Gartner's Magic Quadrant Under Fire - Libelous Claim in Lawsuit

We all know the Magic Quadrant.

The Quadrant can make propel a product or company, if their dot ends in the top right; the Quadrant can destroy dreams, if said dot ends up bottom, left.

But who are the 1,200 or so "consultants" whose opinion is reflected by those dots?

And what kind of vetting goes on to insure large sponsors of Gartner's aren't given a wink, a nod, and a top-right position? Ummmmmmm...?

Skulduggery? Shenanigans? Bravo Sierra?

Well, ZL Technologies, that hugely popular Lotus Notes and Email archiving company, is alleging that Gartner was spreading libelous reports and failed to position ZL Technologies in the “Magic Quadrant”.

Wow, not even a dot.

Kon Leong, president and CEO of ZL Technologies, said,

"...It would be nice to know, of the vendors rated, how much money did they spend on Gartner? That factor is very similar to what the SEC enforced on Wall Street ratings agencies," he said. "This way the reader can say, 'I can factor that into my assessment.'


"The other transparency issue is with regard to the scores. If you go and describe 14 different parameters on which you score a company, then you neglect to show the scores, that entire exercise becomes meaningless."

Oh so, delicious.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a huge influence in the IT world. From copiers to storage - any product or service that could conceivably be used is judged.

And IT folks read the Quadrant; believe the Quadrant. If the Quadrant can't be trusted, the universe will lose balance.

And this turns up on the heels of Gartner announcing Xerox/Fuji in the Leaders Quadrant of 2009 Managed Print Services report. Gartner first introduced the MPS category of its Magic Quadrant report last year.

Stay tuned.

The complaint and documents can be found here.

MPS Conference Europe - More feed back, an Announcement from MWAintel and Have You Heard About M2M?

"Hi Greg,

MPS Europe in one day is a hands down winner for everyone in attendance!

This show has taken San Antonio to a whole new level of success!

Packed rooms, great educational tracks and people! MPS Europe is providing a MPS MBA! People from the US, EMEA and other parts of the world! Amazing accomplishment and kudo's to Ed and team!"

- Mike Stramaglio, President/CEO at MWA Intelligence

And speaking of MWAintelligence, they announced nMPS the first "MPS supply chain".

I have an idea what that means. Looks to be a turn key program, that appears to include everything a Hybrid-dealer needs to execute a MPS practice.

And by everything, I mean from DCA to Inventory Control to dispatch to remote monitoring to behavior modification...interesting.

And a new acronym, at least for me, is "M2M" communications, which of course, stands for Machine to Machine communications. Ok, fine, you can get that.

But what about "M2P" ?

Yes, yes, Machine to Person communication - duh!

I see this as sorta like how your fuel injectors talk to your gas pump(M2M) and your speedometer communicates to you(M2P).

Think I am making this up? There is even a M2M Magazine right here.

I don't have all the details, and haven't had a chance to interview MWAintelligence, but I am sure I will get the chance.

For now, here is a quick Q&A:


1. What does this mean for the industry?

For the first time the new hybrid MPS dealer can bundle MPS print assessment, job routing, automated remote service, break/fix field service, and a full array of imaging supplies. Every asset is managed real time and with actively managed accurate data and fleet management tools.

2. When will this be available?

We are officially launching this program here in Amsterdam and sales activity will begin November 2009.

3. What applications are included in nMPS

Includes management of the service personnel, print management and low cost job routing, print assessment tools, remote asset management, automated inventory management and field service break/fix capability.

4. Will this be available in Europe as well nationwide?

Yes it will be available in Europe next year

5. What are the benefits of this nMPS program?

By definition the Managed Print Services (MPS) marketplace demands a clear combination of a full suite of products and services. The benefits for the distribution and the end user client are nearly identical. Improved supply chain, actionable fleet data, asset management, etc. all directed toward customer satisfaction, ease of use, cost recovery and redeployment of dollars toward revenue and or profit.

6. What are the overall MPS customer needs?

We put the MPS customer needs into three categories. The first is control which creates visualization and lower TCO. The second is optimization by device consolidation, print page consolidation, fleet deployment, monitoring and support. The third category is enhancement providing national coverage, business process optimization, and vendor agnostic support.

