague forwarded me this rusting blog of his from December.

In it, Walters rekindles his addiction to managed print defamation by claiming that:

“Just as everyone figures out how to spell MPS, industry pundits kill it. Photizo called heavy growth rates in MPS Engagements through 2015 - of course this was back in the "olden days" - 2009! Last year at Lyra, consultants and statisticians explained that we will never return to the same levels of units (copier) sold, pre-2009.”

Same level of copier units sold? This is not an argument for the death of managed print services.

And Walters – who describes himself as “an MPS Practice Manager at medium-sized west coast VAR/MSP (whose) GP is consistently at 48% - fleet is doubling year to year, my goal is to quadruple in 2011” – should know this.

Managed print services is not about pushing boxes, anymore than managed IT services are about selling more PCs, or virtualization is about selling more servers, or cloud computing is about selling more storage hardware. A managed service is about optimizing existing resources. Sure it’s nice to sell some hardware, and everyone does. But service dollars outdistance hardware and software sales by a country mile, and have so increasingly for years.

Walters’ blog post goes on to feature quotes from those either too unsure of themselves to enter the managed print market, or are under the misconception that “it will make us millions on printer revenue.”

Walters’ opinions are just plain nonsense sprinkled with rock music lyrics, and no reputable technology reseller of any kind would allow this child to speak in front of their employees or customers.

It’s a shame that just as everyone figures out that certain blogs and social media sites can be of benefit to helping the channel drive more revenue through services, irresponsible self-promoters like Greg Walters come along to contaminate the well.

At least - by his own admission - no one is foolish enough to pay Greg Walters to write.

Below: Greg Walters sitting on a motorcycle.

It is not a motorcycle, its a Harley...


See how the story ends, with apologies, here.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Greg Walters, Everything Channel, Paige Coverage, Xerox and You - A Teachable Moment

June 2011

Controversy and Fire.

Dignity and Water.

DOTC has grown into a personality of its own; bigger than imagined, larger than MpS.  Although I rarely claim to be anything more than a 'thought leader', I am often referred to as rebellious, contrarian, and controversial.

So Be It.

The views expressed here are my own; the content for MY pleasure.

Life often sends us golden nuggets, wrapped in discomfort. Some call these moments, 'teachable'.

My recent run-in with a fellow blogger is just such a nugget and two great organizations rise above the fray.

I have received apologies from Xerox and Everything Channel - by email and phone.

I have accepted both and present them here for You.

Thank you to everyone who called me, emailed, offered, and posted words of support.  I am humbled and grateful.

Submitted for your review:

Xerox - 

Greg,

I want to take this opportunity to extend our sincerest apologies for the Paige Coverage post made on biztransformcenter.com regarding you. The views in the post were made by an employee of Everything Channel and not by an MBA in a cube @ Xerox. While Xerox does sponsor the BizTransformCenter, Xerox does not review or control any posts made to this blog. Hmm…we shall review that strategy.

We clearly don’t support these comments and posts by Paige and I’ll call you personally to clarify this unfortunate series of events.

Sincerely, 

Tom Gall

----------------------------

Everything Channel

Dear Greg,


Thank you for taking the time to speak with me yesterday. I am writing to extend my deepest apologies for the June 21, 2011 blog post by Paige Coverage on the Managed Print Services Community site, which is part of the CRN Community platform. The blog entitled, “Greg Walters Leaves a Trail of His Own Ignorance,” included several negative comments about you and your blog “The Death of The Copier is The Death of MpS.”


The post was a badly misjudged attempt to stir community participation and debate. Instead, it focused on personal criticisms of you and your blog site, and was done in very poor taste.


While the opinions represented by Paige Coverage are by no means the opinion of Xerox, United Business Media, Everything Channel, or CRN, such a disclaimer does not excuse the content of the June 21 blog, which overstepped the boundaries of professional communication.


We deeply regret the over-zealousness, poor judgment, and lack of taste of the June 21 blog.


We apologize for its appearance, and any negative repercussions it may have caused you.


Sincerely,


Adelaide J. Reilly
Vice President, Integrated Solutions Management
Everything Channel

----------------------------


'nuf said...




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Monday, June 20, 2011

The Old Guys are Getting (back) Into Managed Print Services - And I thought MPS Trainers were Bad...

"...Everything dies baby that's a fact 

But maybe everything that dies someday comes back 
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in Atlantic City..."

It's not the same scale as the gang-wars of New Jersey, but there is something here.

If you've been in this nutty industry for more than five years, you've probably heard tell of the mythic millionaire copier dealer who built a dealership and sold out.

He waited in siege around the non-compete, got back in, built up another dealership, sold out once again.

A millionaire, twice over.

Hey, this is America and there is nothing wrong with doing what you do well, and getting paid to do so. Capitalism at its best. I love it.

Yet, after talking with a couple of these new/old comers,  I walked away feeling the need for a shower.

Slick, sly, oily...ummm...gross.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

He was 69. Clarence Clemons...DOTC PowerPlayer of the Last 40 years...

"...Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane...

...And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland..."



I first saw Clarence October of 1980, during The River tour.  My back was against the wall of Cobo Arena, Detroit, - I was in the very last seat.

