Dual-screen laptop on sale by Christmas

Dual Screens can reduce the amount of printed materials up to 18% - that's from one study at one client - so percentage could vary.

But forget about the your arbor day pledge, think about the coolness factor you'll command at Starbucks.

More details here.

Does HP Really Need a Channel? Really?

2009 -

The answer is Yes, HP needs a channel. But read on...

What's more, HP just may be "getting" this MPS thing. (tongue in cheek)

As we have witnessed over the past few months, Hurd's herd, has openly marketed their old, tried, and true MPS programs(SPS?).

The HP "guarantee" is the latest salvo.

To be sure, HP has been pushing the MPS program at the Enterprise level for years and any HP IPG VAR has had, in the past, little reason to fear the "mother ship" swooping in on their smaller, B2B business.

Everything changes, that's a fact...

With few new equipment releases, reduction in R&D, and decentralize MPS programs for the channel - through partnerships with Great America, Synnex, Ingram, etc.- comparatively, the HP MPS plan for the channel seems a bit less focused.

There's nothing like the 23 module behemoth from Ricoh, or the easy to use Xerox PagePack 3.0 or entry level, scalable programs from Toshiba, Oki and Samsung.

What gives? Gartner's analysis sheds some indirect light on the subject:

"HP lost 3.4 percentage points market share to total 40 percent market share in the first half of 2009 as it maintained a tighter control over its channel inventory levels amidst weakening demand."

Hardware sales are soft so where does one look to increase revenue in an equipment slump?

Managed Print Services.

HP's existing client base is huge and contains large enterprises that utilize 1,000's of HP printers - MIF.

And what's the number one place to look to for that low hanging fruit? Your existing client base.

Unlike a good deal of VARs and dealers in the channel, HP is not afraid to let their highly trained MPS specialists waltz into an ITG account and start pitching MPS.

That's the easy stuff.

As for SMB MPS channel; if equipment sales are down, why bother working through an unproven, inexperienced channel partner when the plan is to REDUCE the number of units sold?
So,

The best way for HP to dig into the SMB Managed Print Services treasure chest is direct, not through a channel.

Woah...wait, what, huh?


That's right.

The hot, new revenue stream is MPS, and does not require selling equipment - indeed, the exact opposite should happen. There is no reason to work with a VAR selling pure MPS services, services which reduce the number of HP's or xerox, Lexmark, or anyone's boxes.

HP can provide MPS directly on a national, global basis - why not locally? Why not right in your backyard?

So the recharger folks are freakin scared? The rest of us are simply in bliss.

Fear not, dear HP VAR and IPG SVIP OPS reseller - the news is good and it comes from across the pond.

Alan Hatfield, Channel Development Manager at HP, out of Gloucester, United Kingdom, was looking for a UK growth target of 100% between the months of May and September.

To increase ANY type of business by 100%, in only 6 months, is a lofty and seemingly unrealistic goal, but Hatfield expects to see a 90% increase.

And within this growth, Hatfield believes MPS sales are split 50:50 between direct and the channel.

“HP is very committed to having a good platform for our partners because MPS is the future,” he says. “Most of the conversations I have with channel partners are around managed print services.”

Our friends over at Photizo Group estimate the MPS market be more than $50bn by 2013, with more than 50% of all devices coming under MPS contracts.

If the ratio's from the UK/Europe hold true, that's a paltry $25 billion for us in the channel...so who cares if HP needs or doesn't need a channel - figure it out.

One source article here.

A Year Ago Was The Right Time For Managed Print Services

Where is the Managed Print Services niche, today, August 2009? ------ I just read an interesting comment on LinkedIn regarding the lack of "buzz" around the MPS Summit from the recent ReCharger show. Bob Chernisky was asking aloud, "Did anyone attend? Did no one say anything worthwhile? Was the juxtaposition of MPS with toner remanufacturing a mistake? Are most of the prime-movers of the industry turned off by that association (too low-tech for us)?" I know people attended, but I did not. I do not think the juxtaposition is a mistake. And if the "prime-movers or any movers, think the toner guys are too low-tech, so what? 

To speak directly about the Re-Chargers, I think they should worry as business paradigms shift to MPS. I also think that this shift could be a great opportunity for the bold. For the forward-thinking companies who are willing to remake their current business model. The reman's can be a component of a good MPS practice; one of the team. Right now, there aren't as many devices hitting the streets. These older machines, the ones finding a spot on new, MPS engagements, will need toner and parts. And entering this niche may give them a better talk track than the current "we're cheaper and we're Green..." But back to Bob's questions, where is all the buzz? 

Come to think of it, the last few weeks have been a bit quiet. Especially considering all of the announcements - the big HP guarantee, PagePack 3.0, Okidata Managed Print, the MPSA national elections. ;-) The recent Gartner data showing combined copier and MFP sales fell 30% over the past year should be center stage and all the buzz - but if I read one more post, article, or Tweet about the Magic Quadrant, I am going to upchuck. 

 Maybe it's just that people don't want to talk about bad news. Well, boo-frickin-who - where there is turmoil, chaos, and fear, there is opportunity. The Bad News: Lai-Ling Lam, senior research analyst at Gartner said this,

"The market witnessed a weak demand as both businesses and consumers reduced spending and the drop in shipments was also impacted by tighter inventory controls in order to minimize inventory levels in the channels.."

Dire news to be sure, and nothing terribly new for any of us selling in the office B2B. Unfortunately, it's worse than we think; it usually is... Our bread and butter, office printing devices, showed a 24.5 percent decrease in the first half of 2009.

"...businesses are delaying or eliminating purchases of new equipment altogether. The global downturn has also forced them to review their printing needs which could change their print consumption in the long term. At the same time, it also makes print vendors increasingly look at alternative hardware strategies such as managed print service (MPS) and smart MFP adoption as ways to increase revenue..." added Lam.

We in the MPS world, recognize this 30% avalanche as a huge opportunity - a huge MPS opportunity. I understand where Ms. Lam is coming from and I take exception to her above statement, "print vendors increasingly look at alternative hardware strategies such as MPS...as ways to increase revenue...". Successful Managed Print Services strategies should not be hardware driven - an assessment looks for areas of cost reduction, not hardware placement. 

Why So Quiet - Maybe there isn't as much 'buzz' from the MPS niche because we in it are actually doing it, day in and day out. And by we, I mean we selling, infrastructure, marketing, branding, research, and MPS training types. Perhaps we are all on the same spot in the MPS Adoption Cycle - execution(or re-execution) and it is now more important to operate the practice versus talk about the practice. That 30% deficit is a hole waiting to be filled with MPS services, not equipment. 

A boon for us, a boardroom challenge for the big manufacturers. The Silence of Activity - humming along.