7. How will this help to enhance dealers and resellers MPS offerings?

The nMPS Service program will enhance a dealer and reseller’s MPS offering over all by fulfilling all of their MPS customer needs in one program. It will offer dealers turn-key national service programs creating instant revenue opportunity and growth.

8. What is MWAi’s Intelligent Service

Intelligent Service module provides automation tools for service dispatch operations and back-office supporting roles to ensure that data flows seamlessly between your assets in the field, IT infrastructure and people. The Intelligent Service modules provides a seamless link between the service activities of your field workforce and other mission critical portions of the enterprise, connecting service management, supply chain operations, dispatchers, account management, credit and meter collections, ensuring the needed data is available where it is needed, when it is needed.

9. What is MWAi’s Intelligent Device Management?

Intelligent Device Management™ (IDM) is an enterprise-class solution for the collection of asset information and delivery to your back-office, IT systems. MWAi offers a variety of data collection clients to capture information from connected, unconnected and locally-connected imaging devices. Data is transmitted from end-user location utilizing innovative cellular, pager, wireless Mesh and network protocols.

10. Do you have to have both MWAi’s IDM and IS Solutions to take advantage of the nMPS program?

The good news is that the MWAi solution suite is a scalable enterprise solution. Which means it is most effective with all modules in place and active. However every application can be applied independently.

MPS European Conference: Press Release, MWAi

MWA Intelligence, Inc. and Image Star Launch Industry First nMPS Supply Chain.

Image Star’s i.s.connect™ eCommerce Web to secure and automate MPS Supplies replenishment fully integrated with MWAi’s new nMPS National Fleet Service and M2M/M2P solutions.

Amsterdam, Netherlands — October 22, 2009 – MWA Intelligence, Inc. (MWAi), a leader in enterprise-class M2M (machine-to-machine) and M2P (machine-to-people) solutions and services, today announced a strategic partnership with Image Star, a leading wholesaler of imaging products, to increase dealer income and end-user satisfaction through integration of MWAi’s Intelligent Device Management™ (IDM) to Image Star’s i.s.connect™, the company’s industry leading eCommerce web portal to provide high quality printer supplies and automated supplies ordering process for dealers and resellers.

Image Star’s line of quality printer supplies will be an integral part of the nMPS, the industry-first national fleet service program that supports dealers and resellers across the U.S. to expand and enhance their MPS offerings to satisfy requirements from end-user organizations on lower TCO and supplies replenishment automation.

“Image Star has won a great reputation in its high quality supplies products, and is about to add their new value for their dealer and reseller customers in this MPS era,” said Michael Stramaglio, CEO and President of MWAi. “End users demand lower cost of ownership in printing, which requires both competitive pricing of quality supplies and the efficient supply management process for dealers to proactively detect toner levels or toner low alerts to automatically replenish supplies.”

This new offering is the result of a strategic partnership between Image Star and MWAi, designed to maximize synergies between a leading wholesaler of imaging product and the world’s leading M2M/M2P solutions provider and MPS service.

Speaking on the partnership, Charlie Antell, Director, Business Development of Image Star said, “We are very excited to play a significant role in this industry first national field nMPS service!” He added, “Having a successful 15 year track record, Image Star can guarantee that the end user will be satisfied with what we have to offer as a company. We pride ourselves on top notch customer service and solutions, paying close attention to each customer’s specific needs”

About MWA Intelligence, Inc.

MWA Intelligence Inc. (MWAi) delivers enterprise-class and leading-edge M2M (machine-to-machine) and M2P (machine-to-people.) MWAi provides an enterprise class solution designed to manage the MFP’s, Printers (locally or networked) collecting, automating meters, consumables, service alerts and Managed Print Service (MPS) tools. MWAi literally connects the people who service and sell the assets with the actual machines and ERP systems delivering greater customer satisfaction. Solutions include: Intelligent Service Management, Intelligent Managed Print Services, IntelliDashboard and Intelligent Device Management. For more information, please visit www.mwaintelligence.com.

About Image Star

Image Star is a leading wholesaler of imaging products offering a wide selection of OEM and compatible printer, fax, copier, and data media supplies. They have been distributing quality products at an exceptional value for over 15 years. For more information, please visit https://www.imagestar.com/isps/index.html.


Contact
Rose Alagna
MWA Intelligence, Inc.
Marketing Manager
Rose.alagna@mwaintel.com
480.538.5905