Panasonic/Matsushita provided the rumor mill even more reason to suggest that Panasonic may get out of the copier market all together. Rueters reports Panasonic Corp (6752.T) will report a consolidated net loss after tax of about 350 billion yen ($3.89 billion) in fiscal 2008/09 due to restructuring charges and weak sales of consumer electronics.
This will be Panasonic's first loss in six years, and the biggest since the firm posted a 430 billion yen net loss for the business year that ended in March 2002.
Interestingly, at last week's 2009 Lyra Symposium, Panasonic did not make the roster of copier companies analyzed.
It is not known how much the copier side of Panasonic contributed to the loss.
The impact of this merger does not carry the same significance as the RiKon deal, but still worth a mention- it's a nine billion dollar deal.
The takeover also alludes a more financial and timing decision between cash rich Panasonic and the primary Sanyo stake-holders - financial houses, Goldman Sachs Group, Sanyo Electric, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
"This shows that Goldman is in need of cash and wants to recoup its investment quickly," said Shigeo Kikuchi, an analyst at Takagi Securities in Tokyo, to Bloomberg News. "This is a symbolic event in this recession. Whoever has cash is strong." Good article here, by Chad Berndtson, ChannelWeb.
With the assimilation of Sanyo, Panasonic bolsters it's consumer electronic presence - could this have an effect on Panasonic's copier and printer business? A "spin-off" perhaps?
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide and close 27 plants. The job cuts amount to 5% of its 300,000-strong global workforce.
"The company's business conditions have worsened particularly since last October, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending worldwide and ever intensified price competition," a company statement said.
Panasonic now projecting a net loss of 380 billion yen or $4.2 billion for the year ending March 31, rather than the 30 billion yen profit it forecast on Nov. 27.
In an unbelievable step today, two of the largest technology companies swallowed up one of their peers - not since the Ricoh/IKON deal has the industry been shaken so deeply.
Tokyo, Japan -
In a press release today, Canon announced the purchase of Panasonic, "...today, Canon moves forward boldly. Today, we shall incorporate color-coded machines. As the speed of each machine increase, the color will change from dark blue to vibrant red..."
Armonk, New York -
In related news, IBM today announced it's intentions to purchase HP. "...today, IBM begins it's quest to retake the printer market...also, we are proud to announce OS/2v2009, our newest and greatest operating system for the desktop..."
Outside of both press conferences, sightings of dozens of pigs flying were reported.
Additionally, Robert Sethre from the Woodford Group goes on to analyze the article in his contribution at GLG, The Expert Network.
In the past 60 days, I have heard more about Samsung as a printing/MFP provider, than I have in the last 20 years.
First off, Samsung is well known for its line of consumer electronics especially for their attractive and sleek design of everyday, mundane household appliances.
The thought, and the practice, can be seen in the above laser printer. The design is completely different from any other output device. "Lacquer" finisher, touch controls interesting shape.
And as Jim poses in his article, what if Samsung applied this style to "higher end departmental printers". I have often wondered who decided office machines needed to be drab and unattractive - disengaging.
From the "big green" Oce's, the "blue hooded Xerox's", the Ricoh/Canon sorta-beige and the battleship grey of Konica/Minolta and HP - couldn't we just spray paint some flames on the side?
The closest thing to an exciting, eye-catching application is from Panasonic with their colorful, color MFPs. Is that like coffee flavored coffee? (ADULT LINK)
Though one could make the argument that the Panasonic resembles the Daleks on Dr. Who, and I have yet to see one in the field. I imagine a real estate office or small advertising agency may find the physical color of the unit part of their buying criteria.
Samsung printer designer Bong Uk Lim is promoting something new- a printer that doesn't look like one.
"Most companies ask people to adapt to the product instead of the other way around," Lim says. "As you see with Apple, design is more important than ever before for most products. The same can be made true for printers."
Regardless, is Samsung looking to step into the office printing niche?
