Greetings, I'm Greg Walters, a seasoned professional with over three decades of experience in various industries. My journey commenced in 1987 with Inacomp Computer Centers, focusing on computerized accounting systems, a radical shift from "big iron" to PC-based technology at that time. From constructing Novel and SCO networks in my home kitchen to facilitating businesses' transition from dot matrix to laser devices, I've been on the cutting edge of digital transformation for decades.
I've explored several fields, including insurance sales, corporate identity programs, and video production, before reconnecting with my passion for IT in 2007, when I joined a $300M west coast VAR. At Sigmanet, I wore the hat of the MPS Practice Manager, leading companies to design and implement managed print and managed services programs.
From 2011 to 2014, I steered the ship for two of my ventures, Greg Walters, International, and Walters & Shutwell, Inc. My teams and I assisted providers in designing managed print services and managed services programs and helped businesses transition from transactional to service/relationship-based sales models. Our efforts resulted in managing internal business processes around technology, saving millions of dollars for our clients.
In 2014, I became a published author with my book, "Death of the Copier," which stirs up discussions about the early days of managed print services and the future of the hard-copy industry. This piece mirrors my unique and provocative views on technology and its impact on 21st-century business and society.
Currently, I'm the President of Greg Walters, Incorporated, a consultancy and content creation firm that helps businesses optimize processes and convey their narratives. Over the years, I've aided firms in refining their IT service portfolio, analyzed workflow and processes, built self-sustaining MPS programs, and implemented print policies for medium to large businesses.
For an extra dash of flavor, I'm also a tournament-level competitive paintball player, a nod to my belief in balancing work with personal passions.
Here's a snapshot of my professional journey:
1986-1988: Young and Rubicam
1988: Entered the computer sales market
1996-1997: Systems consulting and sales force automation design and training
1997-2000: CINTAS, the Uniform People
2000-2001: Oce
2001-2002: Industrial Video, Inc.
2002-2003: Panasonic
2003-2007: Ikon
2007-2011: Sigmanet MPS Practice Manager
2011-2014: Greg Walters, International
2012-2014: Walters & Shutwell Inc.
2014-Present: Greg Walters, Incorporated
2015-2022: Bourbon Manager
You're welcome to peruse my LinkedIn profile for more detailed insights into my experiences and skills. Additionally, my blog "The Death of The Copier" provides a unique take on technology's impact on business and society.
Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to reach out for any business inquiries, discussions on the future of IT, or the business benefits of bourbon
_________________________
With over 20 years of providing business-to-business technology solutions, I have had many opportunities to help my clients save money.
From the 5.25 HD floppy to Outdoor Wireless Mesh; from Corporate Identity Systems to Industrial Video production, I have been in nearly every type of business environment.
It is my intent to always work with my clients as a partner, and as an advisor, and to do what is in my client’s best interests.
Managed Print Services is a “new” issue for most I.T. professionals when it comes to output devices yet MPS represents one of the most “revenue drains” in today’s business. This site is a place for me to share information and views relating to Managed Print Services, the impact of print systems in the organization, and Professional Selling as an Agent of Change.
From the 5.25 HD floppy to Outdoor Wireless Mesh; from Corporate Identity Systems to Industrial Video production, I have been in nearly every type of business environment.
It is my intent to always work with my clients as a partner, and as an advisor, and to do what is in my client’s best interests.
Managed Print Services is a “new” issue for most I.T. professionals when it comes to output devices yet MPS represents one of the most “revenue drains” in today’s business. This site is a place for me to share information and views relating to Managed Print Services, the impact of print systems in the organization, and Professional Selling as an Agent of Change.
Thank you for stopping by DOTC.
I'm an entrepreneur and founder of the notorious destination site, TheDeathOfTheCopier where I comment on all things imaging, the rise of managed services, and the advance in business technology.
I am President of Greg Walters, Incorporated, contributing writer for The Imaging Channel, Workflow, a founding member and past President of the Managed Print Services Association, and recognized as one of 2013, "Top 40 Most Influential People in the Imaging Industry" by The Week in Imaging.
I love sharing unique—and provocative—views of technology and people addressing the digital impact on 21st-century business, the new way of work, and society.
My book, Death Of The Copier, published in 2014, offers a controversial summary of the early days of managed print services and the not-so-distant future of the hard copy industry.
From April 2014 to January 2015, I helped a VAR evaluate managed print services, outsourced managed services, executive mobility management programs, and telehealth offerings.
Between the years 2011 and 2014, my business, Walters & Shutwell, Inc. helped providers, design and implement managed print services and managed services programs. We coached businesses in transitioning from transactional to service/relationship-based sales models.
