Managed Print Services IS Business Process Optimization

The theme of the 2010 North American MPS Conference was "Change".

Change is pretty certain and if you've been in the MPS arena for the last three years, you have sure seen a lot of it.

For me it looks like we have settled into a good understanding of the first 2 stages of MPS Adaption: Control and Optimize.

There is a huge amount of business and profit nestled into both stages, but I wonder if we are forgetting this is only the beginning.

It is really no surprise that Stage 3 is turning out to be a bit tricky for some to get their minds around.

Indeed, the easiest application of this stage, Enhance the Business process, is traditional EDM packages. If you know the difference between and performed both a document-flow and work-flow analysis, you are waist-deep into EDM/The Third Stage.

In my humble opinion, if all we do is provide supplies and equipment management services, we are not reaching the full, MPS potential.

This is one reason I reject the typical "assessment" - it is mostly, usually, simply an inventory of equipment and a recording of static data around the fleet.

The simple stuff.

What really frosts my fritters is the fact that almost every assessment is, or should be, a business process survey - but most don't see it that way.

The assessment is the cornerstone of every MPS engagement. All too often the engagement starts and STOPS with the assessment.

Don't be afraid of Business Process Optimization, you are probably already walking right by it, during every site assessment you perform.

Memorial Day - Say Thanks to A Vet...

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Citi Reiterates a 'Buy' on Hewlett-Packard (HPQ); Confidence in Near-Term & Long-Term Growth Outlook

May 28, 2010 9:37 AM EDT


Citi reiterates a 'Buy' on Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE: HPQ), price target $65.

Citi analyst says, "We reiterate a Buy on HP’s shares following a day of meetings with the co’s Imaging and Printing (IPG) management in San Diego. During the meeting, IPG management outlined its strategy for sustained IPG growth beyond the current recovery, with core distributed inkjet and laser printer growth (80-85% of IPG revenue) driven by emerging markets and share gains and non-core growth driven by Managed Print Services (MPS), Commercial/Graphic Arts, retail kiosks and minilabs (2,400 storefronts currently going to ~7000 by year-end) and workflow solutions."

Year Two: Managed Print Services Focuses on Change

Ed posted this over at ChannelWeb, here.

I commented, and then I cut and pasted - enjoy.
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Ed Crowley
Posted by Ed Crowley on May 28, 2010 1:43:34 PM

The first North American Managed Print Services (MPS) conference was launched in April of 2009 amidst the very ugly depths of the economic crises of 08-09 at a time when other conferences were seeing their attendance fall by 50% or more.

Many skeptics debated whether this would be a huge failure, or at best, moderately successful. Well, the first conference ended with 35% more attendees than planned, tremendous excitement and enthusiasm, and the formation of the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA).

Friday Fun Video - Guns, Women, Tuxedos, Range Rover and Astin Martin

Managed Print Services - "How to Sell MPS". A Willing Audience, until Bluto Smashes the Guitar

The crooner strums.

A willing audience smiles, and rocks to the expected, comfortable melodies.

PowerPoint slides confirm student's expectations - this is what they paid for. To hear, "all is not lost". You're going to be ok, MPS is easy. As long as you have a plan. Our plan.

Oh, and our plan takes 18 weeks and $3,500.00 bucks.

The instructor, talking about cherries that have no stones, stories that have no end.

All going according to plan.

Attendees oblivious to the obvious, this guy doesn't know crap.

But the words sound so nice.

Managed Print Services Conference 2010 - See It All, again and again...

It seems like just yesterday, Leopard Headbands, great speakers, firing all the copier schleps, and Indiana Jones.

I imagine, somewhere in an underground bunker, the Photizo Clan has initiated the Countdown Clock for MPS-Con/2011

Until then, or Barcelona, we can stream video of the MPS Titans(excluding myself).

Printers Are Sent From Hell...

A cute little diddy over at The Oatmeal.com about how printers are sent from hell to make our lives bad.

This from an IT guy?

The Death of Print, Predictably, Sooner than We Think

"Book Sellers, defend your lonely forts!" - John Updike, 2006.

Newspapers, except possibly the Wall Street Journal, are not the only organizations facing the same fate as buggy whip manufacturers.

"By the end of 2012, digital books will be 20% to 25% of unit sales, and that's on the conservative side," predicts Mike Shatzkin, chief executive of the Idea Logical Co., publishing consultants. "Add in another 25% of units sold online, and roughly half of all unit sales will be on the Internet."

