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
"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."
- Winston Churchill
The Earth rotates, our Moon orbits, both circle the Sun, the solar system flows within the Galaxy and the Milky Way drifts through the Universe.
Nothing stands still.
Some observe "change" in patterns - our lifecycle, ocean tides, seasons, sunrises and sunsets - there is a basic rhythm and circular order. Though seasons repeat and the Sun always rises, each Summer is unique, every Sunset, one of a kind. Flow patterns have similar signs, yet every journey is singular.
Even though we live within the turbulence, recognizing the past in our future is challenging. The establishment doesn't like change.
"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
- George Santayana
Business systems abide the same laws yet it's difficult to recognize the signs of change, turn of seasons. Arguments are historically similar, the signs as prominent, examples clear, but buried in the status quo:
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation
"It’s time we wake up from the pipe-dream of the paperless office..." - Wired
"Tsk. Death of the Copier? Come on, the OEMs will be around forever and people need to make copies. Who let this guy in?" - Some print/copier dude, Lyra, 2009.
We've all been here before - as a society and as the human race - today it's the internet, a century ago it was the telegraph. Today it's iPADs, yesterday it was chalk.
Chalk.
There have always been visionaries, there will always be Ludittes. As further illustration, consider the following list discovered years ago via Fred Kemp, a professor in Texas, by way of Collins and Halverson and originally presented by Dave Thornburg and David Dwyer.
They're describing resistance to change. I know you'll see parallels.
Fascinating:
From a principal's publication in 1815: "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?"
From the journal of the National Association of Teachers, 1907: "Students today depend too much upon ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil."
From Rural American Teacher, 1928: "Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education."
From FTA Gazette, 1941: "Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant."
From Federal Teachers, 1950: "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Businesses and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries."
From a fourth-grade teacher in Apple Classroom of Tomorrow chronicles, 1987: "If students turn in papers they did on the computer, I require them to write them over in long hand because I don't believe they do the computer work on their own."
From a science fair judge in Apple Classroom of Tomorrow chronicles, 1988: "Computers give students an unfair advantage. Therefore, students who used computers to analyze data or create displays will be eliminated from the science fair."
Breathtaking, isn't it? "Deniers" from 1815 to 1988.
I remember business owners back in the 90's exclaiming, “Why would I ever need a computerized accounting system?” Three years later, most of those suppliers were gone.
Do you hear similar comments? Yes, everyday.
OEM sponsored ‘studies’ reporting how office print is rising or a blog projecting paper as the preferred knowledge transfer medium appear almost daily; more signs lamenting "pen-knives" and "store bought ink".
I hope you're not telling your employees or prospects, they don't know how to "write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves" or "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country..."
Robots are replacing jobs like never before, and that's okay.
The business world is evolving away from paper - processes are quicker and more efficient when utilizing digital conveyance of information, and that's okay.
Technology will be the great equalizer, women will be paid the same as men, minimum wage may end up at $40.00/hr, but cashiers and order takers will be replaced with the aforementioned robots. And that's okay.
Study history, recognize the signs, see the future, flow through the now.
Don't be the historic-denier.
Curious about your future? Interested in technology as a catalyst? Join us for a thrill-packed, riveting, web-event, "The Future of Everything", May 19, 2016.
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.
Another stage, power point, round table, expert panel and cast of hundreds looking to commune and see the “new MPS” …again. I've witnessed multiple iterations and others broken promises since 2007. I’ve attended many such gatherings and presentations: Lyra, Photizo, ITEX, ReCharger, MWAi Executive Summit. I’ve spoken with thousands of customers, hundreds of resellers all the OEMs and countless dealers about MpS, copiers, printers, toner, managed services and the like.
Now, a new effort is in town. The "Top 100 Summit" focusing on the future of managed print services; "MPS is Changing" is the tag-line.
In the beginning, managed print services was mocked for being nothing more than facilities management or copier-service on laser printers. Something the more “forward" thinking copier providers and OEMs had ‘been doing for decades’ - not really.
But even back then, in the frenzied years of possibilities, there were those who saw managed print services literally; a service that managed print. Some of us understood ‘print’ to be any media - from 8.5x11 to voice mail. Further, we recognized this managed service as a path to higher thought, more relevancy and a foundation for a sustainable business model not increased shelf space, capturing clicks, or trapping clients in 60 month contracts.
