*** THE DOMAIN NAME IN QUESTION, HAS BEEN PARKED...first noticed, January 12, 2011. ***
-----------------
There has been something on my mind, bugging me for a few months - well not bugging me.
More like lurking.
You see, my livelihood is tied directly to Managed Print Services as an MPS Practice Manager.
Interesting little tidbit, 12 months ago I was selling MPS - today I am responsible for the full P/L.
Everything from hiring technicians, hiring MPS Selling Professionals, forging and maintaining MPS partnerships, and building an MPS team. Continuously, every single day, selling MPS internally to other practice managers, Business Development Managers, Executive Management, and Ownership.
And as I continue on this particular odyssey, it is my responsibility to evaluate all things MPS; new and interesting Data Collection software, EAutomate Add-ons, supplies fulfillment programs, devices, OEM MPS Programs, etc.
I attend as many MPS Webinars and read/consume every article I can find - from MPS to Change Management to EDM to ECM to BPO.
I try to get as much exposure to every MPS Selling webinar, class, or program I can find.
The results of this analysis can fill a dozen manuals - perhaps someday I will put my findings into "print".
All this accumulated information, I apply was relevant to my little MPS practice.
My point here is simple - although I know a good deal about MPS and the internal MPS programs, I do not make a living pontificating or selling training classes.
I do not compete with the likes of Water or Print Management Solutions Group. And even though I feel I have an above-average understanding of the global MPS market, my research does not go toe to toe with the likes of InfoTrends, IDC, or Photizo.
Am I opinionated? Yes.
Is this blog followed by many people of like opinions? Yes.
Do I see bad training, stunted vision, and archaic selling techniques? Yes.
Will I continue to point out blaring inadequacies in our industry? Yes.
With this in mind, do me a favor...open a browser and type in www.deathofthecopier.com - just promise to come back...and read on...
##### THIS POST WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON 12/29/2010. ON 1/21/2011, THE DEATH OF THE COPIER FIRST NOTICE, DEATHOFTHECOPIER.COM HAS BEEN PARKED AND NO LONGER POINTS TO STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT'S SITE #####
After what the weather casters out here are calling the "Biblical Event" - referring to 5 days of as much rain that usually falls in a year - Laguna Beach is acting more like it should be.
For all our readers east of the Mississippi, enjoy...
Why paint MPS all black? Why kill MPS after just three short years? Why blacken the Sun?
I've said it before. Change releases fear and fear motivates.
Contrary to what the Imaging Intelligentsia bloviate, we are not witnessing the beginning of the End Managed Print Services - we are seeing the last gasp of "Print Services"(it's the "M" - stupid)
Interestingly, many clients are increasingly contemplating Remanufactured (Reman) vs. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) toner cartridges. According to an InfoTrends webinar from September 2009 here, the trend is showing a lean towards Reman.
Really? Who wants used...anything?
Um...everyone. It's the new Green.
Let's take a look across the vast sea of possibilities.
Before having sex with older women, possibly a teacher, was considered a bad thing, and when being touched by a sports gear sales person was criminal, yet could still make it into a movie - Vision Quest.
The music was great.
The visuals familiar. The theme, every red blooded American boy's dream(wet or not)
I had, yet another, epiphany the other day while sitting in front of a prospect, reviewing his fleet over my 8-page "Approach Document", poking through the pain, and proposing an MPS S1 Engagement.
I realized that this and every, single, assessment have had one thing in common - overcapacity.
11x17 at 1% of volume; duplex at 4% of volume; fax machines physically next to MFPs with fax capability next to laser printers; 5-year leases; fuser assemblies and toner sitting next to oh so many client's Canon/Xerox/Ricoh/Konica/Copier-De-Jour.
I thought to myself,
"What's going to happen when everybody realizes they don't need a copier?"
Last week I sat in on a Lexmark MPS webinar - the OEM doesn't matter as much as the customer (always) - Columbia.
As a matter of fact, 60 seconds into the show, I felt I wasn't going to make it past five minutes. I mean, I expect to be "pitched" but a read speech? I swear it was pre-recorded. OMG.
Toughing it out, my staying power was rewarded.
Mike Leeper, Global IT, Columbia, presented a frank, honest, and downright refreshing story of his MPS implementation. Two years into a successful MPS Engagement breaking 10 years of status quo.