In his book, "the cult of the amateur", Andrew Keen reflects on the demise of the record store - blaming the internet.

Keen pines about record stores like the Tower Records that spanned three blocks in New York's Greenwich Village or his beloved record store at the corner of Bay and Columbus in San Fransisco. How, ultimately, change came to this world of hidden imports, ad hoc concerts, U2 and Madonna sightings.

Like the music store, book stores, the brick and mortar type, are doomed.

What has all this got to do with Managed Print Services?

If you are seriously asking, leave right now, and never come back to this blog again.


A New Business Model -

This year, publishers agreed to implement an "agency model" for digitally distributed content. The publisher receives 70%, e- book sellers 30%, of the digital price.

Seems publisher can read the writing on the wall - change is a necessity for survival.

The Gorilla in the room, Apple, is poised to rule the publishing channel as it already does the music channel with iTunes.

Consider Barnes and Noble -

In mid-March, Barnes & Noble's named a new CEO.

This new CEO is a veteran of the digital world and is seen as a change agent shaking things up, hiring from e-commerce and technology companies.

His talk track includes the phrase, B&N is "as much a technology company as we are a retail company."

Change or die.

Newspapers are dying, books are changing, retail is evolving - Is it any wonder our little industry, MPS, is considered a $60 Billion market?

Consumers are demanding easier, more portable mechanisms allowing them to read/acquire information and entertainment.

These consumers not only own iPads, DROIDs and netbooks - they have jobs; they work in offices, they interface with paper every day.

How long will it be before they expect to receive the company newsletter, financials, invoices, statements, medical records, mortgage documents, kid's report cards, DMV documents, tax filings, credit card and utility bills, and the latest King novel, etc. on their iPad/Slate/Droid/Kindle?

Change is. This may be "new" to you, to me, to us. But this isn't anything we started, the fire's been burning since the world's been turning, we're just the latest to enjoy.



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Managed Print Services Conference 2010 - After Hours

The 2010 MPS Conference is in the can. The reviews are in, critics silent.

So, after a gruelling day of sitting and absorbing, the sponsored receptions are both a very welcomed break and the best time to get the real work of conferences done; networking.

Personal Note: I was shocked by all the people who came up to me to say "hi" and that they read this tome - I am humbled and honored by all your kind words.

I especially feel for the husbands out there who have had to explain reading DOTC as "work related" and to all in the cubes, afraid managerial eyes will be looking over your shoulder, locked with laser focus on one of the "Girls" - CTRL TAB.

Speaking of the "Girls of DOTC" - as risque and nontraditional as they are, very few complaints have been voiced. As a matter of fact, I get more compliments from women over the pictures than I do men.

Again, thank you all for reading and continue to come back!

Now, on with the "after hours" review.

Day Two, reception:

A gentleman walks up to me, shakes my hand and says he reads my blog, wanted to meet me and he is from Muratec.

I respond, thanks, are you having a good show, and what, exactly does Muratec have regarding MPS.

He answers, "...we do a good deal of Seg 1 and Seg 2...".

Me, gracious as always query,

"...Seg 1 and Seg 2? It has got to be at least 4 years since I heard ANYONE mention Seg 1&2. Is THERE STILL A Seg 1 & 2 around?" - at about this time, I stopped, hoping to avoid the old shoe leather in the mouth phenomena.

No worries - these guys are cool. Lou, Marketing Director, Carl, Senior Director of Technical Support and Jim D'Emidio, President Muratec America, Inc.

So I press, just a bit, and ask, "so...how is it, that you are still selling?" I meant it, I wanted to know.

Still, they took no offense and answered straight away, " we make doing business with us, very easy...and we listen to our dealers or CUSTOMERS..."

Well smack me upside the head and call me a Leopard Thong! Duh!

Remember, they were not selling me. I will never be a customer. This wasn't a sales pitch or their corporate function, they have nothing to lose by telling me the truth. By giving me their "elevator speech" over margaritas.

So, after left handed insults, what is the best thing to do? Accept an invite to dinner with them! Excellent!

Our meal consists of supremely adequate ravioli and a superb red, selected by our very own sommelier, Kevin Morris, from Onedoc - he has his very own wine cellar.

