2009:First Annual Managed Print Services Conference and Association - Oh What a Difference a Year Makes!

4/2009-

The conference is fast approaching. We have had many "Go To Meeting" meetings. The awards have just about been determined, trophy's await the engraver.

I wrote my first article about Ed and the gang, April 15, 2008, one year ago, today.

They were the only ones out there talking about MPS - other than myself and a close circle of colleagues.

In that article, I quoted Ed, "“...It is important to note that the decision making process is less collaborative than might be expected. The market is shifting to an IT-controlled, printer-based MFP-centric environment, and study results indicate that IT is winning the battle to make the MPS decision for the entire fleet, including printers, MFPs and copiers..." - spot on.

In the beginning, there was no Xerox sponsorship, no special announcement from Samsung, no MPM (see the cool video, here.) And the idea of an association was months away.

Back then, HP sold Managed Print, Edgeline was "on fire" and IKON was, well, still IKON.

Today, MPS is just entering the "Trough of Disillusionment" on it's way to the "slope of enlightenment" - for reference, Confidential Printing is at the back end, on the Plateau of Productivity. If you don't know what the heck I am talking about, hit me up on email, I will share.

So it seems, today, there are dozens of MPS experts, hundreds of MPS providers and a growing number of consultants, advisers, mentors, blah, blah, blah - I know the real deal.

If you haven't got your seat, go register - it is going to be stellar.

I can say I was there, almost in the beginning.

Check this link.

Purchasers: You Wanna Know How to Work With Them? Read Their Book!

4/2009

In the movie Paton, the good General has read Rommel's book, 'Infantry Attacks' and in doing so, is able to anticipate and defeat the German in a key battle.

As Rommel's tanks retreat, the classic quote goes something like, "...Rommel, you magnificent b*stard, I read your book!"

As far as I am concerned, the Purchaser is the absolute LAST person you want to see, if at all, in the selling cycle.

But, for those of you who insist, I recommend you read their book. Find out what it takes to become a CPM and what exactly Strategic Purchasing means.

In this spirit, I submit to you an article written by Nancy Hitchcock over at Purchasing.com, New MFPs help meet cost-reduction goals and Green concerns.

Ricoh, Toshiba, Konica Minolta, Xerox and Sharp get good coverage - all A4 exposure and the article will give you a flavor for what some Purchasers may find important when considering MFPs.

Take for instance this passage: "...As companies strive to improve efficiencies and cut costs in this economy, office products buyers are taking a closer look at capabilities of new multifunction products (MFPs) which combine printing, copying, scanning and faxing in one device..." - Could this statement be any more "dated" ? Hello, the 2001 called, they want their copier brochure back.

Also:

"..In response to buyer demand, manufacturers of MFPs are designing systems that maximize workflow efficiency by offering faster print/copy speeds and making the systems easier to operate. They are also enabling organizations to add high-quality color to their documents at an affordable price to reduce the time and expense of outsourcing print jobs. High-performance products are packaged in smaller, more affordable machines. More advanced features enable users to automate workflow by distributing scanned documents to e-mail, FTP sites, archived folders and document management applications, for instance..." - Visionary, truly stunning...

Enjoy here:







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Ricoh can monitor Copier Power using IBM software

TOKYO, Apr 13, 2009 -- Japan's Ricoh Co. said Thursday that it has developed a system that can be used to monitor copy machines' power consumption in real time, managing multiple copiers simultaneously via a network to help a company save energy and cut costs.

This system uses Tivoli system management software from IBM Corp. and is the first fruit of the agreement forged by two firms in December to cooperate in information technology systems. Ricoh and IBM agreed to work together in development of products and services and to share global sales networks.

With the new system, the IT manager can use Tivoli to monitor all copiers connected to the network and remotely adjust the usage parameters for each machine in order to help the company meet its cost-cutting goals.

Ricoh said it plans to commercialize the system sometime this fiscal year.
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DOTC - The IT guys are taking MPS.

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