Now, I am familiar with the DOW Chemical MPS and Nationwide MPS Project, so I have a good framework for comparison. Both DOW and Nationwide are successful, cost-reducing examples.
I won't bore you with the many details except these:
1. Moved decision process out of Facilities
2. Past decision process was very hardware-centric
3. Print Vendors were just like "...used car salespeople..."
4. Printing was considered boring
5. Success hinged on selling internally and continually communicating
6. Network-only devices considered
7. Project reduced costs by 37%
8. Reduced printed output by 1 million images
9. Effectively "killed" all the previous copiers(DOTC) - zero remained
The last two should send chills up the spine of every OEM and induce the booted, incumbent to hurl - through his nose.
MPS engagements like these are the Pure MPS - how can you commoditize this?
But wait, commoditizing is exactly what the manufacturers want - get all this MPS stuff boiled down to the most basic, simplistic, lowest common denominator. Make it easy enough for a monkey or copier rep(jk!)to sell.
Create tools that kill the art of MPS, and stifle creativity and growth by automatically creating proposals and QBR marketing slicks. Just press F7.
Cram MPS into the old, "slay it and move on" sales model. As long as that MPS engagement includes 11x17, an unused duplex, and a fax machine with every copier.
Back to my prospect.
As happens with like-minded folks, conversations travel the spectrum of technical subjects, tangents really. Some would say, tangents get in the way of the close. Yeah, right.
So we talked about the Agile methodology, Google, SaaS, dual-monitors, MPS(reducing output), CIOtalkRadio.com, and the new control end-users share via social networking.
How, today, the ultimate buyer has more choices and how everybody is collaborating. I told him MPS really expanded around the world because of the new social media - the buzz started online.
I expressed my belief that finally, in my little world of copiers/output devices, the shift from Supply (copier OEM) to Demand-driven(ultimate end-user)is taking place.
The party may not be over but fewer and fewer will be attending...
I think he was being polite when he agreed with me.
Either way, we decided to move forward with an MPS S1 Engagement.
So, now that I have a close, I guess I should strike out and "slay" another one, right?
This MPS universe teems with interesting folks and unique stories. Straight-laced suits, drunk service technicians, leaders with vision, Sales Managers who don't know Steve Schiffman.
In general, I have met great personalities and people out here - sales people, owners, CEO's and shipping clerks.
All with one common thread: we didn't grow up telling our mothers we wanted to be copier or MPS Sales people.
European Managed Print Services Industry Shows Its Vitality at Major Industry Conference
Record attendance indicates Europe on track to become largest MPS market
Lexington, KY – December 6, 2010 – The success of the recent European MPS Conference signals strong and growing interest in managed print services, the business model sweeping the imaging industry. The European event drew 162 attendees to Barcelona, Spain from November 10-12. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom were among the most represented markets, with participants traveling from 18 different countries as far as South Africa and the United States. HP, Ricoh, FMAudit and DocuAudit Europe were Platinum Sponsors of the 2010 European MPS Conference.
Archived footage of the European MPS Conference Webcast can be found at http://www.mpsconference.com/wrapup/ondemand.html.
“We keep hearing from our attendees that the MPS Conferences hosted by Photizo Group are becoming a watering hole for the industry--a true source of education and networking with peers and experts. That is so important, because with organized, focused resources like these, MPS professionals and users increase their chance of success,” said Photizo founder and CEO, Ed Crowley. The highly acclaimed Barcelona keynote and presentations inspired attendees with stimulating insights and ideas:
It is the hottest thing going on our little industry.
Secular, paradigm shifting, and a defining moment inhabited by both players and posers - there is plenty of room.
Who in the world would NOT get into this?
How could anybody rationalize not having a Managed Print Service offering with a statement like, "...I don't think we can be that bullish, I think we have to react to what the market wants..."
The newly wed couple fresh from the states live in a one bedroom house.
They share the shower, and toilet with 2 other couples. He a Naval corpsmen, his beautiful young bride the homemaker.
After being married a few months and living with family in a small, cramped California house, they journey thousands of miles and half an ocean's distance to finally live together alone.
Together in Paradise.
This is Oahu, April of 1941. Cane fields surround the lazy, sleepy town of Honolulu. Soft, tropical breezes stir through the palms drying out remnants of morning showers. The island was home to 50,000 service men but it still had jsut one traffic light.
Hawaii a US Territory, statehood nearly two decades away. The town has one road in and out; no skyscrapers, mega-resorts, or miles of lights, to wash out the stars of the night sky.