We knew the future of print had less to do with copiers, printers, ink or toner hitting paper. We eagerly embraced the talk tracks and value props around ‘more efficiency in the office’, reduction in costs and optimizing the print environment - and we meant it.
We attended new and interesting shows. In April of 2009, Photizo ushered in this bold new concept and talked about managed print services well before ANY other pundit, consultant, training house, OEM, toner remanufacturer or copier dealer - yes there were a few true managed print services providers but most of the traditional imaging industry either explained away the movement as ‘just another gimmick’ or claimed to have been in managed print services for “25 years”.
We believers "...gave the Future to the winds and slumbered tranquilly in the Present, weaving the dull world around us into dreams.” Designing a future of connected devices, less print and optimized business environments. Yet, like most promises, our dreams were burned away by the reality of equipment quotas and dogma; more specifically, in toner and ink.
Spin the dial six years into the future and it seems who can spell “MPS” can sell “MPS”. Bags of ink are the new MpS. Analytics are the new MpS. Copier service is the new MpS. Despite consistently declining equipment placements, shuttered paper plants and industry lay-offs, increasing print volumes are the new MpS. It is an upside-down world.
The Universe according to Greg:
Print Analytics - Who Cares? We do, but do our clients?
Ink vs. Toner - Who Cares? We do, but do our clients?
Print is not dying - Ignorance is bliss.
Managed (IT/Network) services is the future - Oh, really? Even the IT guys understand MS is short term - look up Software Defined Workspace.
Print volumes have been going up - rearranging the deck chairs, nobody is creating new "clicks".
So what about all this?
Is it still the doom and gloom era? Not really. But no matter how many round tables, expert panels, sales classes, consulting services, or business transformations our industry attends or participates, we’re all simply talking to ourselves; alone in the dark. Until we stop looking at our prospects as ‘targets’ to be ‘trapped in an agreement’ or design ‘sticky’ marketing schemes and start ‘solving’ instead of ‘selling’ those who do survive, will wander the the abyss; shadows of the once might ‘copier industry’.
Which brings me to the Top 100 Summit. Will we usher in a new era? Will the sins of our past support positive change or drag us into the depths of irrelevance?
Big questions and unseen answers.
I suspect we’ll have a great time. I see us sharing new ideas and expressions of hope. Ultimately, what really matters, is how everyone feels 72 hours after the show; sinful and atoned or raptured ignorance.
2015 After five years of managed print services, one would imagine a standard set of MPS rules would rise out of the fog. And yet there is still debate over what exactly MPS stands for — not the acronym, but the vision and real value of managed print services.
I remember the great device-to-technician-ratio discussion of 2008.
Two defining qualities of any cutting edge, evangelist of change - what once was MpS - is Defiance of the status quo and the ability to cover the basics
7. Be defiant
Test everything every day. Your processes can always be better, and your costs reduced. Take a page out of Six Sigma or any one of the hundreds of business books, scale it down, and apply the lessons to your everyday business process. Make quarterly reviews mean something internally. And if you ever hear the phrase, “This is how we always do it,” refer back to that Lyra chart.
Transformation is continuous, and your improvement should be too. The number of imaging providers will decrease by half or more. Copiers are not what they used to be. Be ready for anything by challenging everything. MPS is bigger than toner and service, so you need to be ready to shift and move at the drop of a hat. What was done in the past simply does not apply today, so challenge the existing.
8. Be basic
Think about the days when you knew nothing about copiers or toner. Remember how it was to make it up as you went — how you demonstrated over-jammed originals, around faulty color and through spilled toner? Call up the days when there were no rules in toner — or copier — sales. What did you have? A phone, the Yellow Pages, Rolodex, and some ideas? A pager? What the heck is a pager? How did you survive?
I hate to say it, but get some of the grind work done; that means calls and marketing — in the trenches. Because like never before in history, we — providers and prospects — are on the same page. The field is level. It comes down to two people making something happen — a basic relationship built on solid intent.
Continuing our journey into the 10 Truths of MPS we look now to partnerships and overhead.
