I just read an article over at Cannata Report about diversification of products and services for the copier dealership. I can't help but to be a bit surprised at how much HASN'T changed in over two decades.
Don't get me wrong, all of the observations and reflections contained are valid and support the notion that doing more of everything is the best way for copier resellers to avoid the same fate as buggy whips and While You Were Out message pads.(you remember those, right?)
Managed Print Services, scanners, telephones, and ink (Edgeline, anyone?) are staunch, proven, and although on the other side of the bell curve, profitable endeavors of pursuit.
another week in the wild world of managed print services. I hit the gas on my beat-up Chevy and head towards Victorville, California, where a room full of copier salesmen are all vying for a piece of the action at an RFQ meeting. I can already feel the whiskey burning in my veins and the adrenaline pumping through my body.
The drive there is a trip, let me tell you. Past the Rose Bowl, the site of many a Michigan defeat, and onto the Pacific Coast Highway. The ocean is a sight to behold, especially after a cold Michigan winter. Up to the client's office, where the C-level execs are waiting for me to inventory their fleet...
I've been writing, speaking, and commenting about the copier industry since 2008. I've built dozens of websites, and multiple versions of this blog, spoken at all the major shows and held conversations with thousands of folks in the technology realm. From DOS to the Cloud; from the OCe 3100 to Edgeline and all things between and beyond.
I'm an advocate for change, I've pontificated on the benefits and dangers of technology, and with the support of a select few, I've been fortunate enough to maintain a presence in this crazy mixed-up world of toner and fire.
It is with great pleasure, that I am announcing an alliance with Gap Intelligence a great team of analysts in Office Technology and beyond. I look forward to tapping into the cumulative knowledge this company possesses and bringing to you, the best cutting-edge, relevant office technology content on the planet.
The newsletter is the portal into the future of office technology with relevant, curated content and rapier commentary. We'll submit articles, opinions, and reflections and conduct live streams and podcasts. You may even catch us at a show or two.
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?
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.
Long ago, a decade seemed like forever; "1999" was a far-off party, and 2001 was so distant, that it was science fiction.
When I was young, I couldn't imagine where'd I be beyond 2008. Today, decades fade away, "like tears in the rain..."
Ten revolutions around the Sun
120 Months
521.4 Weeks 3,650 Days
87,000 Hours
At its peak, The Death of the Copier was coveted; worth stealing. Not for the plain talk, but for the audience.
In 2008, we were busy back-slapping and congratulating ourselves for selling machines like popcorn. The future was bright; it was never going to end.
Ikon was a huge channel of 'independent' dealers.
Xerox was like Kleenex.
Ricoh and Canon punched it out for the second and third position.
HP was on the edge with Edgeline.
The rest of the pack was just that, a pack.
Back then, few were 'blogging' about copiers. Out here on the inter-webs, nobody was talking about workflow, managed print services, IT, or business acumen. Newsletters, magazines, and trade shows were the vehicles of delivery.
On this 10th year anniversary, I've traveled back to the future, re-visiting stories of the love, toner, blood, and tragedy that is DOTC.
"5. LinkedIn - MySpace is all grown up. Much more mature than Facebook with real contacts and real business and NO high school moms pretending to be CEOs...well, maybe. Quite by chance, I fell into LinkedIn. Early, I joined MySpace, Facebook, Plaxo, etc. - but LinkedIn, for some reason has held my attention and gets most of my input when it comes to "social networking"."- 2008.
I talked about Managed Print Services, how copier reps won't naturally progress into the niche, how real MpS requires IT and copier knowledge, and something called Business Acumen. It was like speaking Latin.
"A copier salesperson does not directly translate into an MPS specialist.
Nor does an IT Services salesperson translate into an MPS Specialist. It takes both IT experience and copier experience and a great deal of general, C-level, business experience. That holy grail of Professional Selling, "Business Acumen". Someone with the "Big Picture" insight and manage the details of a solution."
Honestly, the more things change, the more they stay the same. It's been ten years and we're still struggling to find managed print nirvana.
We still sell copiers.