A time as foreign to us contemporaries as the surface of Mars.
On the morning of December 7th, eight months after arriving in Paradise, and a mere 30 minutes before "all hell breaks loose", a sailor gives his new bride a kiss on the cheek and heads of to another day doing whatever a corpsman does. She expects to greet her husband at day's end, with a home cooked dinner.
At work, a line of gray battleships - the might and power of the United States Navy - are tied off - "Battleship Row". They carry names of honor; Nevada, California, Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah and Arizona.
Focuses Supporters on New Challenges Facing Dynamic Marketplace
Leadership and volunteers recalibrate assignments to evolve with fast-growing association
December 6, 2010 -- Key volunteers and leaders within the Managed Print Services Association executive committee and board of directors have realigned their roles to focus their experience on other areas of the MPSA. This will help keep fresh ideas and new perspectives flowing across all aspects of the association.
“In an effort to improve our effectiveness and support the ideas of our volunteer leadership team, the MPSA Board has approved these changes,” noted Joe Barganier, who was elected Interim President of the MPSA. “This coordinated transition ensures members can benefit from the diversity of experience we have to offer at the leadership level. We are all very excited about taking on our new challenges.”
“An office worker at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is accused of stealing as much as $3.8 million from the hospital by ordering toner-ink cartridges in bulk, diverting their delivery and then selling them elsewhere, authorities said Wednesday…” - The Wall Street Journal, Digital Network
There must be at least 2 dozen motivators for implementing a Managed Print Services program – but fear should not be one of them. As a matter of fact, fear should rarely be a motivator.
Sure, printing is not sexy but that doesn't stop MPS/BPO/BPM/Systems Analysis from becoming a LifeStyle.
Uh-huh. That's right, I said it. I meant it. I'm here to represent it.
Not just an industry, MPS is a LifeStyle.
********
Free, like a river raging
Strong, if the wind I’m facing.
Chasing dreams and racing father time.
Deep like the grandest canon,
Wild like an untamed stallion.
If you can’t see my heart you must be blind.
You can knock me down and watch me bleed
But you can’t keep no chains on me.
--
Some call me an MPS Expert - I don't really want to be an expert. Some say that I'm disruptive, radical, a "John the Baptist" type. (not sure about that one, what happened to John's head?)
Other miscreants have called me disgruntled - out loud, during an MPS Sales Training session - projection at its best.
If anything, I prefer Defiant Idealist. The shame of it is, today, "Defiant Idealist" is considered redundant.
I see MPS as a secular change, not cyclical. I see MPS in the imaging industry today as technology was to the music business a decade ago.
The music didn't die - we changed the way "we" acquire it. The "Control" of the music industry shifted from the fat-cat record companies(establishment) to the individual listener; the ultimate consumer. The Big Guys could no longer control the creative process, the distribution channels, or the DEFINITION of the industry.
Did they fight? Yes.
Did they continue to throw their diminishing weight around, until the very end? Yes.
Did any of them change? No.
Are most of the players, and their advisers around today? Negative.
The pure "providers" of music(bands, songwriters, etc.) shifted their attention from pleasing the record producers to pleasing their ultimate audience - themselves.
You and me, out here in the listening audience simply choose to tag along and enjoy.
In a broad sense, this meant these creatives could once again, produce content they actually wanted to create. No more "Johnny Cougar"'s(the record company changed his name for Mellencamp to "Cougar").
And as the Titanic-like music moguls rearranged the deck chairs, they never hesitated to mock the young upstarts and deride the agents of change, the Defiant Ones.
(Are we having a Glenn Beck moment yet? Please, not tears.)
********
"Calm facing danger
Lost, like an unknown stranger
Grateful for my time with no regrets.
Close to my destination
Tired, frail and aching
Waitin patiently for the sun to set."
--
For us, now is that point in time when the entrenched authority has begun to crumble, their influence over the MPS ecosystem fading.
This is part of the reason some think me disgruntled - the establishment, if there is one in our industry, wants to, like the music industry once did, make the rules, create the definitions and they abhor "uncontrolled" change - especially change that starts in the grassroots. Down here with me and you.
I am "of" the grassroots and am not afraid to point out, to you, the naked Emperor. So I must be crazy, unqualified, "disgruntled".
This is heady stuff - the "Imaging Intelligentsia" do not want "us" to be independent in thought or action. The OEMs don't want us looking outside of their box.