Samsung is the second largest manufacturer of laser printers in the world - next to that "other" company - but manufacturing prowess may not prevent them from "stepping into it" when they take on HP, Canon, Ricoh/IKON, et el.
And in typical, HP, battleship gray style, upon hearing of a possible Samsung insurgence, David Murphy, head of HP's LaserJet imaging business, says most of the industry's profits come from selling to businesses ...
"For them, it's about the whole value proposition of having a product that does the tasks you want it to,then, form follows function."
Oh kiss me baby kiss me, like you don’t care who knows
Oh love me baby love me like Kennedy and Monroe
Hushed smiles across the table, clandestine meetings. There's something exhilarating about sharing a secret in front of the entire world. Just the two of you. Food's better, the Sun warmer, nights longer.
But affairs have no future.
In the tightly bound world of third-party toner manufacturers, evaporating equipment placements, Monday morning sales meetings, earnings reports, tumbling clicks, and Sunday afternoon barbecues, the copier life is almost too much to bear.
Scandal and intrigue.
"I'd sell Xerox. That's a house of pain." - Cramer
The Xerox affair is a reflection of the industry; Mixed up, ruled by The house of Boys; Desperate.
"As Xerox goes, so goes the industry" or is it "As the industry goes, so go we all."?
Remember when Ricoh bought Ikon? Remember when Panasonic exited?
How about when HP split?
The assimilation of Muratec or the bifurcation of Xerox?
Don't forget the Chinese purchase of Lexmark.
And now, the Xerox, Fuji-Xerox, six billion dollar escapade.
X will fade. The moniker might remain (Lanier, anyone?) but the greatness that was, will be no more.
"The new board - the majority now consisting of directors backed by Icahn and Deason - will begin evaluating strategic alternatives; Icahn and Deason have said XRX could be sold to a competitor or private-equity firm."
"Sold to a competitor..." HP?
"...or private-equity firm..." Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel?
So what will be the next shoe to drop? Will Ricoh succumb?
Will Sharp or Toshiba bail? Can K/M survive? Canon? Truly, everyone(except one) is circling the drain.
Those are negative operating profit figures.
For now, sit back and enjoy yet another, delicious scandal.
From one of many articles:
-‘Sleepless Nights’ and 'Project Juice'
"... Dec. 7, 2017, letter written by Xerox director Cheryl Krongard to the company’s chairman Robert Keegan, titled “4 sleepless nights”. In that letter, Krongard called Jacobson a “rogue executive” who disobeyed the board to secretly negotiate a deal with Fujifilm.
In the letter -- purportedly sent less than two months before Xerox agreed to the deal -- Krongard also writes: “This board exhausted every ounce of patience and coaching to make our current CEO a success. We then decided, unanimously, for a variety of reasons, he was not the leader we need.” Krongard adds that the company had identified a CEO replacement who, she says, Keegan had said was “head and shoulders better than Jeff”.
The letter continues: “Jeff was told by you, as directed and supported by the board, that the board was disappointed by his performance and would likely look at outside talent. Additionally, you told him in no uncertain terms, that he was to discontinue any and all conversations with FX and F regarding Juice. He blatantly violated a clear directive”.
Project Juice was the code name given to deal discussions, while F and FX refer to Fujifilm and the Fuji-Xerox joint venture, respectively.
Latest Update, 5/13 -
Xerox (NYSE:XRX) says it has reached a settlement agreement with investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason and will end its merger deal with Fujifilm (OTCPK:FUJIF, OTCPK:FUJIY). XRX says CEO Jeff Jacobson has resigned and John Visentin, a former tech executive who had been working with the activists, will become the new CEO. XRX appointed five new members to the board, including Icahn Enterprises (NYSE:IEP) CEO Keith Cozza as Chairman, and five existing members resigned in addition to Jacobson. The new board - the majority now consisting of directors backed by Icahn and Deason - will begin evaluating strategic alternatives; Icahn and Deason have said XRX could be sold to a competitor or private-equity firm.