More rewarding, we helped end-users manage internal business processes around technology - saving millions of dollars for our clients.
From 10/2007 to 10/2011 I was involved in building a Managed Print Services Practice serving the last 2 years as the MPS Practice Manager within a large West Coast VAR. Prior to that, I worked IKON, a Panasonic dealership, and Oce.
Before then, I held positions as varied as Executive Vice President, Industrial Video Inc., AFLAC sales, and providing 'corporate identity programs' with CINTAS, The Uniform People - I started selling computerized accounting systems in 1988, with INACOMP, Timberline software.
My technology roots run deep by way of the technology/accounting system/VAR arena MicroAge, Inacomp, IBM, Novell, Great Plains, Timberline, ACCPAC, etc. - I've been in since 1988.
I currently write for both The Imaging Channel and CRN/Business Transformation Center and my pedigree is that of the copier industry having cut my teeth over at Oce, Panasonic, IKON.
With DOTC, I've been pontificating about MpS for almost four years now since the beginning of the current MpS model.
When it gets right down to it, I am nothing more than a guy who used to sell copiers, sitting in front of a computer writing goofy stories.
As a simple dude from the mid-West, I grew up just outside Detroit. Westland John Glenn class of 1980 – the last analog generation – we didn’t have Xbox or the internet, we used our gray matter to entertain ourselves. If something didn’t add up or we couldn’t touch and feel the facts, we called bullshit.
Our social networking occurred on weekends as about a dozen of us chided and ‘dogged’ each other relentlessly - we survived, our self-esteem intact if not a bit stronger.
When we played basketball, we kept score. At the north end of every gridiron, I ran on, stood the scoreboard, and we kept score.
We were taught to win with grace and to lose with honor. We learned that a defeat only meant picking yourself up and getting ready for the next chance to win. The world is like that, it isn’t fair and sometimes tough to get through – but we get through, we survive, and thrive. On our own, with the talents God gave us.
We did not gripe and shunned those who did.
As an MPS Practice Manager with a medium-sized west coast VAR/MSP, SIGMAnet, I have made every mistake possible associated with building a practice.
The pursuit of integrating MpS as a service under one Managed Services umbrella; right next to staff augmentation, help desk, and NOC, is nirvana; not easily achieved.
I've seen every single MPS program on the planet. From the well-defined and comprehensive, 24 Mod, RIKON MDS, to Canon's MDS.
From Toshiba's Encompass to PagePack and HP OPS - I have even seen Oki's first-gen MPS, Konica's failed OPS, and Kyocera's "CPC is MPS program". I was there when Samsung first announced its intention to enter the MPS world, 3 years ago.
MSE, LMI, SNi, NER, Synnex. PrintFleet, AssetDB, FMAudit, @Remote, Preo, Capella, Equitrac - I've evaluated these programs and many more.
Steven Powers, Water, BEIPros, Navigator, and Photizo's Dealer transformation program are quite familiar.
I have attended and spoken at each of the last three-yearly Photizo MPS Conferences. I was at the first MPS Conference in San Antonio and participated in the genesis of the MPSA.
I am currently the President of Your MPSA.
Today, MpS is dead.
The industry has defined MpS as only Stage 1 and Stage 2 - toner/service on a CPI agreement. MpS is a marketing tool leveraged to land more gear - diametrically opposed to the goals of MpS purity.
I keep going back to this - it isn't about prints it's about content. And most fleets are filled with too many, overcapacity devices - if every manufacturer stopped making output and copy devices today, we could go for decades on today's MIF.
We will never get to 100% paperless, but we will get to less paper.
TheDeathOfTheCopier is a work in progress and a hobby. Originally created to promote the 'copier killer' for HP, Edgeline, it quickly changed into a platform for pontification.
My views, my ideas, and my words about sales, selling, copiers, technology, and whatever else I like. I see things through the prism of over 20 years in the technology industry - selling, failing and overcoming.
It's my way, it's your way this tome is a collection of my personal views, in my tone and manner, with no apologies.
It is no lie, I was happy with 12 views a day - I write for an audience of one - Me.
I have met hundreds of readers and formed solid relationships within the industry, because of DOTC. Great people have encouraged me and agreed with my words, and my ideas.
Not a bad deal.
##UPDATE## 2012
As 2012 comes to an end, reflection, gratitude, and optimism swell.
Walters & Shutwell has broken through the 100 days barrier; forever young.
Come on over and check it out.