The conversation bounces between Oklahoma vs. Texas football rivalries, old school copier dealers, golf outings, and why Courtney,from Lyra, is the only female sitting at a table of 10 guys - she giggles.

As the night closes walking back to my room, I remember one of the slides in the presentation David Cameron and I will be giving the next day.

The phrase, "its the customer, stupid..." is a bullet.

This one statement, is crystallized by what Jim said earlier that evening.

How can a company survive in the Seg 1 and Seg 2 ? "... we make doing business with us, very easy...and we listen to our dealers or CUSTOMERS..."

The MPS industry is ready to turn from introspection, to looking out, paying attention to our customers.

We don't need to define MPS - it's done.

We don't need to realize a good MPS practice requires solid infrastructure - agreed.

We don't need to be convinced of the profitability of MPS - we see it.

We should, now, focus on our customers, focus outside the internals and begin to present to the world, our unique, MPS offerings.

It is time.

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Everything Was Going Great, Until the Elephants Showed Up

Scantily clothed lady in the pool, quick trip to retrieve the Mojito's.

Return to see the lovely lass distracted by two gargantuan pachyderms.

Huh -

Xerox strikes out against HP.

HP Fires back.

HP is one of, if not the largest, technology companies in the world and seems to be competing with EVERYONE.

The short list of competitors HP has drawn down on: Dell, IBM, XEROX, CISCO, EMC and Apple.

Just taking on one would be baleful - there are lines in the sand all over the place.

Xerox is keeping pace, by focusing on HP.

In a marketing move sometimes referred to as "positioning", by attacking HP's VAR programs, Xerox could be implicitly considered, by onlookers, on the same competitive level as HP.

Granted, Xerox and HP may have comparable girth - my point is this...MPS is finally defined, the battle begins. All of us here in the 98th percentile can benefit from the Clash of Those Titans. By positioning ourselves.

If I am "Joe CIO, or Mr. CFO" and I see Xerox and HP on Fox News, touting "business process", not "copiers" - how will I react when I receive a voice mail explaining how my business process can be costing me money?

On the contrary, how will said CFO respond to a voice mail regarding MPS and "...reducing the cost of supplies..." ? - touch three for delete.

Today, the god's are battling. We, individually, have the opportunity to not only ride the wake as those "titanics" of industry maneuver for position, some of us may even turn the Kraken to stone.

Or at the very least, wrest attention away from the elephants.
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Check this ad out - HP/UPS, and some "bionic" label printing arm, thing.

Notice the phrases, "saves a couple of millions of pounds of paper each year" and "business process optimization"...



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Photizo Group Talks With HP and FedEx Executives

Bruce Dahlgren, and Joe Tomesco of HP and Brian Phillips, President CEO, FedEX chat with Photizo.

Read Misty's review here.

Highlights:

- Mobile workers, thumbs drives, RIM and printing from the cloud; new and enhanced offereings based on HP technology
- FEDEX looking to move upgrading production equipment and increase access for users into that niche
- HP suggesting FEDEX Office services within a MPS Engagement as well as
- FEDEX Office, HP and Canon - three big names in print and a great opportunity for cross selling

- HP Smart Decision Suite; network based tools that allow support of MPS engagement

Remember, this is an Enterprise level project; 1,800 stores in North America, tens of millions of retail customers.



HP & FedEx Talk MPS with Photizo from Misty Hamel on Vimeo.

HP Press here.

Cool, MPS stuff, here.


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HP launches managed print services through the channel - In Australia

“MPS is not a model that fits every type of business...While we’re covering a large portion of the expenses in the infrastructure, marketing and sales tools, there’s investment required by channel partners to move into a solutions selling model.

“This is a defensive move for our channel partners who are looking for a chance to sell something other than what they traditionally sell.” - HP commercial channel print solutions director, Stan Clar.

First Europe, now Australia.

This is a channel program, driven toward the SMB space.

"...Quick Page is designed to provide SMB customers with a simple and complete contract that covers printer hardware, installation, supplies and support. The vendor compared the new system to phone plans offered by telcos that simplified hardware and service provision, and support..."

See the story, by David Ramli, here.

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Managed Print Services Conference 2010, The DOTC Take Aways: Impressive

After Glow, the next morning - bold cup of coffee, self-reflection, call and tell all your friends.

Here are my top of mind issues from content DURING the show.

Because, yes, I will present my top Take Aways from events that occurred AFTER 5:30 P.M. - did you know some poor guy fell off a hotel balcony while celebrating his birthday?

1. Ken Stewart fired "all the copier slugs" -

I am rough on copier peeps, because I once was one. Ok, well I am one, you can never really get out, once you're in. It's like the Mafia, which never existed, by the way.

I admire the "shock value"; you go Ken, I got Leopard spots with your name on 'em!

2. Lawton utilized Indiana Jones - the Leap of Faith

I knew this show was going to be much different when the conference opening video included clips of Obama, Clinton, AND Regan all around takes from Glen Gerry Glen Ross, Boiler Room and others.

Lawton's use of Indy to convey the SharePoint message during his pesentation was genius.

3. Know Thy Self

Managed Print Services Conference 2010, Day Two : Death Of The Copier Calendar?

Raise your hand if you now believe MPS is NOT "just like color was..."

Raise your hand if you know about the new, embedded reporting software, DC SAM, from MWAi.

Raise your hand if you would be interested in the "2011, Girls of DOTC" calendar.

Raise your hand if you know what LBIT stands for.

Here's the deal.

As we take stock of the show thus far looking for areas of improvement and commending bright spots, self-analysis is bound to occur.

The audience this year is a bit more profound and studied. The presenters were a little more serious and jittery.

It is very easy, indeed required, that we look back to the 2009 show, but for me, I like to compare it to other shows, other presenters, and other audiences.

Yes, not all are going to find every single session riveting. Perhaps a bit of the content is beneath some attendees and of course, some of it flies right over everybody's head.

So what? This can be said about each and every show I have ever attended, actually, every show ever.

But this iteration of the North American MPS Conference is the backdrop for something different -

We are witnessing the emergence of an industry.

Managed print services is real and the Photizo MPS Conference is the ONLY place where honest goodness, MPS professionals can gather and together, mock the ignorant and misinformed.

A singularity in history - this is the point in time when MPS players can and will shake aside the shackles of the past.

Some will now take that leap of faith, stepping into the future.

Others will brush away the stench of failure, compose and go forth boldly.

There is a real disturbance in the Force, a fracture widened into a fissure - there is a correct way to go about implementing MPS, saving an industry, and there is yesteryear's lackeys' method of grappling for glory long since past.

We are problem solvers - the greatest in all of history. And some of the greatest problem solvers walk the halls of Omni La Mansion del Rio.

But not everyone could attend - you know who you are - if you found yourself nodding in concurrence with some of the above, you are here in spirit, welcome.

Seriously, this is not iTEX - attendance at the North American MPS Conference has actually INCREASED year over year - and the MPS consultants don't outnumber the attendees. (no you didn't just read that)

So as Day Two ends, the post-show festivities begin and the real information exchanges occur.

See your future, be your future...

Oh, yeah, let me know if you think a DOTC Calendar should one-day grace millions of cubes around the globe...

Photizo Group Managed Print Services Con2010: Day One

My Oh My Oh My...what a difference a year makes.

Last year the excitement was palpable - to expect the same this year would be foolish, hopeful at best.

Yet...the buzz today was real.

And guess what...MPS folks are starting to understand the actual meaning of the Hybrid Dealer; not some stolen, bastardized, watered down version.

What is even more impressive, the MPS curious are sick of being told what "old skool-pundits" think they want to hear - this isn't "just like color was".

The truth is sometimes tough, MPS is not easy. The path of the last 12 months is littered with empty dreams and shattered, MPS hopes.

What went wrong? How did this happen? What oh, what are we to do?

Suck it up, pansy.

This is your chance to seize the future or fade into the past.

Some, not smart enough to understand their own predicament, point fingers in every direction; "not enough infrastructure", "...my vendor doesn't understand MPS...", "...my salespeople...".

All too common phrases muttered and whispered in the darkness - AT OTHER SHOWS...not here, not today.

If you didn't make it here, you are missing the best Managed Print Services BrainTrust on the planet. Bar none.

The full MPSA, owners, principals, high-end users - Nationwide Insurance's presentation alone put most every other "MPS Implementation" stories to shame - are all here.

Both tracks today were packed - and people were actually paying attention - all day!

Ed's Group, Photizo, MPS forerunners, are putting on a great show - from the speakers to the roving video crew - a very good start to a great conference.

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