Ricoh and IBM Alliance:The Shape of Things to Come

Reuters reports that Ricoh and IBM will begin to share sales networks:

IBM and Ricoh will start handling each other's products in their U.S. sales channels in spring 2009, with the cooperation set to expand to other regions including Europe and Asia eventually, the paper said.

Ricoh expects the alliance to yield 1.1 billion in sales over the next three years.

Last year, HP completed it's acquisition of long time IBM competitor EDS.

2009 begins as speculation on HP's reaction to Ricoh's acquisition of IKON last year increases.

As HP looks on, Ricoh continues to nudge it's way into it's traditionally strong niche: I.T.
This from an editorial written by David T. Mendelson, Argecy Computer Corporation back in July of 2007, when IBM announced the arrangement with Ricoh that spawned InfoPrint:

"...Ricoh has a very long and hard-earned history of success in the world market. The relationship between IBM and Ricoh goes back quite a long way. Ricoh has had a strong market penetration in the copier and fax markets for many years, but had little “in” with the IT community. IBM employed Ricoh’s engines and technology in their mid-range laser printers, and probably negotiated to keep Ricoh from competing in the lower end market. (Why is Canon Corporation not selling hard into the laser printer market? Because that’s who makes HP’s lasers). But now Ricoh is in control..." - David T. Mendelson, Argecy Computer Corporation

As mentioned in my November article, Ricoh and IBM into InfoPrint and Now, rIKON, in addition to the standard office equipment/Purchasing model, Ricoh appeared to be moving towards an I.T. based selling model - today, there can be no doubt.

Summary -

Ricoh increased it's dealer channel nearly 10 fold.
The acquisition of IKON's Professional Services give Ricoh some of the best assets in the industry, versed in many, leading EDM software.
Ricoh's ownership of InfoPrint, high-end, I.T. based solutions will be complete in 2010.
Ricoh and IBM will be sharing sales leads to cross market each productline;copiers and servers.
Where is Canon ?

Canon's feeble attempts to shore up a non-existent channel in order to defend the existing Canon/IKON base, may have taken yet another hit with today's news.

How can CBS possibly compete with the likes of IBM and IKON's Professional Services?

Canon will need an "I.T." shot in the arm - instantaneous access to corporate/enterprise I.T. departments supported by knowledgeable professionals.

Could the alliance between IBM and Ricoh be a template for a similar arrangement between HP and Canon?

Or is a bigger shoe ready to drop?

2009: The End of Print - Andrew Keen

1/2009

Who the heck is Andrew Keen?

We will get to who he is at the end of this report but for now, he is some dot com millionaire who wrote a book and convinced me to never reference Wikipedia.

On his blog, The Great Seduction, he posts 2009: The End of Print.

His reference point is similar to mine in The Death of Print - 12,000 Layoffs And Counting and PC Magazine Dropping Print for Online. My observations reflect the dire straights in which print media finds itself.

As a matter of fact, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press (Detroit being one of the last cities with TWO major newspapers) have moved to eliminate home delivery and shift assets toward their digital versions. A point Keen observes in his writing.

Indeed, in his piece on Internet Evolution, he explains how 2008 was the beginning of the end and how 2009 will be "the year that the print business literally falls off the cliff". 

He nails it:

"...And yet 2009 will, ironically, also bring much, much, much better news for a media in the business of selling textual content. The truth is it’s not their newspapers, magazines, and books that are dying, but rather the archaic medium of print. And the good news for both trees and technophiles is that in 2009 paper is finally being replaced by affordable and ergonomically sophisticated digital devices for reading electronic content..."

Additionally, Dan Costa, PC Magazine, comments on the decision to go completely digital:

Riooh/IKON - The Final Word in 2008

Great Article at imageSource

Summarizes the merger, the impact and the results of the Ricoh/IKON deal.

Another Power Deal in the Making
By Infotrends Authors/Analysts

Greg's Top 12 Events of 2008 - Managed Print Services, Edgeline and Napa

from 2008...

It's just my view. These are MY "top of mind" events and posts in 2008, in no particular order:

1. Ikon/Ricoh - Easily the biggest event of the year. After much rumor and guessing, Ricoh NOT Canon steps up. 

 2. WEB 2.0 - The Wild, Wild, West The BlogaSphere, social networking. From MySpace to LinkedIn. It is crazy out here. There are no rules, everyone is an expert on how to "monetize" your site, but nobody has a track record - it's all new. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can instantly become an "expert' - I do not understand this phenomena and I have practically given up trying.