I did not matter.

What seemed miles away, the Big Man in a white tuxedo atop two stories of speakers blaring out from what appeared to be an impossibly big golden saxophone, the sax solo to end all others was, dare I say, religious. If you've seen, you know.

Hundreds of concerts later, I still remember that Michigan autumn night. The band started just after 8PM and rocked to just before 1AM. For the last set, which I believe was the 3rd or 4th encore, all the house lights remained on. It seemed everybody in the joint was up, dancing in the isles and sweating.

That night, those few hours together, was about as human as you could get.

Fucking Glorious.

Bruce's music is a good friend of DOTC, a good friend of mine. I've played him here many times.

I will miss The Big Man. Tears were shed.



Bruce -

"Clarence lived a wonderful life," states Springsteen. "He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage.

His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years.

He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."


The Autumn of Managed Print Services: Out with the Old, In with the "new"









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Friday, June 17, 2011

Summertime in America: Let's Run in the Hills of Carolina. Do kids still play Cowboys and Indians?

No. I guess Cowboys and Indians is not politically correct, is it?

I guess red tipped plastic toy guns and football games with no scoreboards are the theme of these new generations. Here's your empty trophy.

What a disservice we perform.

How we have destroyed imagination, reference for toil, discovery and wonder.

Wii !!!




Thursday, June 16, 2011

We talk about the death of the copier.



Humans, fight the machine.

"Make Love, not War..."
"Make Content, not Prints..."

Holy crap.

Toner Crime from Down Under: "40 years Worth of Toner purchased" - MpS, OMG, LOL!!!

In the, "Gee, MPS is a really good fit for Public Sector" file, a story of back room shenanigans, intrigue, gift giving and 40 years worth of toner from our friends in Australia and a place called Arts Victoria.

Well, it ain't toner bombs from the Middle East, its a bit more fun.

Odd as it may seem, a number of Purchasers in Australia have been caught, allegedly, paying 4 times the going rate for toner cartridges and receiving 'gift cards' in return.(No way!)

Cut right out of the report from the Victorian Ombudsmen:

"Ricoh CL7000 printer

In June 2003, Arts Victoria purchased a Ricoh CL7000, black/white and colour printer. The purchase of this printer included a service contract with Ricoh
Australia (Ricoh).

OfficeMax, the approved supplier under the State Purchase Contract, do not supply toner cartridges for a Ricoh CL7000 printer. OfficeMax advises purchasing officers to purchase toner cartridges for this printer from Ricoh.

The Ricoh service contract included:

• regular servicing
black toner cartridges free of charge
• colour toner cartridges at a set price of $342 each. In January 2004,

Ricoh reduced the price of colour cartridges for this printer to $263 each.

My officers received advice from Ricoh that the price of $263 per unit for colour toner cartridges for a Ricoh CL7000 printer was available to Arts Victoria and remained until May 2010."

I know what you're thinking, "wait...Ricoh is supplying black toner cartridges for free?"

More tomfoolery, no doubt.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

DOTC to Review books about Managed Print Services. Starting with Tab...

A collection of my fav's...and some not so fav...

Quote from a World Famous IKON Rep:

"I don't read, books..."

She said this out loud, during a Monday morning sales meeting.  I ain't kidding.

She was a very successful copier rep.

Over on LinkedIn, there is a nice little conversation going on around books. Books that exist, and books that do not exist - books about selling MpS. In my not so humble opinion, books aren't the answer.

On my desk, up there in the pic, are a few of the books I have read and collected over the years.  I had many, many more, but I lost them it what I loving call "the flood".

Let me first say this - there are more Poser authors, cloaked in mysterious garb, than one can point a stick at.  Most honestly believe what they are saying. Some even believe they are the first to utter such brilliance.

I find value in most, but in some, very little.

So here it is - DOTC will review "MPS: Managed Print Services" by Tad Edwards. Then we will look at "Designing a Document Strategy" by Kevin Craine and "Power Selling" written by Steven Power.

Honest reflections as seen from the trenches, from the Selling Professional, and from the MpS Practice Manager.

Hang on to your hats...

Monday, June 13, 2011

MpS & Selling: Are You a Hunter or A Farmer? Lions Prefer Farmers...



In the beginning you thought there was only one. But there were two.

At first, you thought you were smarter than both. But you were wrong.

They were simple animals, no scheme, no plans. Again, you were wrong.

Then you called down "The Devil" - he helped get one.  But was consumed by the other.

Tonight, the blood soaked field is afire.

Tonight, you're alone. Tonight, you're "going to sort it out."

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Solutions Sales: The FireBox 500..."Do You Want it In Red or Blue?"

"I do not have time to be probed..." If I had a dime for every time some hottie told me that, I would have a dime...

Matt Jones, MpS'r and partaker of the DOTC way, posted this little ditty over on LinkedIn - he made it.

Check his stuff out.

One of the greatest sales managers I have ever known, from IKON no less, once told me, "...sometimes we simply over complicate all this...we're selling copiers here, not the SpaceShuttle..."

Sometimes, you gotta just quote the box.






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Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193