Finally, Good News Around a School Board and Xerox

No sooner had I "gone off" in one of my comments around how school districts just don't understand "value" and only get the lowest bid which is usually supported by the heaviest RFP, a school district proves me wrong.

Unfortunately, the School District is in Canada. Not unfortunate because of Canada, it's unfortunate that US School Boards are not as "enlightened". No offense to our good friends to the north.

The Niagara Catholic School District Board handles 53 elementary schools, eight secondary schools, six adult education sites, and a central office.

The District is required to hold records for 55 years.

Noticing that file space was dwindling, and as part of Canada's Eco-Schools Initiative, the board reviewed the current process and looked to support Green initiatives.

They settled on an ECM solution composing of software Xerox hardware. From this article:

"...These combined systems gave the district that ability to automate leave-of-absence approvals, substitute teacher scheduling, HR documentation, and payroll steps -- without all the paper or wasted time. For example, processing a teacher leave-of-absence request once took threes pieces of paper and a lengthy approval process. It's now simply done online in about 30 seconds and approved in minutes..."

The new system has reduced fuel consumption, reduced paper consumption and saved $38,000.00 per year by publishing the newsletter online.

"... Furthermore, 8,000 old hanging folders previously used to store paper documents were given to the district's elementary schools, "thus giving them money to spend on other things rather than stationery for the school," says Pasto.

"We [also] took the used binders and sent them to schools with students whose parents couldn't afford to buy them binders. Other binders were shipped to third-world countries. We're all about recycling," says Pasto..."

Xerox Managed Print Services: In The US, Q3 - The Big X is In The Game

Xerox Unveils New Ways for Channel Partners to Save SMBs Money and Maximize Office Productivity.

"To simplify for our customers how to better manage their printing, we're taking a brand-agnostic approach to the value we provide to SMBs. Regardless of the type of document device or brand, Xerox Print Services can help lower print and copy costs, reduce IT support and increase office productivity."

Looks like the big X is taking their Managed Print Service programs, the same ones they used to secure the P&G deal, and allowing their channel partners to utilize training, infrastructure, supplies, software and technology in pursuit of the SMB market.

These are the same tools and ideas and programs that helped place Xerox in the best position, in the Magic Quadrant.

Having reviewed PagePack, and the supporting program, I see this as a major advantage for Xerox partners who want to get into Managed Print Services.

What's With Xerox and Buffalo?

Back in December I wrote about the Buffalo Bills committing to Xerox and today, thanks to Art over at P4P another interesting tid bit:

Xerox gets to bid for the Buffalo School district all by themselves...how nice.

Lately I have been railing against responding to any government/education based RFP that requests a Managed Print Services component. I will not get into the reasons here, perhaps at a latter date.

But - according to an news cast out of Buffalo, seems one can be the lone bidder on 300 copiers, unless a competitor gets wind of the shenanigans.

Oce plays the spoiler, claiming they can "compete head to head with Xerox..." except Oce is an off-shore concern and does not manufacture a product line as deep as Xerox. And apparently, the district was so happy with Xerox service and cost savings the CEO felt no need to "go to bid".

Now, of course, the district is required to go through the wasteful bid process and another Xerox rep's sales funnel gets clogged again.

You gotta love this stuff.