Neither seems to be the least bit concerned with the client.
And by "we", today, I mean we in the field selling MPS on a day-to-day basis. We are in the trenches who (hopefully) are strong enough to partner with those prospects who deserve our company.
We who are sent to those "sales training classes" and attend the weekly mentoring sessions only to find little guidance or relevancy when across the desk from a prospect.
We who recognize our own shortcomings now have a growing suspicion of those who say they know the way.
********
"And when its done believe that I will yell it from that mountain highhh!
I was Born Free!
I was borrrrrrn free
I was born free, Born Free.
And I will vow to the shining seas and celebrate God’s Grace on me.
I was Born Free!"
--
There is more to our world. More than OEMs, toner delivery, technicians, proposals, assessments, and quotas - More than Managed Print Services.
And yes, this too shall pass.
So what?
If you are just getting into MPS or have been slugging it out since the beginning, every turn, every setback and every success is yours.
Yours Personally.
Hopefully, revenue-enhancing but most certainly, resume enhancing.
This journey is all about you. Today's MPS "grunt" is tomorrow's MPS Leader.
Explore your boundaries, try MPS things that haven't been tried - right now, THERE ARE NO STANDARDS, no benchmarks, no "proven".
I guess it isn't any wonder. As we traverse the MPS path, the once vaulted solutions, seem tainted and unfulfilling.
How many of you host your own server in order to capture the everyday activity from your MIF?
Sounded like a great idea at the time, didn't it?
Do you use 100% of the capacity available? Are you, today, utilizing all the functions and tools of this solution; the same ones that triggered your purchase decision in the first place?
Really? Sure, I bet you don't even use the F7 key in Word, let alone the other 99% of functionality MS-Word gets you. And let's not get started on why your 7-year-old can outrun you, smart-phone to smart-phone.
With more and more MPS providers getting smarter about what works and what doesn't, some, well many, are questioning the effectiveness of the "assessment" and re-visiting the purpose of Quarterly Business Reviews(QBRs).
Evolving takes time.
The Assessment is the beginning of every MPS engagement. There are dozens of philosophies, ideas, angles, and tools in the MPS ecosystem at our disposal.
And still, plenty of questions...Billable or non-billable, custom or generated, abound.
It is just a starting point. To bill or not to bill, depends greatly on your definition of MPS. Worse, there really isn't a right or wrong answer.
Here is the secret - if you are confident your MPS expertise will bring value to your prospect, go forward, and bill for your time.
This takes guts. This means the result of your toil will belong to your client, not you.
This also demands you provide value equal to the amount you charge. And there's the rub.
It's easy to do free assessments, there is no demand for value - one gets what one PAYS FOR. I mean, does Xerox charge customers for brochures? (or Konica or Lexmark or anyone) So why should we expect a prospect to pay for nothing more than one of our "buy from us" slicks disguised as an Assessment?
So, know thyself.
If you refresh fleets 1:1, churn older machines and schedule follow-up calls around lease expiration dates, don't bill for assessments. Don't even try. (forget about non-disclosure agreements too) And that's ok.
On the other hand, if all your ducks are in a row, if you staff a level of MPS expertise the copier dealer down the street can only dream about, go for it.
One More Thing: The "M" in "MPS": Management not Marketing
Assessments are the first step in revealing your MPS practice as detailed and results-oriented. It is the first step in MANAGING the engagement - not capturing clicks inside a service agreement.
Simply put, the assessment shows how committed you are to keeping the 'M' in MPS.
What a concept. I know life is so strange, Destination Unknown...
*** UPDATE, 2016 ***
I'm fortunate to have found a product and a company willing to allow me to build a tool I would use, every day in my MpS practice.
From assessments to service dispatch to business reviews ArcDrive embodies my philosophies around assessments(for print or ANY other niche) and running a profitable practice(for print or ANY other niche).
"...Electrowetting involves modifying the surface tension of liquids on a solid surface using a voltage. By applying a voltage, the wetting properties of a hydrophobic surface can be modified and the surface becomes increasingly hydrophilic (wettable)..."
HUH?
Right. Ok then.
I didn't think "wettable" was a word. Then I looked it up...in a book.
Electrowetting is the science behind low cost, flexible video-rate "e-paper". So cheap as to be considered disposable.
Part Two of the world-famous, PHOTIZO 2010 Managed Print Services Conference interview with Ken Stewart and me, Greg Walters.