How about this one from 2011? Inspired by the movie Jerry McGuire -
"MPS isn't the end-all, it isn't the only reason to exist - it never has been. Still, with everybody getting in and as many as 50% failing, what now? With all the OEMs defining MPS ... and reclassifying direct accounts, how can we continue? Touch More. More Human Touch. Less PowerPoint. No WebEx meetings, toss the 50 slide business summaries. Instead, press the flesh. Draw on a napkin. Do that thing we do as sales professionals, look him in the eye and say "thank you, what more can we do, today?" "Oddest, most unexpected thing..." Success and change aren't always a result of design. Innovation encroaches from another direction; from the left as we look right, from behind as we look ahead. Few ever see it coming. So it is today. As some deny the paperless revolution is near, companies like Alaska Air outfit their 1,400 pilots with iPads. Apple is making the textbook obsolete and banks accept pictures of checks for deposits. Your kids, don't call each other anymore, they use their thumbs. From social media to MpS, everything is new and unpredicted - there are no experts - the world moves faster than ever before. No benchmarks, no 'metrics', no comparison, no rules. Waiting for the revolution? It's already here. "The Me I always wanted to be" - Trust Trust. It is a big word and one of the first MPS Conference keynote speaker attempted to rally behind stating,
"..Trust is something this industry has got to reclaim."
He is new. He doesn't understand to reclaim something, one must have first possessed it. "I had lost the ability to bullshit, ..." Our journey continues. The path is less bumpy when we build partnerships. Partnerships are easier to forge over a foundation of truth. Can you be true? Can you lose the ability to bullshit? If not to your prospects, at least with yourself. Or are you just another shark in a suit? Can you see the entire ecosystem? How about instead of optimizing a smidgen of hardware and some toner, you envision Optimizing Everything? That's right, everything. Managed Optimization Services.
"That's how you become great, man. Hang your balls out there."
Good Stuff.
What have WE, learned over the past ten years?
The Copier is nearly gone
Old ways die-hard
Situations rarely change, people do
My nostalgic jaunt inspired me to seek out memories from the pioneers of the copier-industry social media world.
Before Twitter. Before Instaglam. Before LI took off...there was Ken Stewart, Nathan Dube, Jim Lyons, and Art Post.
Can't remember EXACTLY how Greg and I became friends, but as what seemed like the only two bloggers in the industry back then it was inevitable we'd become friends as well as colleagues. A particular fond memory is when Greg had accepted an invitation to the Lyra Conference (Symposium) - where I'd gone from client to contributor. Greg and I had been in touch quite a bit but had never met face-to-face and several of the team (including Photizo folks in attendance, though this was before the merger) were excited to meet Mr. Death of the Copier. As we anticipated his arrival I remember enthusing that this was a very much-needed "young guy" we were welcomed into the fold!!!
Nothing stays the same, change is constant. There is nothing new in sales even though there are thousands of sales gurus on LinkedIn promoting their success when they haven't sold shit in years. There are many stubborn copier manufacturers that refuse to exit the channel. No one copies anymore. I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it goes.
Thanks, guys, for reading DOTC and staying true.
Personally:
2008, I was married and living in the mountains of Southern California. 5,000 feet above sea level, an hour from the beach - "...things that have comforted me, I drive away..."
Since 2008, I've moved from SoCali to Charlotte to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin - "...this place that is my home, I cannot stay..."
Over 10 years, I've seen small businesses grow and flourish. I've met the best of the best and the worst of the worst - "...I come and stand at every door..."
I've Failed - "...If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me..."
I've Succeeded - "...I always leave with less than I had before..."
I've become an expert at Starting Over - "...tell me, can you ask for anything more..."
Over the long haul, I've seen the extinction of the typewriter, witnessed the evaporation of the mini and mainframe, and bobbed along the turbulent manual-to-PC-to-network-to-internet-to-cloud waters.
I am fortunate to have a place to express myself. I'm blessed to be able to write what I would read and humbled others to find something, interesting and possibly entertaining.
10 Years. How about you?
On what field did you stand? Today, do you still stand?
Where will you be in 2028?
Two, three, four
Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making his way down the street?