3. Be a partner
The tough times are making everybody re-evaluate their position in the ecosystem, and the best way to survive is to gather together with like-minded people. Partnerships open up your services portfolio; good partnerships bring with them even more connections and synergy. Isolation leads to desperation. Partner with your clients, toner provider(s), OEMs and fellow employees. If HP can work with third-party toner suppliers, why can’t you partner with a managed services provider? Or better yet, how hard can it be to become a tablet reseller? Today, it is all about partnerships and teams. Build a team that includes players from all over — from network infrastructure experts, software application specialists, property managers, bankers and shop owners. Full press your personal network and choose those you deem worthy.
4. Be lean
Tough decisions are coming, if they haven’t already. The economy is making a rebound unlike any other time in history, and the recovery will not include a spike in manufacturing jobs or employment. Look to reduce your overhead.
Do you really require a demo floor? Really? No, really? It may look nice, but ... really? Is it a stipulation of your dealer agreement? If so, throw that Lyra chart in front of them and push back. Nobody holds inventory anymore, so why are you? How tight are you on trunk stock and warranty exchanges? How many service calls have you made over the past 12 months on your fleet of laser/cartridge-based devices compared to your traditional copiers? Do you need so many technicians? Do you need three dispatchers? How many people in accounting?
I am not recommending you fire everyone in sight. I am recommending you look at the costs that could be reduced or shifted over to some of your partners and possibly move traditional infrastructure talent into your sales team.
For example, in my practice, I did not want to stock toner, take orders or coordinate the shipment of and maintain an inventory of toner cartridges. I did not want to — nor did I believe I should have to — bear the overhead cost. I evaluated every single fulfillment program out at the time from front to back. I looked at their process and the infrastructure the value-add provided and talked with the people on the ground.
I made the shift and demanded much from my new, integral partner — from delivery and customer relations to report generation. When I found somebody I could work with, that company became a full-fledged member of my team. It worked and reduced my overhead immensely. Lean, agile, clear.
After five years of managed print services, one would imagine a standard set of MPS rules would rise out of the fog. (I know, you’ve been doing MPS for 25,000 years) The debate over what exactly MPS stands for — not the acronym, but the vision and real value of managed print services - rages on.
Do you remember the great device-to-technician-ratio discussion of 2008?
Copier dealers had well-established ideas developed and honed for decades, but they didn’t apply in MPS. There are a number of “rules” associated with toner yields as well, but have they made you money or did they cost the last MPS manager his job? It is easier to see guidelines take shape rather than hard rules. Benchmarks are almost the same: MPS benchmarks are difficult to establish, and best practices simply hold us accountable to somebody else's model.
Four years later, at the 2012 Lyra Imaging Symposium, vendor scorecards showed lower profits and a majority of the industry OEMs have been utilizing the same rules since 1979. Today, they find themselves 41 percent behind Q4 2007 numbers. Stunning, isn’t it? What’s it called when one plays by the same rules expecting different results?
Roll in the evolution of less print: From 1991 to 2001, printing paper shipments increased 27 percent, but from 2000 to 2009, they decreased 27 percent; it is not that difficult to see.
MPS contributes to shrinking print and copy volumes, which in turn reduces the prospects’ need to buy OEM toner, parts, and machines, resulting in fewer printed pages, fewer printers, fewer copiers, and fewer virgin cores.
This has been and remains the biggest Catch-22 with MPS — the one issue OEMs can’t seem to get their minds around quickly enough: MPS contributes to the reduction of machines in the field, yet every single OEM has an MPS program in hopes of reducing the other OEMs’ machines in the field. Suicidal? No. Madness? Indeed. Transformative? Absolutely.
MPS moves fast
Time is accelerating as well. Yesterday’s enterprise was about print, copy, 60-month leases, CPC contracts, locking customers in, flexing, selling more capabilities for the same price, auto-renewals and built-in obsolescence — and that was less than 36 months ago.
Back in 2013, World Expo presented managed print services to a hungry audience. We were re-exposed to the MPS basics of toner, service, remote monitoring, and cost-per-image billing. Back then, discussing VARs and "managed network services" was fresh and new.
MnS is nothing more than managed services.