Burning up the Internet? The latest viral phenom? Negative.
Fun. That's all.
This was at THE 2010 Managed Print Services Conference in San Antonio - not a Trekkie or Comic or Dragon Con. Copiers, printers, output. Is there any reason at all that could possibly prevent us from having a little fun, celebrating our unique position in history AND learning from our peers, our fellow MPS Pioneers?
"No, Greg, there is absolutely no reason we shouldn't have fun..." - good answer.
One question - Will Orlando ever be the same? Here is part 2 and 3. Part one is here. If after viewing you need to wash your brain, check out the Kings of Leon vid.
This is getting disturbing - fewer and fewer people, Americans, don't know the difference between, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, December 7th, VJ Day, VE Day and the Fourth of July - we forget what happened on Monday, August 6, 1945 and again six days later (Google-itize it for God's sake).
How long until 911 and the Towers fall away - out of the American History text books - hell, do we still teach AMERICAN HISTORY???
Vietnam vets returned home to be spat upon.
Today, some of our fallen come home for their final rest, only to have their families assaulted by the likes of Code Pink and crazy, whacked-out, 6 person congregation, churches.
The F is wrong with this picture?
Because of what they, and generations before them did, we get the honor of being beaten down by goofy Purchasing Agents as we try to save the world with MPS.
I'll tell you who - this guy is from outside our industry, heck outside every industry - HE GETS MPS! MPS is 'anchored in the experience we've garnered to date...'
Somebody, and by 'somebody' I mean PHOTIZO, recognizes that MPS is not all that different from any other disruptive event; not specific to the imaging industry.
Outside perspective, it is not all about us - it’s all about me. (J/k)
Congratulations, you see that you can reduce the costs associated with printing by 30-40% - now what?
Nestled out here, are some very good MPS providers.
Behind the device manufacturers' flowery marketing and dense poser-like foliage, the real MPSr's are here.
Here holding true to customer-centric values - evangelizing MPS as a process not a collection of machines.
Your search is challenging.
Should you call your current IT VAR, have purchasing get with your office supplies vendor, or, god forbid, call the copier dealer who roped you in for 60 months?
Do you really want to be negotiated into an agreement?
How about product demo's or assessments worth exactly what you pay for them?
Honestly, should Purchasing, who is probably responsible for the 30-40% waste in the first place, be in charge of an MPS project? Really?
Even though we are at the tailend of the escapade, the WSJ story is a great summary revolving around the letter sent to Hurd on behalf of Ms. Fisher, from her lawyer, the one and only, Gloria Allred.
Some felt the HP bent Mr. Hurd over, but the seriousness of the allegations apparently made the board stand up and notice.
Ms. Fisher claimed Mr. Hurd revealed to her, HP's intention to purchase EDS prior to publicly announcing - an obvious premature release.
Additionally, Mr. Hurd claims he and Ms. Fisher watched a Minnesota/Green Bay football game, first in the hotel bar and later together in his hotel room. Scurrying off at the "two minute warning."
Well, judging from this shot, she likes Texas, and everybody in Texas is a football fan - correct?
To be honest, I find it a bit puzzling. People seem to like this kinda stuff, this banter.
Ken is a great guy - one of the first and best - he is greatly involved over at Photizo working on the dealer channel program and contributes to the positive advancement of Managed Print Services, as an MPSA board member.
As for me, I am still scratching out an existence as an MPS Practice manager and scheming ways to move DOTC from PG-13 to R.
For now, "continue...please, with your mockery..."
A rather dry report from Reuters talks about the toner bomb without getting into too many details.
By looking at the video, we in the business can tell a great deal.
The toner cartridge was installed.
The cell phone and other electronics as well as wiring, are contained within the HP LaserPrinter.
The powerful and hard-to-detect type of explosive known as PETN, the same substance used by AQAP in a failed plot to blow up a U.S.-bound passenger plane last Christmas Day, looks to be packed into the toner cartridge. (White substance)
So basically, the explosive material was packed into the toner cartridge and wired into the timer, power source, and other detention electronics, bolted on somewhere in the printer.
From the outside, the unit looks as tame as ever. As to how these bombs were detected, officials said the plot was discovered thanks to intelligence passed from Saudi Arabia. Without that tip, it's unclear whether anyone would have discovered the bombs before they were airborne — or on U.S. soil. Great, no high-tech solution here, just more heavy TSA petting before boarding.