If you've ever seen a one-legged dog then you've seen me
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you've ever seen that scarecrow then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you've ever seen a one-armed man then you've seen me
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
Tell me can you ask for anything more?
These things that have comforted me, I drive away
This place that is my home I cannot stay
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you've ever seen a one-legged man then you've seen me
2/2018 I remember the first time somebody said to me, "We've been doing managed print services for 20 years..." that was ITEX, 2008. Which of course meant this person had been optimizing, assessing, rightsizing, and billing service and supplies on a cost-per-image basis - back in 1988.
"What? Did you bill for re-inked ribbons?" He was not amused.
Back then, there was a bunch of talk about how MPS was nothing new; the facilities folks had been assessing fleets and selling bodies for years. The Electronic Document Management guys had been selling scan-to-file for at least a decade and the toner re-manufacturers were old hats at dumpster diving for cores.
Revolution.
The copier-heads saw MpS as a scam; nothing more than a marketing ploy effectively duplicating what they had been doing since 1970. They laid claim to managed print services.
The move into managed print services took a few years, as OEM after OEM assembled and rolled out their unique program. Back then, most programs supported a homogenous fleet meaning the "best" MpS solution was one that included the brand "I SELL" versus the brands customers currently utilized - "Rip And Replace" took on a significant meaning.
Months passed. Iterations of software like PrintAudi, FM-Audit, and PrintFleet. WebJet Admin was HP's software - the most expensive free software you could ever want. Still, monitoring software was in its infancy.
The MpS world struggled to move away from faxed and manually collected meter reads. Billing was half the challenge, managing toner shipments incorrectly morphed profitable contracts into nightmare losses.
Shipping costs, undefined commission structures, premature exchanges of toner, and blown motherboards killed many MpS endeavors. The smart guys looked at meter reads and toner usage data as possible predictors. Algorithms were developed and applied to create predictive models of toner usage down to the device.
Golden Age of MpS.
As MpS matured, the advanced players moved from 'hardware agnostic' to 'hardware neutral' covering multiple vendors' devices.
Toner fillers and re-manufacturers got into the game as well, assembling and providing managed print services programs complete with data collection agents, mapping software bundled with sales training, and marketing deliverables.
Everybody, even traditional IT VARs, jumped into the MpS ocean. MpS was full of possibilities, a departure from copiers toward IT and beyond. ITEX stacked the floor with MpS providers and training sessions - we even had a Managed Print Services Conference.
But a funny thing happened on the way to MpS nirvana. By 2015 MpS had come full circle - the pioneers of the MPS rarely appear, MPS consulting firms fade away leaving MpS training to the "drill and fills". Manufacturers release dozens of A4 devices like it was always their idea. In an interesting twist of irony, the biggest critics of managed print services find themselves leading MpS organizations.
Everyone ignored the Signs. Small OEDs slipped into history or glommed on to bigger dealers - circling the wagons and selling out. Dawn of The Planet of the Mega Dealer
The Late, Great MpS
Today, 2018 dealers, full of hubris and dripping with chunk-watches, brag about 30% cost reductions, all the while installing A3 for end users who've forgotten what tabloid paper looks like. Prospects implement print policies on their own, realizing the folly of letting companies that derive revenue from prints help them reduce print.
Founding members of the industry transform:
Lexmark, once an American darling, sells out to an arch enemy. Xerox, a one-time American, corporate icon, begs her neighbor for shelter. HP, Lady Blue, suffers through Edgeline, TouchPad and Leo, breaks in two and emerges stronger.
This has happened before, industries rise and fall. Weaving machines displace textile workers. Horsepower replaces manpower. Automobiles supplant horses. One day soon, managed print services will be the buggy-whip of the once prevalent, Copier Industry.
If copier OEMs are Missionary, HP is Reverse Cowgirl. It's Over and HP Wins
Anyone who knows me, remembers me lambasting HP for past gaffs and missteps: Hawk and Ikon, The "Long March" that was Edgeline, firing Hurd, Leo, and the all too infamous, TouchPad.