I'm an entrepreneur and founder of the notorious destination site, TheDeathOfTheCopier where I comment on all things imaging, the rise of managed services, and the advance in business technology.
I am President of Greg Walters, Incorporated, contributing writer for The Imaging Channel, Workflow, a founding member and past President of the Managed Print Services Association, and recognized as one of 2013, "Top 40 Most Influential People in the Imaging Industry" by The Week in Imaging.
I love sharing unique—and provocative—views of technology and people addressing the digital impact on 21st-century business, the new way of work, and society.
My book, Death Of The Copier, published in 2014, offers a controversial summary of the early days of managed print services and the not-so-distant future of the hard copy industry.
From April 2014 to January 2015, I helped a VAR evaluate managed print services, outsourced managed services, executive mobility management programs, and telehealth offerings.
Between the years 2011 and 2014, my business, Walters & Shutwell, Inc. helped providers, design and implement managed print services and managed services programs. We coached businesses in transitioning from transactional to service/relationship-based sales models.
More rewarding, we helped end-users manage internal business processes around technology - saving millions of dollars for our clients.
From 10/2007 to 10/2011 I was involved in building a Managed Print Services Practice serving the last 2 years as the MPS Practice Manager within a large West Coast VAR. Prior to that, I worked IKON, a Panasonic dealership, and Oce.
Before then, I held positions as varied as Executive Vice President, Industrial Video Inc., AFLAC sales, and providing 'corporate identity programs' with CINTAS, The Uniform People - I started selling computerized accounting systems in 1988, with INACOMP, Timberline software.
My technology roots run deep by way of the technology/accounting system/VAR arena MicroAge, Inacomp, IBM, Novell, Great Plains, Timberline, ACCPAC, etc. - I've been in since 1988.
I currently write for both The Imaging Channel and CRN/Business Transformation Center and my pedigree is that of the copier industry having cut my teeth over at Oce, Panasonic, IKON.
With DOTC, I've been pontificating about MpS for almost four years now since the beginning of the current MpS model.
When it gets right down to it, I am nothing more than a guy who used to sell copiers, sitting in front of a computer writing goofy stories.
As a simple dude from the mid-West, I grew up just outside Detroit. Westland John Glenn class of 1980 – the last analog generation – we didn’t have Xbox or the internet, we used our gray matter to entertain ourselves. If something didn’t add up or we couldn’t touch and feel the facts, we called bullshit.
Our social networking occurred on weekends as about a dozen of us chided and ‘dogged’ each other relentlessly - we survived, our self-esteem intact if not a bit stronger.
When we played basketball, we kept score. At the north end of every gridiron, I ran on, stood the scoreboard, and we kept score.
We were taught to win with grace and to lose with honor. We learned that a defeat only meant picking yourself up and getting ready for the next chance to win. The world is like that, it isn’t fair and sometimes tough to get through – but we get through, we survive, and thrive. On our own, with the talents God gave us.
We did not gripe and shunned those who did.
As an MPS Practice Manager with a medium-sized west coast VAR/MSP, SIGMAnet, I have made every mistake possible associated with building a practice.
The pursuit of integrating MpS as a service under one Managed Services umbrella; right next to staff augmentation, help desk, and NOC, is nirvana; not easily achieved.
From Toshiba's Encompass to PagePack and HP OPS - I have even seen Oki's first-gen MPS, Konica's failed OPS, and Kyocera's "CPC is MPS program". I was there when Samsung first announced its intention to enter the MPS world, 3 years ago.
MSE, LMI, SNi, NER, Synnex. PrintFleet, AssetDB, FMAudit, @Remote, Preo, Capella, Equitrac - I've evaluated these programs and many more.
Steven Powers, Water, BEIPros, Navigator, and Photizo's Dealer transformation program are quite familiar.
I have attended and spoken at each of the last three-yearly Photizo MPS Conferences. I was at the first MPS Conference in San Antonio and participated in the genesis of the MPSA.
I am currently the President of Your MPSA.
The industry has defined MpS as only Stage 1 and Stage 2 - toner/service on a CPI agreement. MpS is a marketing tool leveraged to land more gear - diametrically opposed to the goals of MpS purity.
I keep going back to this - it isn't about prints it's about content. And most fleets are filled with too many, overcapacity devices - if every manufacturer stopped making output and copy devices today, we could go for decades on today's MIF.
We will never get to 100% paperless, but we will get to less paper.
TheDeathOfTheCopier is a work in progress and a hobby. Originally created to promote the 'copier killer' for HP, Edgeline, it quickly changed into a platform for pontification.
My views, my ideas, and my words about sales, selling, copiers, technology, and whatever else I like. I see things through the prism of over 20 years in the technology industry - selling, failing and overcoming.
It's my way, it's your way this tome is a collection of my personal views, in my tone and manner, with no apologies.It is no lie, I was happy with 12 views a day - I write for an audience of one - Me.
I have met hundreds of readers and formed solid relationships within the industry, because of DOTC. Great people have encouraged me and agreed with my words, and my ideas.
Not a bad deal.
##UPDATE## 2012
As 2012 comes to an end, reflection, gratitude, and optimism swell.
Walters & Shutwell has broken through the 100 days barrier; forever young.
Come on over and check it out.
The adventure continues: Greg Walters, Incorporated takes off and DeathOfTheCopier is reborn. More stories of victory, woe, tragedy, and intrigue.
Stap in, the ride is going to be turbulent.
##UPDATE## 2015
April 1, 2015-
Oconomowoc, Wi. working with a VAR architecting a Print & Content Management practice, under the Lifecycle Services discipline. Partnering with HP, PrinterLogic, and helping enterprise clients in the healthcare niche.
Good times...
##UPDATE## 2016
April
Well, the last year has proven a few of my personal theories:
1. Big companies offer no more security the owning your business
2. Working for other people sucks
3. Investment companies don't know how to run real businesses
4. Print is not that important to 95% of businesses
5. Everything happens in the manner it is meant to happen...
My stint with a pretty big VAR has ended; my position was eliminated because it did not align with corporate/VC goals.
Out of all the reasons to lose a job, this was the most honest.
Now I am working with a colleague and friend, Dave Westlake. Atlas is the name of a software package that "connects disparate databases, pulling out relevant points, and presenting actionable information, under one pane of glass..."
It connects the help desk, MpS, accounting, CRM, dispatch, and other databases, breaking down silos and eliminating pivot tables.
##UPDATE## 2017
Jan
The recruiter thought I was still in Charlotte, I guess a part of me will always be. When he said "Brookfield", I was intrigued enough to explore the opportunities.
I took the position of "MPS Specialist" - My role was to support the sales team in assessments, proposals, and presentations. One point I found very interesting was the aggressive cold call and phone regiment.
Impressive.
I figure the team should be able to get me 10-15 solid MpS leads a month. The MpS director thinks the way I do and see MpS as a pivotal practice for growth and expansion into the IT realm.
We shall see.
Well in a phrase, it sucked. The dude who hired me, a partner of the company quit. The MPS practice never amounted to anything more than a churn and burn toner sales team - no vision - and the place is corrupt; a top-of-the-line copier selling organization and petry dish of everything that is wrong with the niche.
##UPDATE##
##UPDATE##
- The Partner I was working with quit. "Ethical Misalignment with Ownership"
- Ownership interviewed a candidate for MPS Specialist. yet hired her as the Practice Manager.
- Ownership changed the compensation model, requiring SMEs to cold call and close deals.
- With a 30-day notice, the SME team was required to hit cold calls AND revenue goals.
- Management backed off the revenue requirement, allowing the team to hit cold call goals as selling cycles are typically 60 days.
- Management lied. Removed SMEs who did not 'meet revenue requirements'.
- The company represents everything that is bad about the copier industry.
##UPDATE## 2018
Greg Walters, Inc. After a two-year hiatus, I see now, that spinning the business back up was inevitable. I've secured a spot on the team charged with implementing a global Print Optimization Program for a Fortune 100 company.
Aug 2018
Project Complete. It was a learning experience being part of global deployment. My interactions focused on Latin America so the cultural exchange was incredible.
##UPDATE## 2019
#ArcDrive
On June 6th, we launched an economical yet powerful scan, archive, workflow, and managed print service appliance called ArcDrive.
https://thearcdrive.com/
2019 - 2022 - Bourbon @ Vino
Greg Walters, Inc. After a two-year hiatus, I see now, that spinning the business back up was inevitable. I've secured a spot on the team charged with implementing a global Print Optimization Program for a Fortune 100 company.
Aug 2018
Project Complete. It was a learning experience being part of global deployment. My interactions focused on Latin America so the cultural exchange was incredible.
##UPDATE## 2019
#ArcDrive
On June 6th, we launched an economical yet powerful scan, archive, workflow, and managed print service appliance called ArcDrive.
https://thearcdrive.com/
2019 - 2022 - Bourbon @ Vino
2022- The Fear of Covid and Bourbon @ Vino
2023 - Social, Web, Remote Work, Crypto, AI
.jpg)