There is absolutely no doubt that HP had nothing to do with this, and is indeed a big victim here.
The suspicious package, which contained a "manipulated" toner cartridge, tested negative for explosive material, the source said, but it led to a heightened inspection of arriving cargo flights in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a UPS truck in New York.
Wow.
For over a year, I have been kicking around the idea of a novel - in this figment, I envision third-world Evil Doers tainting toner cartridges with a heat-activated, slow-burn, killer virus.
This contaminant, after melting on the surface, infects at the touch - talk about "the hidden cost of printing".
"White Toner"
Well, today, Stage 1 MPS has been dragged into the international spotlight.
Sorta.
News agencies are reporting a "manipulated toner cartridge" found on a UPS plane, contributed to elevating the threat level to "High" in the airline sector.
Reports are now saying no bomb was found in the US. (Of course not, but did they test for the infamous "White Toner Bug"???)
Reports say that indeed two explosive devices were found, one on a plane in London - disguised as a "toner cartridge". Here.
"The delivery and the implementation is done directly by HP, but we do take into account situations where there are value-added services from the reseller."
According to an article in CRN, here, HP is ratcheting up the "Enterprise" MES with managed supplies services (MSS).
HP has formed an alliance with Toshiba as part of its managed print services (MPS) strategy.
At the HP Innovation Summit at Singapore, the vendor revealed that key high-volume MPS enterprise customers will have access to a select range of Toshiba multifunction devices.
HP already has a similar agreement with Canon announced last year.
When I was a kid back in high school, I remember being told that humans were the only species on the planet that could crane their necks and face the sky.
I have since learned this is more a romantic notion than factual as birds are thought to navigate via the stars
To me, the real difference is our ability to assign patterns to the star filled sky and create stories around those pictographs - a uniquely human quality.
In this spirit, I present to you dear reader, my Summer of 2010 Constellation of MPS Rising Stars.
These few are in my opinion, walking the walk and talking the talk when it comes to MPS.
Does this mean that everybody else sucks? No, not at all.
What it does mean is that we who play in the MPS sandbox, can look to this pattern in the sky, and study. Learn. Adapt. Improve.
Alas, it is a shame that I need to even mention this, but, as with everything else I have ever posted, this is MY opinion only.
NOT the MPSA.
And this is not a scientific study.
Also, I don't take money from any of these stars, so it's not like the "quadrant".
I am not part of a multi-national, media conglomerate, so these stand-outs don't pay to be in any of my trade shows or "published" in any poser magazines.
More straw MPS training, a late to the game player and an organization waiting for MPS Industry to "open up".
Press releases and reflection follow:
FAIRFIELD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Expanding its industry-leading Managed Print Services (MPS) training offering, Kyocera Mita America, Inc., one of the world's leading document solutions companies, today announced that the Company has authorized the Business Technology Association’s (BTA) “MPS Sales Workshop” and “MPS Operations & Service Workshop” for meeting training requirements of the Kyocera Certified MPS Dealer Program.
These two programs are taught by Tom Callinan, Ed Carroll, David Ramos and Mike Woodard of Strategy Development, a management consulting and advanced sales training firm.
The BTA MPS training program and Print Management Solutions Group (PMSG) are the only organizations with authorized educational offerings within the Kyocera Certified MPS Dealer Program.
“Kyocera is committed to enabling and supporting its certified dealers in their development of the MPS business model, and we’re identifying resources which bring the best MPS training programs for sales, services and operations to our dealers,” said Peter Hendrick, vice president of marketing, Kyocera Mita America.
“We believe MPS is the future of our business and we understand that education is the key to a successful MPS strategy. We’ve partnered with BTA and PMSG, two of the industry’s leading Dealer and Training organizations, to deliver the training that certifies Kyocera dealers into our national MPS network.”
The following BTA MPS training programs are authorized for certification to Kyocera’s MPS Dealer Program:
BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop
The MPS Operations & Service Workshop is designed to jump start the dealers’ understanding of how to set up and manage all service related aspects of an MPS agreement.
BTA MPS Sales Workshop
Designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a managed print services strategy, the MPS Sales Workshop will educate dealers how to increase the quantity of captured prints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors, sell more document imaging devices and, ultimately, become the end-user's "single source" for managing printed pages and hardware.