And who can forget "The Great Toner Purge of 2013"
During my talk at the Photizo conference back in 2012, I was asked if I thought HP would survive. My quick answer was "No, not as we know her today." That was then, this is now and HP ain't what she used to be.
Which brings me to my point: HP is going to win the war for the remaining clicks. HP will beat Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, and those who attempt to overtake her as the predominant provider of MpS and devices.
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.
...work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.
In 2007, I traversed the sun drenched thoroughfares of Southern California - from the 'Bu to the Border, Laguna Beach to Victorville.
I was part of a new movement, "Managed Print Services", working for a big VAR, part of HP's flex into the copier niche(sound familiar?) with an MPS program and a new copier-killer, Edgeline.
Like most VARs, we were built on value added services attached to hardware sales. Unlike most, our newly built NOC helped the move to services based revenue streams. In addition to classic T/M contracts, email hosting, backup/disaster/recover, remote management and remediation, and help desk were part and parcel of our value proposition.
At the time, managed print services fit well into our portfolio; the notion was to integrate all services and bill per user, per month. I didn't consider this a 'good' or 'bad' idea, it was simply the established method.
We folded our per click model into the per user or 'seat' amount and soon ran into challenges -
What if we calculated the per seat cost but users printed MORE than we anticipated?
Could we discern between "high-volume" users and provide tiered billing?
How do I get EAutomate to bill by user?
There was risk.
“...A good friend of mine(Greg Walters), talked about SBB back in the olden days, and I told him it wasn’t going to work - but when Print Audit and West started bringing in high powered guys like Luke Goldberg, I knew it was going to fly”.
"If dealers don’t jump on this, they should just call their bankruptcy attorney today. "
- Anonymous
Unfortunately, back then, SBB for MPS, found few advocates. In 2008, industry know-it-alls labeled managed print services a fad; the latest scheme by some to remake the copier industry. The successful copier dealers could barely spell 'MPS'.
Since then, I've been inside VARs, across the country learning one thing - even if an MpS program is 'out of the box' easy, or well established, most IT providers treat print like 'fly-over' states. Separate in practice, structure and billing.
Has the time come? Is per user invoicing the second coming?
Yes and No.
Boon - "Cause your's is the best in the county, isn't it 'mam?"
Billing per user is easier for the client. No meter reads, or confusing invoices. When faced with a quote of $9.00/emp/month, prospects find the decision to move forward, easier.
Imagine a business with 150 employees; 75 are knowledge workers. This account would generate $675.00 each month, no matter how much they print/copy. (Not sure if that is big or small for you.)
Indeed, as prints decrease, and head count remains constant, costs fall against steady revenue.
This fits nicely in the true goal of a solid, contemporary managed print services engagement: reducing output.
Boondoggle - "...and you sir, in the yellow shirt, come on up on stage..."
Across industries, the best sales people rarely, if ever, discuss pricing.
Converting cost per image into cost per user and presenting this idea as a 'value-add', reduces(once again) the conversation to price, moving away from business solutions, focusing on cost as a primary motivator.(I know, I know...)
Same race to the bottom, different vehicle.
So what can you do? More importantly, who do you go to for real world advice? A sinner.
"Who can lead you off that crooked road? You need real sinner, people. A sinner of such monumental proportions that all your sins wrapped up in one couldn't possible equal the sins of this King of Sins..."
Listen to A Sinner - "...I have danced with the demon satan..." How To Implement a Per User Model for MpS
Create SBB in-house
Our industry either builds or subs out services - MpS and Managed IT can be provided by aligning with outsourced programs like Collabrance, Continuum, PrintSolv, and others. Soon there will be SBB programs sponsored by toner remanufactures.
Is this right for you? I'm not sure. I once believed the only way to offer SBB was to rely on distributors. Only they can spread the perceived risk over large amounts of devices/toner.
But today, the risk isn't in toner delivery. Aligning with toner suppliers for SBB my be as counter productive as partnering with transactional copier dealers when designing a print reduction program. The motivations are diametrically opposed.
So do it in-house.
Work closely with your managed IT services practice. MpS is IT.
Approach through IT, present as a managed program, not "toner and service just like your copiers"(upchuck). If you're not providing any IT services, stop reading this now and go feed your pet dinosaur.