Technology evolves faster than we comprehend. It took a decade for everyone in America to have a car, a phone, and indoor plumbing. In only 12 months, back in 2010, Apple sold 14.8 million tablets and then matched that entire year in one quarter on the way to 40 million units in 2011 — which already seems a decade ago.
Everything converges and accelerates into the future at a dizzying pace.
There is barely enough time to breathe, let alone establish a set of rules. The good news is there are natural laws that — when recognized — can help us keep our bearings as we boldly move through this unexplored space.
Consider the following a few suggested guideposts along your MPS journey and business transformation.
1. Be aware
2. Be adaptable
3. Be a partner
4. Be lean
5. Be a leader
6. Be open
7. Be defiant
8. Be basic
9. Be the ruler
10. Stand or fall
1. Be aware
The first rule is simple: Know who you are, your world, and your place in it. Self-awareness is the foundation of all change. For example, if you are strong when it comes to delivering toner, use this as a foundation to grow on.
When you look at your client base and see a vertical, use that information as an additive to your business personality and value proposition. Take a deep dive and perform an assessment of your entire business operation.
Are you flexible, open, and adaptable enough to look at how you have been running your business and then change it?
Caution is recommended here; there are just a few full-scale business assessments in our industry. “Full-scale” refers to every facet of your business: finance, sales, inventory, infrastructure, partnerships — everything. This is different than the standard “How are you selling?” and “How does your service desk work?” evaluations.
This transformation from copiers to MPS to managed services is a magnifying glass. If your current systems are flawed, adding a new process will turn cracks into crevasses.
Also, get to know your customer’s environment outside of printing. Look at the workflows, recognizing choke points and other areas for improvement from a business perspective — not a toner, services, or print perspective.
Are they looking to move to IP phones or tablets?
Check to see if they are outsourcing their IT support today and how much they pay.
Do they feel the money is well-spent?
Do your customers use Twitter?
Do they write or read blogs?
Be aware of your world and the world around you. Open your eyes.
2. Be adaptable
The days of churn and burn are nearly at an end; this option is a dead end, but that doesn’t mean doom and gloom. The opportunities and directions are endless, but flexibility in all phases is necessary to survive and thrive. Compensation, for instance, has been reasonably stable over the decades.
Can you look at paying for performance differently? Are you flexible, open, and adaptable enough to look at how you have been running your business and then change it? For instance, if you are under the traditional toner supply model with notifications coming directly to you, consider and be open to a different model. If you see more documents heading toward screens instead of paper, would you consider reselling or partnering with a tablet's OEM? Adapt or die.
Join us over the coming weeks as we review the remaining "Timeless Truths". Oh, the fun we will have.
Well, well, well...40 years of evolution, and look where we are today.
Scottsdale, AZ under the watchful gaze of one of the true gentlemen on the planet - Mike Stramaglio.
Mike and I first met at a Lyra show and have had many conversations about the sluggish acceptance of the 'connected world' by our industry. Mike's world has always been about new technology, M2M, P2P, and business engagements blooming into personal relationships.
He not only talked 'Star Trek' stuff but integrated our corner of the world into his talk track, discussing how "...imaging devices and other business equipment are inherently included in 'things' 'people', 'process,' and 'data' - the four components of the Internet of Everything"
The Executive Summit has been in existence for three years, this is my first one. For context, I've attended and spoken at every domestic Photizo MPS conference, I attended and spoken at a few ITEX get-togethers and a BTA meeting - I 've attended more shows than I can remember.
I've known of MWAi and the group for years, meeting Mike Stramaglio at a Lyra back in ....2009 or 08, I forget. Mike and I have broken bread and on occasion, we've even solved many of the world's problems over whiskey, Cabernet, or some other variation of libation.
I guess when others say it, it must be true. I mean, if some guy with a blog and a leopard headband spouts off about "ignore this" and "Hawk" that, he's just a lone voice in the darkness, right?
Sure.
In a recent All Things D article, Arik Hesseldahl reflects upon analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank Securities review of sales trends over the last 10 quarters at printer companies including Canon, Epson, Lexmark, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard.
Deutsche Bank calls the combined sales for equipment and supplies down 6 percent year on year.
Huh.