Ok, we all know anyone who claims to have been "doing MPS for 15 years" is nothing but Bravo Sierra - how was anyone trying to reduce costs associated with output back in 1995, re-inking ribbons on an Epson LQ-1050?
And if one more ding dong sales consultant tells me that "...MPS is all about TCO..." - but doesn't include costs incurred in the Third Stage of MPS, I may just hurl right then and there.
Do not even get me started on re-hashed IKON Circa 1990 leasing, "Image Management Plus", customer for-life, schemes - exactly how many lawsuits did IKON fend off back then?
100's?
So this is what we've come to: years of usage statistics, decades of observed business behavior, and so much data about how the world prints, stores and creates documents yet we still do not have any real-world benchmarks. No guideposts.
Hell, we don't really have any Guides.
Correction, "guides" do exist. Most just don't know shit about shit and keep telling us they do - that is if you pay them. And the more we pay, the more horsepucky comes out.
------------------------------------ Lyra Establishes Reynolds Family Support Fund to Help Colleague and Friend, Steve Reynolds, in His Battle Against Colon Cancer
Lyra Research announces the establishment of the Reynolds Family Support Fund to help Lyra Senior Analyst Steve Reynolds and his family in his battle against Stage 4 Colon Cancer.
Since 1998, Mr. Reynolds has been one of the prominent faces of Lyra—first as an editor for The Hard Copy Observer and then as a senior analyst for Lyra’s Hard Copy Industry Advisory Service. Diagnosed in June, Mr. Reynolds is meeting this grim news with the same direct, fearless attitude that he brings to his professional career.
Big conference in AZ this week. The surviving OPS dealers.
I am sure there is an NDA in my history that precludes me from sharing very much...but whatever I can get on the record, I will.
I do look forward to hoisting a few (I mean, taking copious and voluminus notes) with some of the "MPS IronMen"...you know who you are.
Not sure who else will be in attendance. Looks like there will be some MPS101 stuff; after 3 years, its good to see, I guess.
Looking forward to seeing Synnex, and SNi. As I have seen the presentations before, I will be more interested in the attendees' response to the MPS material.
One blaring deficit - I don't see a valid MPS research firm on the agenda.
Most of the HP MPS talk track has that familiar, Photizo-ish angle - "...Chaos...", "...the cheapest image is the one you never print...", "...let's take paper out of the business..." and if they whip out the Three Stages slide, wow.
I do not expext to hear any mention of a "Hybrid Dealer" - but we will see.
COBO to Joe Louis, Devil's Night, FoMoCo in the RenCen, GM in the RenCen.
Greek Town, Woodward and Eight Mile, Boblo, the Big Fist, to the Uniroyal Tire - The Dirty D.
Times are bad - they've been worse, well maybe not.
Its all just a big roller coaster, like the ones at Cedar Point.
Some day, the boys in Honolulu blue will be in the superbowl, someday.
Sitting here alone
I'm looking back on where I've roamed
And laughin, now I swore
I'd win and not get burned
Left my family, left my home
I worked my fingers to the bone
And there was not a stone
I did not leave unturned..."
"We gotta have the company history in this proposal..."
"And don't forget the spec sheets..."
"This will be easy, I can just use the last proposal we did, and search and replace..."
Sound familiar?
Let me ask you something, do you read books?
What keeps you interested?
It's the story, isn't it?
Somehow, your favorite writer or a nice article you spend time with engages you and tells you something new, yet familiar.
Now, do you think that article or book was boiler-plated into existence?
Do you think Stephen King, goes out, asks a bunch of potential readers what they like and what scares them, imports all that "data" into a tool, clicks "go" and out pops the next best seller?
"No, Greg, I don't think Stephen King clicks on "go" and a best seller pops out." - good answer.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) Tuesday filed a lawsuit against former CEO Mark Hurd over potential damages he could cause in his new position as co-president of Oracle (NSDQ:ORCL).
HP alleges in the lawsuit that Hurd, in his new role at Oracle, would not be able to avoid using HP trade secrets to compete with HP, and that "HP has been injured and faces irreparable injury."
Oracle Corp. named Mark Hurd co-president and appointed him to its board of directors, heightening the rivalry between the software company and Hewlett-Packard Co., the technology giant Mr. Hurd ran as chief executive until departing amid a scandal last month.
With Lexmark in his pedigree, Bruce understands what it means to be fighting for market position. Is he as comfortable working as a leader, fending off pursuers?
True to leadership form, ignore the competition and focus on the customer.
