EDS - Mangaed Print Services????

EDS an HP Company

Found this the other day. EDS is now in the Managed Print Services business.

Yes, inevitable - but seeing it for real is making it real.

I wonder if EDS is hiring any ex-IKON peeps.

From the literature:

• "EDS' Services include:
  
  Assessment Services — Helps you understand current usage, find hidden costs and develop a business case for change:
  • Industry Benchmark Assessment
  • Optimization Assessment
  • Managed Environment Assessment
  • Eco Printing Assessment
  • Workflow Discovery
  • Discovery and Design
  
  
• Financial and Procurement Services — Helps you manage to the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), from planning and acquiring technology to retiring and replacing it. Reduce and manage capital outlay, manage older equipment effectively and environmentally, and simplify hardware procurement (HP and multi-vendor):
  • Hardware Procurement
  • Multi-vendor Hardware Procurement
  • Customer Fleet Acquisition
  • Asset Recovery Services
• Transition and Implementation Services — Helps ensure the right equipment is installed and end users know how to use the devices:
  • Management of Change and Education
  • Deployment Management
  • Hardware Installation
  
  
• Management and Support Services — Enables ongoing Return On Investment (ROI) through fleet uptime and optimization, award winning support and supplies management. Account delivery management provides a single point of contact and accountability as well as visibility into usage trends, capacity utilization, and expenditures for ongoing planning and management:
  • Account Delivery Management
  • Hardware Support
  • Multivendor Support
  • On-site Administrative Services
  • Priority Phone Support
  • Supplies Management
  
  
• Document and Workflow Services — Helps automate paper-intensive workflows, as well as to continually improve and better manage the underlying infrastructure:
  • Technology Solutions
  • Industry Solutions
  • Consulting Services"

The integration or assimilation of EDS into HP.

First Annual Managed Print Services Conference - April 26th through 28th, 2009

Managed Print Services: Hitting Mainstream

Ok, here's the deal.

Managed Print Services is just about the hottest issue out there - with prospects and industry insiders.

And right now, MPS is still the frontier of cost reduction for both clients and providers - everything is being created today, in the here and now, without a "template".

Clients are not sure how MPS works. Providers are struggling with the concept, the services, how to best articulate the benefits and how to manage a Print Management Services program.

With this in mind, the first annual conference dedicated to Managed Print Services (MPS)will be held in in San Antonio, Texas on April 26th through 28th, 2009 and sponsored by the Photizo Group.

Now, for me, the Photizo Group is one of the very first groups, if not THE first group, dedicated to researching MPS and it's impact on the market. In addition to monitoring the market, the Photizo Group has defined the basic structure and phases of MPS -

1. Control
2. Optimize
3. Enhance

These match my definition of the stages of MPS. I have incorporated these three stages into my talk-track. More importantly, I see evidence in the field that the above model is viable.

Having said that, I STRONGLY recommend everyone who is now in or thinking about getting into MPS attend.

- With the turbulence in our industry and with hardware dominating most vendor's and client's discussions, the most challenging task many face is differentiation. MPS is a differentiater - and the Photizo Group is out there on the leading edge -

The conference features three tracks.

"The first track is for those who are in the initial stages of an MPS engagement and who are trying to control or optimize the hardcopy (printers, MFP's, and copier) fleet.

The second track is for those who have implemented an MPS program, and who are now looking to drive business process optimization through advanced MPS services such as workflow consulting, document management optimization, and other activities to enhance the firms business processes.

The third track provides a focus on small and medium businesses and their specific MPS implementation issues."

There will be speakers, best practice presentations, case studies, market data, and many other sessions designed to provide attendees with actionable tips and techniques for the success of their MPS program.

You can register here.

Check these out:

For Those of Us In Managed Print Services - Wow!

A new look over at Managed Print Services Resource Center

Inaugural issue of MPS Insights Hits The Streets

New Report Delivers Definitive Analysis of the Managed Print Services Market

Click to email me.

Open Text to Acquire Captaris

Consolidation Everywhere.

Waterloo, ON and Bellevue, Wash. - 2008-09-04 - Open Text™ Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX) (TSX: OTC), a global leader in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), and Captaris, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPA), a leading provider of software products that automate document-centric processes, today announced a definitive merger agreement in which a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text will acquire Captaris. Under the terms of the agreement, Captaris shareholders will receive cash consideration of approximately US $131 million in total, or $4.80 per share in exchange for their Captaris stock. The companies expect the transaction to close by the end of the calendar year, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Captaris’s shareholders and anti-trust approvals.

Captaris’s software products include leading document and data capture solutions that let customers convert paper documents to digital content, and manage associated processes. The acquisition will expand Open Text’s partnership offerings by creating tighter integration with Open Text's invoice management solutions that work with SAP and Oracle. Captaris also offers business information and delivery solutions built on the Microsoft .NET framework which integrate, process and automate the flow of content.