Sell one more service(IT). MpS and Trees.
Embed MpS with backup disaster recovery or remote monitoring and management. Expand your current MpS services to include "remote output monitoring" or something similar, utilizing the full capacity of your data collection agent. If you don't know what I mean, stop reading this now, and go feed your dinosaur.
Line of business integration? Forget 'bout it.
Of course you want to integrate your even existing CPI billing structure with the new managed IT and SBB programs. But it isn't easy. All it takes is a spreadsheet and a separate P/L - your MpS practice has its own P/L, right? Tsk, tsk.
In the end, SBB is a good idea to protect your revenue from the continued reduction in 'clicks'. But per user billing is a temporary fix - nothing is going to stop the decrease in placements and clicks.
Not even the Supercharged Grenade Launcher of Love...
During the past seven years, I've attended dozens of speaking events, helped hundreds of clients, worked thousands of hours, and generated an incalculable number of words about managed print services.
When Nathan Dube approached me with a few quick questions about "then versus now", Clone Wars, and the best things sales reps can do in 2017, I tripped into the Time Tunnel. What seems like yesterday is now nostalgic.
In the beginning, few were talking about, let alone selling, MpS. In the 'good ole days, those of us in, made it up as we went along.
HP(Edgeline) and Xerox(Page Pack) had MpS programs. So did Synnex and a few other organizations.
Customers were clueless when it came to DCA's, assessments, QBR's and proactive service. Nobody heard of "Print Policies".(not print rules)
Below is our first podcast. Thirty minutes of two veterans of the industry shooting the breeze. I'd like to do more of these in a more relaxed format - with a libation.
I guess the theme for this podcast could be "The Song Remains the Same."
There is no evidence that Ford uttered the phrase, "“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Still, the feeling is relevant - "If we had asked OEMs what they wanted, they would have said dozens of more copiers..." Of course, we only ask OEMs, not customers. Customers, might say things like, 'fewer copiers', and who wants to hear that?
The print volume is down, and printer hardware placements are off, but studies(IDC) reveal growth in contracted hardware somewhere between a 4% and 40% increase.
Could this mean while printers are dying off, copier volume is increasing? No. As the MpS trend continues, a portion of the print volume is captured as a 'contractual' type. It wasn't tracked like this before MpS; same images, different billing scheme.
No. New. Clicks.
From a great webinar, BPO Media
Industry chatter supports the IDC report as dealers report stable and growing MpS/Contractual volume. Following the logic, HP's do-over makes sense. They are digging in somebody else backyard.
Who knew?
HP Inc., and her crew, are excited about this turn, it is a new wrinkle in an otherwise boring and waning realm.
Yet,
An HP/Samsung adventure is not disruptive - the HP Series II was "disruptive".
The Mopier and Hawk were not disruptive - the Internet was "disruptive".
Pagewide ink is not disruptive - Gutenberg was "disruptive".
The effects will be the subject of discussion for months, but the industry won't buck, markets won't gallop into 'black', and end-users will not race to print and copy like it was 1999.
What does it all mean?
For the Copier Dealer - "Isn't this horse dead? Kick it again."
This steed has been around the track a few times; the pitch borrowed from Edgeline:
"IT departments trust the HP logo."
"Your cost with HP is less than copiers."
"We're looking for loyal partners."
All true.
Just a few things to remember:
HP believes everybody works for them - even clients
HP will not be happy with being your 'second' choice - the rules change every October
Your clients who purchase HP, are really HP's customers, not yours - it's not your name on the box
If you haven't been approached by mother blue, you are not on their radar. HP is hitting up the larger dealers for 'partnerships'. Pinstripe suits, great meeting venues, and bags of cash - what could possibly go wrong?
For VARs - "Rebates"
Print still sucks and you don't want anything to do with hot machines, dirty boxes, and a help desk inundated with paper jam questions.
So HP will take that headache. In contractual programs supported by HP, all you need do is work with your customers, sell the machines and pass them on to the blue Goddess.
What could possibly go wrong?