"The cheapest page is the one you don't print" - An utterance credited to Mr. Dahlgren and a phrase sure to run a chill up all the third party toner guys, copier dealerships and printer manufacturers.
Actually, a more accurate application of that sentence is, the cheapest page is the one not copied.
HP is converting existing accounts into MPS Engagements - at the Enterprise level. The EDS acquisition, Canon alignment and the "strategic" approach to MPS over existing infrastructure. Infrastructure that includes lots and lots of HP Blades, storage, servers and laptops.
Great quote, "...let's take paper out of the business..." - wow.
First published, Fall, 2010. Al Bundy, eat your heart out...
As an avid reader of DOTC, and not my mother (hi Mom), you know I occasionally use Football as a metaphor - for MPS, Selling.
Of course, there is more to life than Selling MPS(when you find it, let me know) and it seems that football, American football(I can't believe I need to make that distinction) is and always has been, a metaphor for this American Life.
So it is with salespeople. Pushy, over-talkative, uncaring, fake. Stereotypical. Yes, some of that is deserved, but not for all of us.
Fake? What's with those industry pundits who last year provided copier sales training suggesting MPS was a fad?
Friday nights in America during the fall, 22 young men gather on a North/South patch of grass or dirt or mud or turf - 100 yards long, 53&1/3 yards wide - challenging each other.
On those nights, under the artificial glare, in the middle of it all, you never really hear the crowd - for me that was mostly true. We were simply out there doing what we had been doing since we were 7 years old. My Tailback had been there, in his position, next to me since the third grade. Buds.
(Reuters) - Canon Inc (7751.T) will create a U.S. subsidiary next spring to provide services to businesses that use its office equipment, the Nikkei business daily reported.
The new firm, to be set up in New York as a wholly owned unit of local arm Canon USA Inc, will begin operations with a workforce of 100-150, the paper said.
The new unit will help corporate clients boost efficiency by constructing document-management systems and operating their office equipment, the daily reported.
In starting a dedicated business solutions unit, Canon hopes to strengthen its presence in an area where both U.S. firm Xerox Corp. (XRX.N) and Ricoh Co. (7752.T) have already staked claims, the paper added. (Reporting by Rachel Chitra in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)
Nor is it a distinction hashed out between the twelve members of the MPS StarChamber.(if there were such a thing, which there isn't)
Nobody mentioned will advertise on DOTC. No PowerPlayer will sponsor studies with DOTC.
It is an idea born out of cool contemplation; Sunday morning reflection.
The recipients will by be of my choosing - my judgement alone, my opinion, my calculations, and my view of how they either determine or voyage along, the MPS Path.
Good or Bad, Positive or Negative, a DOTC PowerPlayer may effect for good, or impact from evil.
I'll call em out, and serve em up - with Sprinkles.
Here in the US, autumn is a time of new beginnings - schools start up again, the leaves begin to change, the nights get cooler.
Football stadiums around the country light up each Friday night, crowds file in, Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.
There is optimism and change in the air; Out with the Old, in with the New.
And so it is with MPS - a new season.
But unlike the leaves that fall victim to the earthly process, some things in MPS don't want to go naturally. Some processes and beliefs are difficult to crack, like the shell of a walnut or the walls of a once mighty arena.
Older icons of a bygone era, deserving nothing less then the wrecking ball.
Another day, another lousy piece of economic data. The 27.2 percent fall in existing home sales in July was far below analysts' official expectations (though in line with some of the whisper numbers that close watchers of housing data were expecting)...MORE
Personally, I take it bold, black and beautiful - Pure.
I only put ice in my double Jack to be polite; no reason to make the barkeep shuffle back and forth. They frown every time I tell them to "leave the bottle".
No doubt, in our industry, this little shake up is rivaled only by the RiKon merger in news worthiness - if not gossip value.
But soon after the separation, more and more information hit the 'net, that gave me pause.
And when phrases like, "nude pics" and "erotic film star" started to show up, well, I just decided to let the story ride, without much comment - you can not make this stuff up!
Printers not sexxy? Bravo Sierra!
From the article by Ashlee Vance, with the New York Times,
"...The company has uncovered communications between Mr. Hurd and Jodie Fisher, the occasional H.P. contractor who accused him of sexual harassment, that seemed cordial, even after a last meeting in a hotel room in Boise, Idaho, a person with knowledge of Mr. Hurd’s e-mails said...
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