Photizo Group Appoints Datum Inc. to Represent MPS Leader in Japan

Press Release - North America, Europe and now Japan -

Expands industry-leading MPS research and consulting services for Asian market

Lexington, KY ­­– December 17, 2008 – Photizo Group and Datum Inc. announced an agency agreement to make Datum the exclusive distributor in Japan for the Photizo Group’s information products and services. The agreement goes into effect immediately.

The Photizo Group is the leading provider of consulting and multi-client research services for the Managed Print Services (MPS) market. Eight of the top ten firms in the imaging industry are Photizo Group clients, and the company has established itself as the authority on this rapidly growing segment of the imaging industry. The exclusive Photizo Managed Print Services tracking studies for North America and Western Europe are the only on-going research of its kind targeting the MPS market. Datum is an established research and consultancy company based in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in providing IT marketing information to Japanese companies requiring data on overseas markets.

"This agreement with the Photizo Group provides clients with unique insight into the market and opportunity for outsourcing hardcopy fleets under Managed Services contracts," commented Shuji Hirooka, President of Datum Inc. "Our customers will now have access to the best insight and expertise on this key growth market, with full back-up and support available in their home country."

Photizo Group CEO Ed Crowley added: "We are excited to be partnering with Datum Inc. and look forward to ensuring our Japanese customers receive the most insightful information in the Managed Print Services market backed up by a full service support operation based in Tokyo."

# # #

About The Photizo Group

The Photizo Group is the market’s main source for ongoing business intelligence about the rapidly growing opportunity of Managed Print Services. Since its landmark MPS study released in April 2008 to ongoing research covering North America and Europe, Photizo has emerged as a leader in dynamic business intelligence about the MPS market. Clients include eight of the top ten imaging manufacturers in the digital marketplace. Vendors, dealers and enterprises can find MPS information and resources at http://www.managed-print-services.com.



“Photizo” is a trademark of the Photizo Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

HP Printers Sold in Iran - The Unholy Alliance -

"HP has a policy of complete compliance with all US export laws.", David Shane, a spokesman for the HP.

He would not say whether HP plans to stop sales of its printers in Iran.

In a story first broken by Farah Stockman, at the Boston Globe, and now breaking all over the internet, HP, through a third party distributor, Redington Gulf is reported to be selling printers in Iran.

Lot's of printers.

According to sources withing Iran, HP holds 41% of the printer market, this, in the face of a comprehensive embargo that prohibits HP from sending its products to Iran.

There is a good argument that selling consumer based goods may not tip over into a national security issue, but neither do cigars and rum.

Indeed, HP is not breaking any laws.

Products being supplied to Iran are not likely to be mentioned in a specific "ban" list and the third party distributor provides insulation from legal harm. Of course, if HP is sufficiently aware of Redington Gulf's sales in Iran, it may be in violation of US export laws.

Andrew DeSouza - US Treasury Department, said US companies are barred from selling their goods to a distributor if they have "knowledge or reason to know" that the goods are intended for Iran.

But what of the publicity damage? Xerox may provide answer.

After reviewing the Xerox website in February of 2006, SEC contacted Xerox, asking about the third-party distributors Xerox used to sell its copiers in Iran, Sudan, and Syria.

"We note from your website that you may have operations associated with Iran, Syria, and Sudan, which are identified as state sponsors of terrorism by the US State Department and subject to economic sanctions imposed," stated the letter from Cecilia D. Blye, chief of the SEC's Office of Global Security Risk. "We note also a public media report that Xerox products are sold in Iran."

Xerox said they had entered into legal distribution agreements with foreign distributors who were within their legal rights to sell in Iran.

By August, Xerox announced an end to the those distributor agreements.

HP is on the right side of the law on this. Whether Hurd acquiesces to the predictable media attention remains to been seen.

Sourced article, Boston Globe by Farah Stockman, here.

Click to email me.

Ricoh In Times Square - Wind and Light, wind and light

Its "green", has windmills, solar panels, and is printed...

Ricoh is putting the first green, self powering billboard in Times Square - the $3 million sign will be completely powered by wind and sun.

The eco-board weighs in at 35,000 pounds and will be 55 feet off the ground at 3 Times Square, wrapping around the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street.

The sign will be the first of its kind on Times square. Ricoh has a similar board in Japan.

Fitted with 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, Ricoh spokes person, Ron Potosky, says the unit will produce enough electricity to power six homes for a year. This green "spectacular" also eliminates 18 tons of carbon released into the atmosphere each year.

Passive Sign -

This is a "passive" sign - it is not populated with bulbs or light-emitting diodes. 16, 300-watt floodlights will illuminate custom-printed opaque vinyl sheeting.