Let me outline a few of the high-points from Arik's retelling of the Deutsche Bank report:
Credit: Deutsche Bank
Supplies and equipment sales are down 6%, year to year
Six percent is significant
Sales of printer paper, A3/A4, fell 6% in the
2nd quarter to levels that are 20 percent below the 2006 peak
Interesting how paper sales peaked a year before the copier/MFP revenue peak of 2007(Lyra).
When filming a scene in a movie, once the director has what he needs on set, and the filming is complete, somebody will announce, "That's a wrap!" indicating the end of the scene, show, or movie.
Then they celebrate the completion and bash-out at the "Wrap Party".
While sitting in the first day of presentations at an industry symposium, Lyra 2012 - I had an epiphany.
The days of IT departments, IT VARs and CIOs are numbered. The ending scene is being played out before us.
Off camera, an anxious Director is about to announce, "That'a a Wrap, people..."
It ain't mobile print(last gasp of a dying niche) but which iTEX exhibitor might just get printing (not all of it) relevant again...?
It's no secret, iTEX has been taking it on the chin lately with bad venues, obvious 60-minute commercials camouflaged as Power Hours, and empty-headed booth-drones claiming to have been in MpS for 25 years.
Heck, some of the presentations were given a stage worthy of side-show-Bob carnival barkers - "step right up, see the bearded lady..." where is my bamboo stick?
Well, at least somebody got new shoes and it was Vegas, right?
Just kidding - the show was a success. A big success.
Those Who Stay, Will Be Champions
Without a doubt, hands down, shorter hours and everything, the show was a good time. I saw business being conducted in the booths, everyone I talked with was not only positive, but most were also buoyant, almost - dare I say - giddy.
No, really. People in this dying industry are smiling.
And do you know why?
The ones I spoke with are lined up perfectly to be survivors. And this time, the power brokers are the agile, defiant, independents. That's not to say the OEMs are eunuchs - well not all of them. It just means that the role of the OEM is changing, transforming from a large, centrally based command and control center, to a more flexible responsive entity.
Well, one can dream.
We've all been there, "...whatever doesn't kill me, makes me stronger..." - the smart have utilized MpS, the quick are moving beyond marks on paper and the strong are forging their way without blaming anyone.
Staying the course, taking responsibility, and not wasting energy on bitching. The Heart, it still beats...
MpS whiners need not apply.
With the puffed-up and contrived angst around the "false promises of MpS" it was refreshing to find more than a few successful MpS providers. Even though I understand and support the notion, I won't call them Hybrids. I call them businesspeople.
It is my personal belief, that if you're a copier dealer and have half a brain, you can be successful with MpS. Yes, I know, the two may be mutually exclusive (wait for it...wait...)
One reseller I spoke with explained how he analyzed the market, looked at his strengths, calculated a plan, articulated his MpS vision both internally and with his existing clients, and executed his plan.
Today, his revenue consists of around 47% MpS services. He is satisfied with his progress, but moving forward, honing his value prop around his customers' needs, not those of his mainline, OEMs. That's called customer-centric vs. OEM-centric. Huh.
Oh, and are you ready for this - he came from outside the industry, bought a dealership, and whipped it into shape, like a real business, raising both the bar and the curve.
And when things were tough, he didn't look around and ask, "...what happened to all those promises..."
Get Used To Disappointment
If I detected any displeasure, it was with the Power Hours(again).
You can't please everybody, all the time, and no matter which show I've been to, I hear people lament over the class/workshop/seminars. The gripes typically go like this:
"The content was too basic."
"The content was too complex."
"The guy tried to sell me his system."
"We heard all that 6 years ago."
"That session was nothing more than a rolling commercial, describing his product, not a process."
"I walked out."
Now, just because these are common statements, it doesn't make them less valid. Indeed, one of the MpS workshops I sat in really was a 60-minute commercial. And I spoke with one person who walked out of TWO sessions because the content was "stale, dated and inaccurate". (not my words)
Ouch.
But this reaction was rare and presented by people I consider to be rather advanced in the art that is MpS. The overwhelming majority of the people I asked said they enjoyed the show and came away with many 'golden nuggets'.
Well done, ITex/Questex. Well done.
