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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Who is Everything Channel and Why Are They Important to You?

I know, I know - one more 'industry magazine' to read.

One more collection of sponsored advertisements dressed up as 'journalism'.

Another "leg" in the Research-Convention-Publication Triad.

Why yes...actually.

From their website:

"...Everything Channel is the premier provider of channel-focused research and consulting, events, media and custom solutions for the technology industry. Everything Channel provides integrated solutions to technology marketers for managing channel strategy to accelerate technology sales..."

I swear - I looked high and low, walked that site corner to corner and I could not find anything from RiKon,  KonicaMinolta or Kyocera.

I did find some entries from Xerox.

But down in the lower right-hand corner, under "Industry Events" I discovered a nugget -

"Print and Imaging Summit, Orlando Florida, May 3-4".  I seem to remember there being another show around the same time - an MPS show no less.

Coincidence?  Are there ever any real coincidences?


Sunday, April 3, 2011

Ed Crowley, Photizo - 5 Steps for Implementing MPS/BPO/MSP/ITO/EDM/NOC/MOUSE

"I must tell you something, darling...
you...look...marvelous.."
Another guest author and fellow DOTC_Leopard, Ed Crowley (Photizo), chimes in.

This time, on the subject of 'implementation'.

Notice how the FivePoints can be applied to any discipline - expansive, isn't it?

Ed and I go back.

It is an honor to have so many fellow DOTC readers contribute - I consider myself fortunate.

Enjoy.
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Why is implementation important?

By Ed Crowley, Photizo


Implementation is the process by which you will construct the entire project and it is the frame and foundation, which anchors and shoulders the considerable weight of the entire project.

When I discuss implementation for managed print services, I don’t just mean the initial roll-out, but rather, the planning, customer-needs assessment, roll-out, on-going management, and evolution through the various MPS stages.

In my experience, the key to a successful MPS engagement begins with the end-user needs assessment. We often want to jump immediately into ‘right sizing’ the fleet, deployment planning, and all of those other activities that deliver immediate or near-term cost savings. Without an adequate understanding of the customer needs and the organizations environment, we can quickly turn from the hero to the villain.

Nothing can replace walking through the customers environment, survey where the equipment is, who is using it, asking about their needs, and issues. Holding internal focus groups with customers to understand what is and what isn’t working in their imaging environment is a great way to start. This can pave the way for a formal survey of all employees to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs and desires.

The net result of truly understanding the customer environment is that you will be able to craft a set of ‘policies’ for identifying how the products are rolled out and what are acceptable exception procedures.

Ed’s Top 5 for implementation :

Thor - Big Hammer Time



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Contact Me

Greg Walters, Incorporated
greg@grwalters.com
262.370.4193