Leave the churches, funeral homes, print for pay, non-profits, municipalities, schools, day care centers, three-person real estate and insurance offices for the five, ten and even the fifteen million dollar dealerships. That once fertile, bottom land is transforming. The SMB does not print like it use to and will be serviced by drones; not men and women.
“What once was our greatest strength, one day, becomes our most severe weakness”
We're great at selling to the small business owner. We use to drag machines around and demo in the lobby, not returning to the office until that unit was placed.
Not anymore. This type of selling is losing relevance.
Sure, you’re going to hear colleagues, and sales managers say things like, “I don’t know about Ricoh, but our copier business is booming…” and “We just sold more devices than ever before!”
Here’s the dirty little secret in the SMB - they buy devices, they just don’t use them. Again, I know what you’re thinking, “Greg, all my customers are printing like crazy!” - No. No they are not. Nobody is printing like its 1999.
Nobody. Go into any OfficeMax, Staples, if you can find open locations, and walk down the printer or toner isle. Depressing, isn't it?
Don’t fall for the fake reports showing an increase in “print”. (books)
Don’t be bamboozled by the OEM sponsored studies evangelizing “Millennials prefer print.” (Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?)
When your OEM rep/BDM spouts off how, “last year was our best year ever” - check out their earnings reports and remember Ricoh, Sharp, Kodak, Oce, Panasonic, and Ikon. Reflect upon the ColorCube from Xerox($7.21 a share) or HP’s($17.72/share, forever) Edgeline.
Don’t believe any of them.
If things were half as good as the pro-copier, pro-paper pundits say, HP would not have split, Xerox would be the darling of Wall Street and Lexmark still American.
I feel bad for the good folks at Ricoh, as I did for the just as good people at HP and their worthy colleagues over at Xerox when they both purged.
And the paper plant employees.
And the liquidated newspaper staff.
And the book stores.
Two Roads
The lines have been drawn for a few years now - you’re buying businesses or lining up to be sold.
That’s it.
For us still in the industry, what’s the best path?
I believe in technology, not in print. I believe in people, not corporate elevator pitches.
Today, more than ever, deciding to stay in this mixed up realm, demands you act in YOUR best interest. Not in a stingy or self-centered manner. Self improvement in terms of helping yourself and those around you. A rising tide, floats all boats and the best way to improve the world around you is to make the best of yourself.
Keep going, focus on solving, not selling. Evolve.
Our space is turbulent, vibrant, and self-indulged. Most of all, our world, the place of toner and fuser oil, is Hope.
In the beginning I did not make a living writing. I understand that most everyone has a dream to be a writer ‘someday’ – I did not share that vision, it just fell into place.
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.
Along the way, I’ve been fortunate enough actually get paid to write – one of the more colorful stories around this subject involves Xerox, UBM and a persona name “Paige Coverage” , that story is for the next book.
With DOTC, I've been pontificating about 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 really goofy stories.
Should Canon buy IKON ? The rumor has been around for at least 4-5 years; Canon is going to buy IKON. I have no facts to back this up. Only guess work and conjecture.
Imagine:
The mature copier industry is consolidating; more mergers and acquisitions will take place. Kyocera? Sharp? Toshiba? Panasonic? We all know Oce is partly owned by the Dutch government, so very unlikely to be purchased.
Consider Canon - CBS:
With the purchase of IKON CBS becomes the largest provider of Electronic Document Management software and solutions in the US - with a very large staff of highly trained Professional Services people.
And don't forget the small, Canon facilities management presence - with the addition of the IKON FM client list, Canon FM becomes a large force to contend with.
And consider Ricoh - Canon could in one motion, force Ricoh to lose it's largest distribution channel. Both Canon and Ricoh have stated the IKON (at one time) represented a majority of their business. As in nearly 50%.
Of Course, the price. Apx 3.0 billion?
What about the investment firm that owns some IKN stock ? I wonder what they think...