Customer - "I watch NASCAR"
The trifecta winner is the customer. You know clients love to complain about copiers. They leave sticky notes and write memes about their multifunction device. Pictures of exploded toner flood the inter-webs.
Cheaper, smaller, simpler devices will rule the day and nobody does A3 better than HP.
At the Finish Line, its HP - "By a Nose"
Not like Man-O-War or Secretariat, the Blue Gorilla may win the day by being the biggest, not the best. The sheer size of HP allows great losses before the organization fades into darkness. Also, this isn't the same HP that purchased and arguably destroyed COMPAQ, Palm, and WebOS - the names are different - maybe
For dealers and VARs, if you're into supporting devices that mark paper, I would jump on the HP wagon. Keep a clear head, and understand that HP's loyalty only goes as far as stockholders' wishes and dividends.
You will never be a true, Partner. Form an alliance, benefit from the HP logo, sell a few more devices and keep your options open. It could be a short but profitable ride.
Indeed, when that Last War Horse of a printer is sold, it will be an HP.
9/14/16 Check out the first article about Samsung/HP, here.
Samsung, recognizing print’s demise, ejects 6,000 employees and 6,500 patents - HP, Inc., like the family dog, sniffs up the crumbs. Todd Pike looks to be the smartest guy in the room.
HP is buying Samsung's 'formidable' print/copy apparatus. It wasn't more than five years ago, that Samsung built a copier that worked. No really, I attended the roll-out in Jersey. A couple of new qualities they pitched were aligned output vs. skewed and variable-sized dots.
Stunning.
So now, the questions begin:
What does this mean for the industry? Not much.
Is this bad news for the Japanese OEMs? Of course.
How does Canon come out of this? Like Oliver Twist, "Please sir..."
Who is the big winner? Mother Blue, Kali, goddess of destruction.
So too, do the pontifications:
"HP's acquisition of Samsung gives them the opportunity to disrupt and truly innovate in this space at a time when most other OEMs are struggling. It's a real Game Changer!!!" - LinkedIn
"This will shake things up a bit!!" - LinkedIn
"HP to acquire Samsung's Print business is big news and will further enable our managed services business. We are driving disruptive change by bringing value to our clients." - HP
HP shelled out less for Samsung than Ricoh for RiKON and may spend half as much on marketing into A3. Regardless of what happens on the OEM side of life, no degree of consolidation, no merger or acquisition, is going to entice customers into generating more 'clicks'.
This is War. HP Inc. is maneuvering to be the last standing.
Today, Monday, September 12, 2016, you are witnessing the beginning of the greatest campaign in our slight history. HP Inc.'s marketing war chest is huge and they're not doubling down on print, the farm is on the line.
But what else can they do?
In The War for Marks on Paper, HP Prevails.
There should be no doubt, that HP Inc. is in it to win it. Even with the decline, the last person selling buggy whips is still the only one selling buggy whips.
With the infrastructure and money to put service trucks into every major market in the U.S., HP Inc. looks like a mega-dealer.
Every service manager should be shaking in their boots at the prospect of HP Inc. riding into their town. And now, HP Inc. has a value proposition that includes A3.
This is not the same HP that purchased Palm and Compaq. These aren't the folks who clustered Hawk or propped Edgeline as the next coming, only to let it fail. No.
HP Inc. is the real deal; they've got a plan, money, and can reach from the F100 boardrooms to the SMB kitchen tables. The
But enough about print. Print is not the end-all and HP Inc. is not infallible - how can you differentiate yourself from the big MpS players?
Don't sell MpS.
Instead, offer IT Lifecycle Management. If you can sell copiers or managed services, I know IT Directors will take you more seriously when you suggest helping them manage their IT assets instead of "lowering print costs by 30%".
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.
It's time to chime in on a subject that's been part of my Mps discussion since 2008 - per seat billing for toner and supplies fulfillment.
By now you've been reading or have heard the buzz around the idea; instead of billing in a 'usage model' or per click, we bill monthly for the number of users. Benefits for the customer are about the same: supplies and service inclusive. For providers a steady revenue stream, regardless of decreasing print volumes.