ITex - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Fairest of them All...
With Lyra, Transform, World Ex, and other shows, you can count on seeing people from each organization working the rows, the booths, and speaking. Charlie, Ed, and Patricia could be doing everything from hobnobbing with the elites to chasing down HDMI cables for the next presentation.
It's their show.
Not so with Questex - and that's okay. Questex does not sell MpS. Questex has never provided remote meter reads or automatic service dispatch; they don't know of or give a hoot about the three stages of MpS.
Again, that is okay.
Questex publishes trade magazines and manages events - and they do that well.
In a very real sense, Questex/ITex is simply a platform for us in the industry to display our wares, pontificate about ourselves, and generally show off.
But it doesn't end there. ITex is just the name of the stage that Questex Media manages - what happens on that stage is not only our responsibility it is a reflection of who we are.
So last year, people reported the venue sucked and "nobody attended" - well, last year, our industry was sucking and nobody had a presence.
This year, the show was fantastic, attendees positive and upbeat, right now, the independents are cheerful and looking toward the future. The show is reflecting the mood.
For the life of me, I don't totally understand this joviality - every indicator is down with no rebound in sight. The largest print OEM in the world is getting out of print and the next generation of end-users barely read off paper, let alone send print to it.
Be that as it may, I am as sick of the negativity as I am of the blatant "ignore that" mentality.
I say we rock. Let's persevere or go down fighting.
Print can be relevant, again.
A week ago, if you told me the most impressive thing I would see at ITex was a piece of hardware I saw 4 years ago, I would have laughed.
And after I stopped laughing, had you mentioned to me that 'not only could this piece of hardware bring print back into the spotlight, it may even save mobile print' I woulda dropped you right where you stood.
Well, I stand corrected. How so?
The goal is to make print easy, not available on every street corner for a price - what most mobility models miss is the cost to the end-user. Sure there is a laser printer down in the business center, but it takes longer and costs a dime a sheet.
What I witnessed could make over-charging customers for print, a thing of the past. I saw an MFP that is blazing fast at 60ppm, performing this speed at 5% or 100% coverage, black and white or color, full-bleed no less - it just didn't matter.
And cheap. Four cents for color, penny B/W. And cheap. $700.00 cost.
As the pie of available prints shrinks, the big, centrally located, 11x17 copiers are too expensive, too loud, too slow, and too old-fashioned.
And they require a service agreement.
Also, today's printers are slow, expensive to feed, suck too much energy, and have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The machines and their toner cartridges are fading yet not all the prints will go away, it's an example of the Long Tail.
So who will be there to print all those buggy-whip designs? The lowest, almost disposable, devices, that's who.
Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
At those prices, $900.00 for a 60 page per minute, full color, printer, with very low operational cost, barely any moving parts - why would anybody ever want to purchase a service agreement?
And let's say, just for giggles, each purchased unit included ink refills at half price. Let's just say.
Why wouldn't every hotel on the planet have one of these? Why wouldn't every Starbucks? Hell, why wouldn't you have one to print Christmas pics right then and there for Grandpapa and Grandmama?
There you have it. Mobile print everywhere and not a dime to show for it - no CPI, MpS, no margin or service calls. Nadda, zip, zero.
Have a nice day.
The Belle of the Ball - Sindoh/MemJet
And there it was. Sitting there unassuming. Back in 2009, I saw the MemJet engine spitting out A4 color prints on some guy's couch in a hotel room somewhere. It was cool and for the next 3 years we all waited for the 'real thing'.
Like a ghost, MemJet haunted the halls of Lyra and trade shows across the country. We heard of desperate deals consummated with the devil - and still no device.
From San Diego to Sydney to Oklahoma City - the rumor mill and paper trail churned on.
It's real, not a wraith. I saw it. Touched it and even videotaped it working Lawsuits aside, Sindoh the Korean concern utilizing MemJet in their machine has got a tiger by the tail on this one.
Stay tuned for more as I get more on them...
So in the End...
ITex 2012 is in the rearview. MpS is all over the globe and the copier dealer is on the rebound.
Just when you think you're getting out, they pull you right back in...
For you, dear reader, my personal top 12 for 2012.
A list of what I see happening in the coming year, for us, our industry, and our world.