Long ago, before the Star Wars Generation grew old, people who discussed alien planets, time travel, robots with brains, or life created in a petri dish would be labeled as "off", "introvert", odd, strange, socially awkward, clumsy, etc.
Not today. Today, it's not so geeky to talk about anything in the context of science fiction.
Signs -
In the 2002 movie "Signs" Mel Gibson plays a reverend who after losing his wife, rejects God and Faith. Aliens play cat and mouse for a few days utilizing crop circles as navigation symbols. The invasion is concentrated around these designs; Mel's family lives on a farm and has recently been a victim of other worldly graffiti. As more and more indicators reveal themselves families begin to suspect the worse.
The movie is a tapestry of past, present, and future events all woven together leading to the ultimate ending where all the pieces fall into place; hindsight is 20/20. Everybody saw the signs, but nobody put them all together until the very end.
With this in mind I pose this question with all seriousness and grace - in a cold and analytical manner:
Do you See The Signs?
If not, let me point out a few of the Crop Circles in our cornfield:
Recharger: Gone
Lay-offs: Prevalent, secular
3D Printing: The latest 'Adjacency' does not make marks on paper
IBM sells off Servers - "...its the Cloud, stupid..."
Dealers offering Coffee and Water Services - no, really, its true
Old Content - We're telling each other the same thing again and again, expecting new results
Self-implemented MpS engagements; fewer clients need our services
MIF reductions - If your numbers are up, you're simply trading MIF with a competitor
Financial: Sharp, Panasonic, Kodak, HP - if the exchange rate wobbles, look out
Show attendance: ITEX, Recharger, BTA; each was much bigger than they are now
Paper plants closing: International Paper announced the closure of one of its biggest plants in 2013 - primary output was 8.5x11
IBM sells off SDN - googlitize it
IPad: Almost as many sold as cases of paper, just kidding, but you get the point
E Signatures - from car loans, to insurance forms, to lease payments everybody is doing it except you
Google sells off Motorola - patents more valuable than the hardware
Kids these days - all Thumbs and not a newspaper to be seen
Lawsuits - desperation; it's like hoping for a penalty when you are down 3 points, late in the game.
There Are Two Groups -
"People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in Group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in Group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky?"
Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
"Swing Away, Merrill"
What signs are you ignoring? Do you see crop circles, but blame the "kids down the street" for little late-night shenanigans?
Is it a coincidence that International Paper is shutting down paper plants, that HP refers to IPG as the "once cash cow", newspapers and magazines shift away from print, that industry show attendance dwindles, MIF falls off lease, and dealers now provide toner and coffee services, all while hardware margins shrink?
It's not so cryptic. The more difficult conundrum is figuring out which group you're in...
"Do you believe it because it's true or is it true because you believe it?"
One might say, "I haven't seen office technology advancements like these since Panasonic."
Far from an HP Fanboy, but - there is more data-based content about Managed Print Services, and the Hybrid environment in one marketing piece than the rest of the OEMs, combined.
Yeah, I know HP thinks EVERYBODY is their customer and yes working with them can be tiresome.
But not only is HP a player, but they are also still the biggest guy on the block. Who in their right mind would square off against Blue in the A4 market?
Nathan and I have been exchanging insight and views for a year or so now - good peeps over there or...over here.
Last month he interviewed me as a MPS Provider and as a MPS contributor.
So with his permission, I am reposting here.
MPS Providers interview #4: DOTC1:1 6pm - Feb 19, 2010
AIOI: What company do you work for?
DOTC: Death Of The Copier - one of the premier niche publications in the world.
AIOI: How many employees does your company have?
DOTC: We currently employ millions.
AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?
DOTC: Anything and everything the person on the other side of the desk says that it is.
AIOI: How long have you been involved with Managed Print Services?
DOTC: Its not the age, its the mileage. Let's just say, I have been in MPS longer than Staples has.
AIOI: What benefits does your MPS program offer your customers?
DOTC: We at DOTC try to tell it like it is, we may not always be correct, but we don't care.
Also, most people in our industry/niche are some of the most dynamic and fun folks to work with or be around - so why can't we show this off to those outside the industry?
Do we really need to be so...bland?
Copier nerds? Yes! Toner-dudes? Of course! MPS Geeks? Sure, why not? Belly up and share some stories.
In addition to the blog, we assist dealers, new MPS practices and individual Selling Professionals in "translating the corporate dogma" being spewed from consultants and the "big boys". We boil down or negate the propaganda, for the Selling Professional.
The Death Of The Copier, currently, has no "sponsor" - I don't advertise or engage Infotrends, so it is unlikely that you will ever see, "DOTC" in the upper right Quadrant. So, I can afford to be a rogue, a provocateur as you will. Suits me just fine.
AIOI: What are some of your major successes?
DOTC: Ok, now we get serious.
I have had the honor to advise an MPS selling team at a dealership, somewhere in the south - this client, who shall remain nameless, engaged me (yes, a check was made out to "The Death of the Copier) to simply "talk" about my successes and my failures in MPS - he wanted to get a real, from the trenches, no bullsh*t view of MPS. He had been a paying customer for some of the more well known copier consultants.
After talking for a couple of weeks, we moved to 1:1's with the selling staff.
Here's where the success comes in, during one discussion, I was able to pontificate and advise this selling professional on one specific account. I told them what I would do in that situation.
Well, I'll be damned if they didn't take my advice, say what I said to say in the way I said to say it, resulting in a close, a sale. I was stunned, flabbergasted, proud.
To me, this is the greatest success in the world. I know now how the consultants must feel or at least had felt back in the beginning.
It is weirdly fulfilling to have somebody take your advice and see results in the form of dollars, because they did what you recommended.
AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?
DOTC: In many ways, I have few, if any, competitors.
My uniqueness is my history: I started selling B2B solutions, accounting systems, back when the AT was still a viable device, when Epson 24-pins where all the rage and connected via parallel ports. I was in that niche for nearly 7-8 years.
I have sold uniforms, excuse me, I mean, Corporate Identity Programs and AFLAC insurance, excuse me again, I mean, pre-tax, self-funded employee benefit programs; again, all B2B.
Add to this my stints in the Office Equipment Industry, sprinkle in a little, Detroit smart-ass and viola!
Greg: SIGMAnet - one of the larger, west coast IT services provider.
AIOI: How many employees does your company have?
Greg: We currently employ 100+
AIOI: How do you personally define Managed Print Services?
Greg: MPS is any process designed and implemented to reduce costs associated with moving, creating, storing and presenting information.
AIOI: How long have you been involved with Managed Print Services?
Greg: Technically since 2007. But I have been in the copier industry since 1999. Starting with Oce, through Panasonic and finally served three years at IKON. Going way back, I started working with clients in 1989, Selling B2B accounting software(AccPac, Timberline, Great Plains, Solomon, etc.)
AIOI: What benefits does your MPS program offer your customers?
Greg: My MPS Engagements bring all the benefits associated with Stage 1 and 2 of the MPS process.
We are fairly deep into a partnership with our distributor when sourcing and fulfilling supplies. I have a team of technicians and we specifically work with "HP houses", which are not that difficult to find.
We are certified up to Edgeline and we run all of our MPS on CPI agreements; B/W we typically sell at 0.0120. Not the cheapest, but we aren't the cheapest and all our supplies are OEM.
Additionally, I can work directly with IT for all their needs - from servers to storage to staffing. This is a major competitive advantage when working with IT-types- I have people who speak their language. What is more intriguing, even if I never engage a MPS client for their traditional, IT needs, the simple reason that I CAN gives me instant credibility.
Also, we are not afraid to work with any manufacturer, vendor or dealer. For example, when one of my client's true, output requirements(as determined by me) dictated a machine that I would not supply, my Partnership with the client allowed me to manage spec'ing the unit, and managing the RFP process.
I worked the copier guy.
An interesting spin, wouldn't you say?
AIOI: What are some of your major successes?
Greg: Successes are all over the board - I have saved a company $1,000.00 per month, not that much, but 12k to this small business was greatly appreciated.
I am currently 12 months into a 36 month project, we have currently reduced their hard cost by $500,000.00; my replacement ratio right now is 1:5, for every machine I place, I remove 5 other devices.
I have advised prospect and client alike on the ways of copier leases - sometimes resulting in a new equipment placement, sometimes not.
As a result of our assessment, I have helped many clients evaluate and re-align their oversight and internal accounts payable process.
AIOI: What separates your MPS program from your competitors?
Greg: This goes back to the IT Services - when I walk through the door, I am not a copier dealer, I am not a toner supplier, I am not simply a laser printer service company, to the prospect I can be much, much more. Click to email me.
The following content is intended for new copier representatives. But if you’ve been around the copier block a couple of times, participated in demo-ramas and are considered a seasoned selling professional, I implore you to read and comment. Not for my edification - you owe it to the industry to help fix the future and advise the next generation. So let them know what’s up, the good, the bad and the ugly.
"Learning here is like drinking from a fire hydrant.”
“This is baptism by fire.”
“It’s sink or swim.”
“Remain calm, everything will be OK.”
Over the next few months, it will be my honor to regale you with legends of glory and doom; with stories of heroic tragedies and mundane existence; with tales for your enjoyment and possible tutelage.
I was digging around some old stuff when I ran across this interview. This was written and aired back in 2011 on the old "The Imaging Channel" website. Cracks me up! ###
Most of us know Greg Walters … or at least we know a little bit about him. We’re familiar with his blog, The Death of the Copier (DOTC), and the scantily clad ladies of said blog. We recognize his bandana and Harley Davidson. We know he’s opinionated and passionate about MPS. But we here at TIC Talk wanted to know more …
TIC: Do you have a “real” job? If so, what is it?
Greg: Yes, I have a “real” job as the MPS Practice Manager at SIGMAnet, a 25-year-old, West Coast VAR.
I dug this up from the underground vault - archives of days gone by, reflections of the future.
Most of us know Greg Walters … or at least we know a little bit about him. We’re familiar with his blog, The Death of the Copier (DOTC), and the scantily clad ladies of said blog. We recognize his bandana and Harley Davidson. We know he’s opinionated and passionate about MPS.
But we here at TIC Talk wanted to know more …
TIC: Do you have a “real” job? If so, what is it?
Greg: Yes, I have a “real” job as the MPS Practice Manager at SIGMAnet, a 25-year-old, West Coast VAR.
TIC: Do you wear a suit to this “real job,” or ever?
Greg: OK, that’s funny. Yes, 9-5, I can be found usually sporting a suit, with a tie even. Odd thing is, many days I am the only person in the office in such garb. It’s Cali, and I am originally from the Midwest.
TIC: What’s your background?
Greg: I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii – Pearl Harbor, in that great big “coral pink” hospital in 1962.
I grew up in a suburb just outside Detroit, graduating high school in 1980 – the same year of the Miracle on Ice, Mt. St. Helens’ eruption, the Olympics and Ronald Reagan accepting the Republican nomination in Detroit, at Joe Louis Arena.
After college, I worked at INACOMP, making my way through a few other dealerships and VARs over a decade or so, always proposing computerized accounting systems. Those were wild times – PS/2s, COMPAQ, Novell networks and DOS 4.0. Taking a break from technology, I worked uniform sales – ahem, I mean, “Corporate Identity Programs” – for a great company, CINTAS. They transferred me out to Ontario, California, in 1999 to help open a new plant.
We started from scratch – oh, the stories I can tell.
TIC: When did you get into MPS?
Greg: Well, I started with the MPS practice in September of 2007. But while at IKON, I exposed myself to all the EDM I could and even worked intimately on a rather large FM project – MPS before there was such a thing.
TIC: When did you create DOTC, and why?
Greg: My first post was on February 20, 2008, and was about HP Edgeline. I created the blog thinking it would be a good way to put some information up regarding the benefits of Edgeline. We (SIGMAnet) were, and still are, an HP OPS Elite dealer. Edgeline was going to kill all other copiers, hence, “The Death of the Copier” – pretty simple. My second post, made on February 24, 2008, was titled “Managed Print Services, That Hot, New Thing …”
TIC: Did you ever imagine that it would grow into what DOTC has become today?
Greg: Nope. I can still see the looks on all the faces of those copier dudes at Lyra 2009. “Death of the Copier? Just who do you think you are?” LOL!I often comment how happy I was getting just 12 views a day, and most of those from my mom. I built the blog originally as a receptacle for things I was interested in. It evolved into a spot for me to put thoughts down one day and go back to read later. I honestly do write for an audience of one: me — and I crack me up. I must say, I am honored, humbled and thankful for all the great people DOTC has introduced in my life. No plan – just making it up as I go.
TIC: What do you do in your free time?
Greg: Huh – sleep.
And hit the trails, get off the grid in my 2001 LandRover, Disco II – yes, it is a green vehicle. Metallic Forest Green, that is. Ha! By the way, new idea for a bumper sticker on a Prius: “My other car is a … car.” Get it? Sorry, that’s my Detroit showing. Anywho, I also like to get out to the paintball arenas and light up some newbs. I used to golf – had all the stuff. One day I figured I really didn’t need another reason to chase a beer cart around all day.
TIC: Greg Walters is certainly an interesting and busy person, both personally and professionally. In addition to blogging on DOTC, working at SIGMAnet, and sitting on the board of the Managed Print Services Association (he currently serves as secretary), Greg will be joining the TIC Web team as a resident blogger, contributing bi-monthly blogs to The Imaging of Greg.
Be sure to check back on Monday, July 11, for his first post.
Posted by Katherine Fernelius on 07/07/2011 Click to email me.
You would think that with the above and oh so many other concerns, like regulating the substance we exhale(WTF!), congress would have many more important things to do.
Apparently not.
Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) sent a letter today to the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling for an investigation into the, "retention of documents on the hard drives of digital copy machines..."
This is stupid, fear mongering, and yet so damn predictable. Before you go off thinking I don't recognize this a real issue - I do, I did, back in 1999. That is not the problem.
The problem is simply this, the congress, indeed this administration, is using any perceived fear to leverage their way into the free market rendering the market a little less "free" with every effort. And right next to them, shoulder to shoulder, is CBS - the Dan Rather, made up letters, the Murphy Brown, a fictitious character, who takes on the spelling skills of a sitting Vice President of America, a non-fictional character - network.
Can the hard drives hold sensitive data? Yes.
Has the "industry", known this from the beginning? Yes.
Have these same industry players openly addressed the issue and presented solutions? Not all. But some have.
Have clients known about this issue? Not all, but those who were smart enough to see the potential, they acted. Some purchasing the hard drives out right at lease end. I know for certain, The Church of Scientology, has been practicing this level of security for at least a decade.
How come they were so smart 5 years ago and the manager at a Tommy Bahama's restaurant in Scottsdale isn't? Well, it's not his job.
And how does this figure into Managed Print Services?
It's so classic, it is almost nauseating.
Let's remember Stage One of the MPS adoption model - Control. Within this stage is the requirement of there being "one decision making entity". This addresses the "facilities handles copiers", and "IT handles printers" mentality. MPS can not exist if there are two separate decision making teams involved with output concerns.
Throw in the fact that IT is usually responsible for supporting corporate, IT, security policies - not facilities; not Purchasing - and we have a predictable, security hole.
So What?
This industry can regulate itself - we don't need any help from a congressman from MA.
Although...how delicious is it going to be when Veejay, Espe, and all the others from Canon, Ricoh, Konica, Kyocera, Oki, Brother, Lexmark and Panasonic are sitting at the same table, being grilled by congress - hide the Katana's!
.jpg)