Not a bad bargain.
"...that's the rumor..."
I've been a proponent of per-seat billing since 2008 when I was cutting my MPS teeth with Edgeline, inside a VAR. Billing help desk and other services on a per-user basis was the norm. Back then, I thought that someday, managing print devices would fall into the same scheme.
Of course, this hasn't happened.
"...that's just my game..."
Two sides of the same coin, arguments for and against, with no clear winner, I put together three reasons 'against' and three reasons 'for'. Enjoy.
Against:
Risk Avoidance - Assessments may be more important than ever, adding another 30 days to the cycle. It is difficult to convert CPI or toner out costs into a per seat figure.
Implementation - Can your system bill per seat? How about three different types of seats? Who will handle adds and deletes?
Ignorance - If you're doing Mps, by optimizing a 1:1 scheme, delivering toner/service only, there is little chance you'll understand the complexities and nuances of presenting to an IT professional. Don't try per seat billing.
"...you're a Daisy if you do..."
For:
Easier to bill - Once you determine the SKU(gag), billing is simple. No meter reads.
Easy to understand - Again, simple billing is a value. So is an easy-to-understand pricing structure.
Your customer does not care - And your client doesn't care how you bill.
"...I'll be your huckleberry..."
My personal belief is that by the time BTA-types figure out how to confront their fears and live outside the shadow of equipment quotas, there won't be any printing - no matter how we bill, per image, per scan, per seat, or per whim - the cheapest image is the one you don't print. Ever.
"I was just foolin..."
"I wasn't..."
"....poor soul...you were just too high strung..."
By David Cameron; CEO, Cameron Consulting Group, March 27th, 2012
Greg Walters is a well-known blogger, rebel, truth-seeker, and now a consultant in the managed services field for print and IT.
This article focuses on his leadership and—at times—exasperating experiences in building an MPS practice inside a large West Coast VAR. Adding managed print services (MPS) was an uneasy fit that didn’t demonstrate its value until after Walters took over. As the MPS practice grew more than $1 million, the plan shifted and the practice was folded into the much larger managed services group to leverage common processes and resources. It is an open question whether the MPS practice will retain its edgy personality and strong growth rate as it goes mainstream as part of the VAR services portfolio.
Greg Walters took over the immature managed print services practice
Do I make fun of the tablet 'duct taped' to the side of a copier? Yes.
Do I think end users will do whatever they can to avoid standing in front of a copier? Yes. Even if we attache Netflix or Clash of Clans? Yes.
Did Tod Pike sell AGAINST A4 devices just four, short years ago? Well, did Samsung profits just drop like a 1951 era MIG-15?(good lord, google it) Yes.
"Oh, Greg. Who are you pissing off now?"
Samsung -
Here's the challenges I see with the new user interface:
Reason One - Nobody wants to spend more time in front of a copier.
In all my years of working with clients helping them determine requirements for print and content management, I have never had a client say to me, "I wish I could find another reason to stand in front of the copier." Well, except for government and education, but let's not get political.
Honestly, the unit looks like an engineer velcro'd the tablet to the side of a copier. IKON'a DocSend - now that looked cool.
Hold Your Venom!
I know there are folks ready to fire off a terse comment or email my way, please don't hit 'submit' just yet. Here are my reasons we should recognize this move as powerfulgenius.
Tod Pike has been able to get two divisions within one of the largest technology manufacturer's in the world, to come together and bring a combined package to market - in what? Two years?
I see the future of our business with fewer silo's and faster innovation to market - SPEED.
Think about your world: How easy is it for you to get Sales and Service talking? Right.
How long did HP 'think' about Edgeline before hitting the streets? HP 3D? 2016ish. What train wrecks occurred whenever IPG was inside a PSG account - with a dealer and VAR?
In some organizations, speed to market is measured in 20 quarter cycles. Our traditional OEMs have one gear to innovation. S L O W. In this case, it looks like Pike was able to jump the curve.
Maybe there is a back-story and I am giving too much credit, it doesn't matter because Tod isn't stopping here. He's working with Technology United, integrating Forza AT THE MACHINE LEVEL which would be a gargantuan undertaking for many, but apparently not Tod.