In a moment of pure randomness, a stream of consciousness, my off-the-cuff opinion - feel free to disagree:
12. Content
Content is everything. And it grows. Not simply printed content, Tweets, cable/digital TV, cellphone calls, dead-emails, texts, sexts, DropBox, utility bills - bumper stickers, ATM transactions: Everything.
And there is the DarkContent/DarkMatter - the "metadata" - the stuff we can't forget because we've never seen it. For example, if you are running FourSquare, your every step is recorded, not just the cute 'check-ins'. Your movement is recorded and filed off into the great Rift that is DarkConent. Same with your NetFlix orders and cable TV viewing patterns, your Visa spends, and the digital footprint that follows your every search, view, post, comment, and click.
All there, all Dark and unseen. Collective.
The Age of Content is engaged, 2012 will reveal more.
11. Social Everything
Everybody is touching everyone, everywhere - Twitter is going to kill news collectors and email; and not a printer in sight. DropBox/BoxNet makes sharing large, exchange-choking files a snap. Tablets will be faster, . PDFs will download instantly(almost) and the screen will be the new 'paper'.
10. Less Copiers
That's right, less 11x17, less off the glass copying. 'Nuff said...
Photizo, Supplies Network, Xerox, Great America, MWAi, & Lyra
Photizo - They get it right and have been there from the beginning.
Before Gartner ever considered an MPS Quadrant, Photizo was there.
Back then Gartner didn't give a lick.
IDC, didn't know MPS.
Back then, half of our "esteemed" instructors carpet bagged on dealer fear.
When the consultants of the day were espousing the similarity of MpS to color and poo-pooing MpS as "just another marketing scheme..." Photizo tagged the name "Hybrid Dealer" - of course, they copied the phrase.
That's what Copiers Do.
While others were 'find and replacing' the word 'copier' for 'MPS', Photizo published the Three Adoption Stages of MpS.
And just as others enveloped those three into their MPS talk-track, Photizo added even more stages, resulting in the above chart.
They've gotten it. They've been on it from day one.
Now some in our ecosystem confuse me with them, promoting me as a Photizo employee or worse, their hatchet-man. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem being a GunSlinger, but I choose both my allies and my targets - nobody tells me where the Red Dot lands.
Truly, if back in the day anybody else was saying what Photizo was saying, I would acknowledge them as well.
"...Sooner or later, One has to take sides, if one is to remain human..."
So we make our choices and we stick with the plan. I chose Photizo because they've been right there on the same page as I, seeing the same things I have in the field from Genesis. And sometimes, they make people uncomfortable - awe, poor baby...
"Autonomy is the market leader in the provision of software that automates the analysis of unstructured data, whether in the form of text, audio, images or video." - UBS, July 2008
The other day, I sat in on a webinar. The fine folks at Lyra were presenting "Printing supplies market trends MPS" - yeah, I know, who the hell would sit in on one of these?
MpS Geeks, that's who.
Of course, the data presented has been fodder for DOTC for the past year; we will never get back the placement levels of 2008, A3 devices are dying(ahem), any recovery will be linked directly to the surviving dealership's ability to focus on workflow, not the box. We know this, correct?
Then a funny thing came up - OEMs are "rationalizing" their fleet offerings. They are narrowing down the number of models.
It's like we share a brain, except DOTC doesn't have a staff and was on this page 12 months ago...Yeah, I know, I have self-esteem issues.
An article posted on The Imaging Channel caught my eye, "Managed Print Services: OEM Strategies". The headline piqued but the source engaged - Lyra.
Of all the research groups I know, only two command my attention. One is Lyra. I trust their opinion, to be honest. Sometimes, I may not agree with their observations but that is okay.
If you are an MpS'r from way back, say 24 months(!), what the Big 3 say is of no surprise; if you are a steady reader of DOTC, again, no surprise.
Lyra spoke with Xerox, HP, and Ricoh during the first half of 2011. The article is a reflection of all three.
The caveat is these discussions orbit around enterprise-level MPS engagements - not that there is no value - it's just that when interviewing at this level, the information is more proactive than responsive - the OEMs projecting their view of MPS, not necessarily reflecting the real MpS.
