MpS Moving Away from Clicks, More Power to the Machines

When you were standing in the wake of devastation

when you were waiting on the edge of the unknown

with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now

you were there and possibly alone.

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation

you build up hope, but failure's all you've known

remember all the sadness and frustration

and let it go, let it go.

And in the burst of light that blinded every angel

as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars

you felt the gravity of temper grace falling into empty space

no one there to catch you in their arms...

let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go

6/30/2011

The evolution of MpS is thick. Everybody scurrying around, grabbing all the clicks/prints/toner sales possible; Finally.

We're making a living now in MpS - even those of us settling into Stage 1 and Stage 2.  The Big Guys have taken up their purchased positions, Xerox, HP, Ricoh, have or are committing to an MpS Channel program.  Others, Konica, Kyocera, Lexmark, Dell, Okidata, Muratec, etc. stubbed their toe and are taking a second swing at Mps.

And then there is Samsung.  Mysteriously lurking just over the horizon.  Literally. Heck, it isn't MpS, but even MemJet appears to be getting off the ground!

So what is next?  Stage 3, that's what is next.  But how to go about jumping from the hardware as a service into software as a service realm.

Stage 3 incorporates software. Though S1/S2 engagements utilize some sort of software package, most of us aren't yet comfortable with the whole "EDM/Managed Services" thing.

If only there were a 'bridge' from S2 to S3, an 'on-ramp'. A platform that doesn't require a staff of specialists, installers, engineers, and training staff, yet provides actionable information.

Wouldn't that be nifty?

Let not your heart be troubled, I see that bridge. It's been in front of us all along and its mantra is "...manage the behavior, not the print..."

How intriguing...

Listen, just because you see your clients' volume levels and fleet content doesn't make you a friggin MpS Genius.  You aren't that special.  What you got - is table stakes.  Everybody has a DCA or a scrap of MIB-reading software.

If you don't ...wow.

Don't get me wrong, knowing what volume has gone through which connected device is cool.  And yes, a few taps on the QWERTY gets clients a full-color chart displaying what machines are too old or underutilized; again, cool.

Our business reviews illustrate cartridges shipped, service calls, average uptime, color to B/W, simplex to duplex ratios. Exciting stuff just 36 months ago.

Today, big whoop yawns all around. Congrats, it ain't enough, you've got to keep moving.  That thing in your rearview is the Bell Curve - it is Zigging and catching up.

How can you give your client the ability to discern you from the others?  What edge do you have?  And please don't say, "...Our People Make the Difference..." gag.

Let's Zag to what's next.

What's next, or already here, is showing clients the type of documents being sent from which user.  Again, nothing new.  These applications have been around since the very beginning.

The answers are right in front of us - more than meets the eye - they have been all along.  It's just that until we are ready, they blend.  We look right through them similar to how your clients look right through usage reports.(Woah..groovy, dude, far out...)

My recommendation?  Behavior Mod software.

The platform is a perfect bridge for going from S2 to S3. Consider these reasons:

1. Provides total visibility at the End User level
2. Information collected is detailed
3. Behavior is observed, visible, not hidden
4. Most of today's BeMod offerings do not require any internal staff 
5. Providers are willing to install for an evaluation period
6. Separates you
7. Six months from now, BeMod will be table stakes.

To me, BeMod is that entry drug for you and your clients.  Separating you, for now,  from all those touting 'desk-side deliveries', two-day SLA's, and monthly cleanings(lol).  It is an easy transition somewhere between infrastructure(PrintSolv/Fleet) and heavy EDM/DOCMAN/BPO(SharePoint, Documentum, etc.)

DarkContent -

The DarkSide of BeMod?  Let's call it SkyNet, The Borg, P1, The Matrix, Colossus, The Sith, Big Brother, The Indestructible BotNet - Decepticons.

The Machine.

BeMod software brings a slice of how we humans do what we do and places us at the altar of The Machine.

Intimate information captured like 'clicks', like tears in the rain,  recorded and stashed away.  Always growing.

Waiting.

Do you see it the same as I or is your past success holding you back, today?

...let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go...

Click to email me.