From the outside, it looks logical for a manufacturer of copiers, tablets and phones, to integrate products into a single package. An example would be Toshiba integrating nuclear reactors inside their erasable copier. But that's not going to happen.
In a time when MPS messaging gets garbled from the board room to the trenches, seeing a company slap one department on the side of another and bring a product to market, is both refreshing and significant.
Cheers to the process.
#### UPDATE 12/23/2014 ####
Tod Pike as decided to move on, leaving Samsung in early 2015. What can be gleaned by this turn?
I am not sure.
I can tell you this, the 'droid-tablet-copier will not land more units and if the consolidation of divisions says anything, its that they're shrinking and focusing on equipment based, transactional selling. Box moving.
Now...let me tell you about a Intellinetics and their 'little box of wonders..." Click to email me.
First published, 1/9/13 on Walters & Shutwell. Softly edited, May, 2024. The War is Over: WinTel is dying. How do I know? The growing pile of HP technology in the corner of our room tells me so.
Don't get me wrong - I am not a Cult of the Mac, graphic designer types. The last Apple computer my family owned was an IIe back in 1980. My father, the teacher, got a massive teacher discount. I barely touched the thing.
I grew up on DOS 2.0-4.0(the one with the square mouse pointer) my first job was with an Inacomp selling B2B, computerized accounting systems.
In addition to Great Plains, I sold the difference between "IBM-DOS" and "MS-DOS". We despised MACs for their ease of use and lack of business applications.
I sold IBM PS/2' with OS/2. I was there from the beginning of the War. I was there when IBM, like Cleopatra on her barge, left the field of battle open to the clones and Steve Jobs.
A couple decades later, I was a Crackberry advocate and 'droid proponent.
I sold HP9065(Konica) copiers to IT directors back in the day because they loved that little blue logo. My managed print services practice was built around the Edgeline (cold sweat at night) - again, IT loved the logo.
So, yeah - I drank the Koolade for decades.
A few days ago, we brought into the office an iMAC. We use it with multiple iPads, a 2-month-old Mac Book Pro, an older iMac, iPad Mini and iPod Touches.
In the corner of the room sits an HP InkJet printer next to a half-empty box of A4 paper. The case is at least five years old and still contains a few original reams.
On top of the printer is what I call, "the world's largest laptop, in the world" - some HP huge contraption that I am sure was great in its time but has also been downgraded to kid duty.
There is a Compaq/HP laptop stashed somewhere and soon to join the "pile of HP" is my last PC, ever. A very nice, HP, steel thing-a-ma-bob with so many .tmp files loaded on it, I should just take it into the woods and shoot it out of its misery.
We didn't wait for all the new tablets, Droid or otherwise, because we knew they would never, ever be an iPad with the Retina display.
We didn't run out and grab the latest E-reader either - who wants a reader when you can get an iPad mini? Who?
Not many.
Conversely, corporate America did wait. But by the time they saw what they waited for, the Kool-aid had lost its sweetness. DOS 8.0 won't save anyone, it will remain planted in the past - #MSFT's last attempt has fallen short. Xbox to the rescue?
Our house is now a house of Mac.
No patches, no blue screen of death, no drivers, no long boot times, and no eye fatigue.
For me, it wasn't how good my eyes felt the second I started using the iPad, that convinced me of MSFT and the PC's death.
It wasn't the zillions of cool, available, and affordable productivity apps or the fact that all my contacts and music are sharable without the headache that tipped the scales.
Just because my computer is now a pleasure to work with, easy to understand, and powerful enough for NASA, I could still see an HP or Dell somewhere in the future. In a public library or someplace.
The convenience, ease of use, and increased productivity of the Mac hadn't convinced me totally of The Fall.
The thing that clinched it, the one observation that pulled it all together, that last nail in the coffin was a little device that fits in the palm of my hand.
A technological marvel.
Like the penny in Somewhere in Time - Apple's Magic Mouse snapped every second from 1980 into the present. Boom, here it was, full circle.
The last item MSFT will see as it fades to black is the first object that set Apple apart:
