Are You Selling Copiers & Office Tech to Law Firms? Not For Long

AI Is Changing the Legal Industry

“It has the capacity to reshape the practice of law,” Mr. Villasenor said. Previous waves of automation mostly affected blue-collar jobs in industries like manufacturing, or back-office roles that required many calculations, such as accounting or mortgage processing. 

Rapid developments in AI could pose threats to the type of work performed in white-collar professions, like the practice of law..." - WSJ

Greg's Words

See, I told you so.  One of the most paper-intense business models in the history of print is going to someday soon, be inhabited by Chat Agents.

Imagine ChatGPT attached to the Nexus/Lexus databases.  Every judgment, law, regulation, and legal action is at the disposal of savvy prompt-generating Legal Eagles.

• Roll-playing with AI before a trial.
• Digging up every relevant precedence, ever.
• Determining which jury members are the best to accept and reject.
• And mathematically predict outcomes.

This changes everything.

A quick summary of a WSJ article.  Enjoy.

Key highlights:

• Law firms and in-house legal departments are employing AI tools using GPT-4 technology to handle writing and research tasks, traditionally assigned to entry-level lawyers.
• The AI tools are set to revolutionize white-collar jobs, potentially affecting 44% of legal work, as per a Goldman Sachs report.
• Despite AI's promise, there are concerns about uploading sensitive data to cloud-based products and the opacity of AI software.

_________

New and Improved Managed Print Services Model, "Z22"

Managed Print Services has been around for decades and as a concept offers the opportunity to expand beyond the printed document.  It always has been.

Things change, they always do, and this is true for managed print services.  I was involved with developing an MpS model back in 2007 and again later, twice, with the MPSA.

There is no wrong model - there's just a more 'right' model.  Mine.  Which is now yours.

The typical, status quo MPS model stands on three basic phases, "Control", "Optimize" and "Enhance" and is progressed sequentially, with a Beginning and a Terminus.

I never liked it as a step-by-step process.  Managed print Services is an ongoing system - what today we call a "flywheel".  

So when looking at the above illustration, you'll notice there are no arrows.  Sure, the hexagons sport numerals, and yes, you must start with Hex"00" and bounce through the remaining areas, but the process can move from 02 to 01 to 03; non-sequential.

Here is your new and improved MpS Renaissance Model, Z22: 

Maybe We Shouldn't Get Into Managed IT Services

Are we marketing the edge of forever or yesterday's Enterprise?

I'm beginning to think the road to #digitalTransformation, for #TheImagingChannel, doesn't require stepping into the managed (IT) services niche. 

Maybe we've been looking at and been told the wrong thing by well-meaning yet misguided know-it-alls. (me included).  

I.T. isn't all that sexy. 

I know, I know, compared to #copiers, firewalls and anti-virus are #seductive.  

Wouldn't it be easier to deliver, and install coffee machines connected to the IoT? Or design and implement an IoT Connectivity Policy? Or how about looking to the fringe of technology beyond the curve? 

“Fewer clients. Less money. More attention. Caring for them.”

Speaking to the next generation of copier dealers - those who have survived, inherited, or still fly under their original colors - If every copier, printer, and paper document disappeared tomorrow, what would you do? 

What would you sell? 

Accelerate Managed Print Services with the New Model

There is a bounce, a resurgence, a renaissance in managed print services. As the fear of Covid fades and offices around the world repopulate, albeit, by 40-60% of pre-Covid numbers, print and copy functions are grabbing temporary attention. But this uptick is fleeting and short-lived and not based on increased volumes or growing fleets of devices. Today's rekindled interest is based on managing the reduction of print and the increase of digital workflows.

Our traditional business theory of pivoting into managed IT or an adjacent niche was an idealistic idea in the MPS Model 2 (see below, Photizo) 

Today, expanding or diversifying services is less of an option and more of a survival tactic and a foundational plank of the continuing generation of Managed print Services (MpS).  

The circa 2012 model is still relevant, we just need to refocus and recognize new opportunities.

With this in mind, I've updated the model to include new innovations and directions for office technology.

The End Of MPS, The Beginning of MpS

Recent market data for the global hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market saw a 10.6 percent yearly decline, though MPS growth has continued across the world. HP shows an 18.6% decline in unit shipments, Y/Y. - IDC, 2016

It doesn't need to be said, does it? The office environment has been moving away from print for the past decade. I know it, the OEMs know it, and in your heart, you know it too.

Managed print services is a trailing indicator, 'growth' is a statistic anomaly - expanding in a shrinking pool - there are no new clicks.

You want to survive and thrive in the technology industry. It's easier to sell copiers and implement a managed print services practice than it is to bring a managed services practice but the IT world represents growth and opportunity.

What should you do?

"...Come With Me Now..."

Years ago, I preached the coming of managed print services as the wave of the future.

Then, I saw managed print services as an on-ramp to business process/workflow optimization, teaching simple, workflow analysis embedded in the standard assessment.

Next, evangelizing managed services as the new frontier for copier/printer providers, I recommended third-parties like Collabrance and Continuum.

Today, I've come full circle and looking at managed print services basics. The tools I've seen, and I've seen or worked with almost all of them - are impressive.

Here are some of my observations:

1. Heavy - cumbersome to use, demand time from MpS practitioner
2. Print-data, intense - print only, some end-user, but no outside asset data
3. Sales static - the 'map' and client data remain in the sales silo, or not easily transportable into contracts or service
4. The Tool 'does the thinking for you' - plug the data in and out comes a current and recommended state in a 300 page Word doc

I see lots of TCO tools, column reports, graphs, and dashboards and I think we can do better. I'm looking at how I conduct assessments and the tools I would use in the field. Additionally, I'm taking a holistic view - I'd like to know how the fleet is performing in terms of service calls and profitability. 

Finally, I'd like to be in a position to offer my clients an engagement that includes ANY asset type.

With this in mind, we've designed a tool that:

1. Collects data from multiple databases: DCA, service desk, dispatch, accounting system
2. Helps you easily conduct assessments and present mapped proposals
3. Enables you to create, and doesn't do the thinking for you

Point #1
Real management software displays ANY asset; printers, copiers, desktops, laptops, phones, projectors, oxygen bottles. But more impactful, is our ability to draw together related, yet disconnected data. For instance, we show the number of service calls placed on an asset, the install date, the number of toners delivered, revenue and profit generated; for the universal MIF, client fleet, or individual asset.

The solution must work within your managed print services ecosystem - the 'map' not only supports new sales, but integrates through sales to service to management to ownership; salespeople engage and asses, service utilizes mapping, and management looks into real-time financial information with the tap of a screen.

Point #2
With or without a DCA/Thumb drive, a practitioner conducts interviews and records findings. Manual entry of device data(manufacturer, model, volumes, etc.) is achieved through the use of the onboard survey tool. Machine data files may be uploaded or directly integrated, but is not necessary.

Point #3
Some existing systems deliver everything from a prospect's total cost of operation to a final proposal in Word leaving the "specialist" with nothing more to do than email the proposal or deliver pie.


I cannot tell you how often I’m asked for an ‘assessment’ or ‘mps contract’ sample. I’ve conducted assessments on paper, laptops, and in my head but I still use a basic outline of questions. 

“We interviewed 25 employees and 62% of them responded that service calls are not being completed within 72 hours. 87% felt ordering toner required three to four hours to complete.” 

Atlas - MpS. Assessment Logic*
We’ve incorporated a survey function that can be administered for each asset. In the case of a non-integrated - no DCA software - simple machine data collected on one screen. This isn't a data dump, the questions included collect relevant information you need to create a compelling proposal. I’ve also included basic workflow questions and sales related queries.

Once the survey is completed, the data is attached to that specific asset - the answers can be used as analysis. For instance, “We interviewed 25 employees and 62% of them responded that service calls are not being completed within 72 hours. 87% felt ordering toner required three to four hours to complete.” could be one of your compelling arguments for change.

Atlas - MpS. Contract Completion*
The sales and service teams rarely communicate but an integral part of a great customer experience is the effortless transition from proposing to implementing. One important issue is to correctly communicate data proposed, like existing device serial numbers, location, point of contact, beginning meter reads, CPI, etc. The information is captured during the assessment and proposal stage - why not simply populate a .PDF of your engagement?

Why not have the digital version of your contract available for signature immediately after the presentation? Atlas - Mps has this capability to complete your contract. Print it if you like, or have your client digitally sign right then and there. Email the completed form to your contracts department and have the account set up before you get back to the office. Ring that bell.

Atlas - MpS. Print Policy Framework*
Ultimately, a fully engaged, high level managed print services engagement results in a Print Policy.
Atlas - MpS, will create the blank Print Policy template and present data to support the generation of content.

Once the print policy is in place, Atlas - MpS helps you managed the engagement against the goals set forth in the policy. The information is real time, specific data points are monitored and statused as either “in or out of policy”.

No more quarterly reviews - review the fleet and goals of the program at any time.

One More thing…

Atlas is adept at integrating disparate databases and managing IT assets. Once you begin to utilize Atlas - MpS, the door opens into the IT realm. We’re not suggesting you invest in a data center, or engage with a third party to provide help desk, end-point monitoring services. We suggest talking with your IT contacts about “Asset Lifecycle Management”. You help track their IT assets, manage technology upgrades and equipment refresh with Atlas all for a monthly subscription. We can help you.

Atlas - MpS is different, simple and dynamic, helping managed print practitioners solidify their position in imaging, while opening opportunities outside of print.

Find Your Way.

Reach out to me. greg@asset-atlas.com

*Optional

Who Designs Your Print Policy: Copier or IT Folks?

I am a proponent of Print Policies:

“A Print Policy is the documented outline of procedures, illustrating the organization’s current output-related decision-making processes. This policy is endorsed at the highest level of executive management, contains milestones, and supports the organization’s business goals.”

I've seen implementations streamline work processes, enforce SLA's and reduce costs by millions.

I'm a believer.

It's obvious the best Print Policies are created when working with outside experts.

But who?

On one side stands the copier/printer specialists, mavens of the printed document, leasing, and deal crafting.

Residing across the hall, masters of storage, operating systems, PC's, mobile devices, and even printers, hang their shingle.

That leaves you,  the "IT Guy" responsible for endpoints, Windows upgrades, and those pesky copiers and printers, stuck in the middle - again.

Should you place a call to your IT VAR or copier dealer? Yes.

"The fewer prints you generate,  the less they get paid - simple math."

Long ago, I felt the most qualified managers of output devices came from the office printing/copier side.  In some cases, this is still true.

Here's the rub: a copier dealer, indeed, any business surviving or thriving on the number of prints you generate, cannot in good conscience, help you manage away the mystery and reduce output.

Why would a copier/printer company train salespeople to reduce revenue?  It's an obvious question. One you should ask those "MpS" providers still promising "30% savings".

My recommendation is to work with the group that doesn't survive on your print volume.

No matter who you choose, your partner in Print Policy development should:

Be neutral about printers
The first qualification is to regard each printer as an end-point inside life cycle services. Sure, printers can be dirty and require physical intervention.  Yes, they jam and run out of toner right before a big print project. And yes, as much as 60% of help desk calls are print related.  Yet successful management of assets originates from a position of neutrality.

Neutrality - your output devices represent zero revenue and hold no negative emotional attachment to either contributing party.

Have a holistic view
Your provider must consider the entire output and input fleet, including copiers, printers, print servers, print queues, label printers, fax machines, fax servers, scanners, and yes, even dual monitors.

Endpoints are the beginning; every vendor, provider, and partner relationship is to be documented, holding all accountable.

Once the points and processes are determined - from assessment to retirement - everything is diagramed.

The result is a large flowchart.  Imagine.

Think of your Print Policy as the Vanguard for your IT Policy
As the decision and support process for print and copy fall into the IT realm, covering output devices, conducting end-user assessments, and documenting workflow can be labor intensive.

A Print Policy requires time, expertise, and an end-user interface.  But when the process is complete, establishing the same for a comprehensive IT Policy is easier.

Utilizing the process of generating a Print Policy can be replicated in determining your organization's entire IT policy.

Don't waste the opportunity.

There are more considerations, but these three are significant. If you're interested in a deeper understanding, reach out to me, at greg@grwalters.com.

"Why join the Navy when you can be a Pirate?"

-Steve Jobs

Local band.  Eau Claire, Wi.  Good Stuff.

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Why You Need a Print Policy

...with Print Policy design and execution...

There's a movement, on the provider, not the customer side, pushing the relevancy of print metrics to your business analytics.  For instance, some are twisting print volumes and the number of devices into relevant, actionable information.  As if knowing how many color prints were duplexed between Monday and Thursday, in July of 2013, has any impact on EBITDA.

In an even more ludicrous folly, experts in the industry are aligning usage figures with business intelligence (BI).  

Wait, what?

For providers of managed print services, knowing the turbulent usage patterns will help manage the decrease in print.

But end-users don't care all that much and CIOs care even less. 

I put forth this idea: before entertaining the idea of 'business intelligence' based on print history, consider a Print Policy.

Every organization looking to optimize or manage the costs associated with creating, moving, and presenting information in the form of a document, should first invest in developing a strategic Print Policy.

The Policy should:

1. Document all internal processes associated with the support of information in the form of documents
2. Put in place  practices that support the organization's mission
3. Carry the approval of Executive/C-Level leadership
4. Be a 'living document'

Developing an internal Print Policy is daunting requiring input and support from multiple layers and departments.  Seeking assistance from outside the organization is a good idea. Yet trusting a firm that sells devices intent on printing, seems counter-intuitive.

I recommend working with your IT firm.  If your IT partner is a big-box, commodity-based entity or lacks basic expertise in the print and copy niche, feel free to reach out to me and I will try to connect you with a good match.

Stay tuned - the next post will be, "Who to work with when designing your Print Policy: The Copier/Printer/Imaging or IT folks?"

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Designing a Print Policy Supporting the Organization’s Goals and Mission Statement. Step One: Who are you?

2015

The definition of a Print Policy

“A Print Policy is the documented outline of procedures, illustrating the organization’s current output-related decision-making processes. This policy is endorsed at the highest level of executive management, contains milestones, and supports the organization’s business goals.”

Step One
A majority of organizations do not put in place a formal Print Policy. The process is complicated but the payoff is worth the effort. The first step with most projects of significance is the most important. So what should you do when starting a Print Policy project?

Every journey begins with a step. In designing a print policy, the first step is understanding who you are, what you do, and why you do it. “Knew” thy self.

Why does your organization exist?
This is not a trivial step. Building a program that supports the goals of the organization, adds to the relevancy of the project in a universal manner. This is important. As end users begin to hear about change, they will ask, “Why?”. Once your project goals match the organization’s, presenting the ‘why’ is easier and understood by all.

For example, if your mission includes, “…improve the health of the community….” crafting a message to explain how your print program improves the “…health of the community…” is clarifying.

All you need is a few people around the table, a clean whiteboard, and the company’s mission statement. That’s all. Started by asking, “How is this print project going to help us show we are contributing to the health of the community?”

Don’t overthink. Give it 40 minutes and settle upon a project value proposition statement. The statement is your talisman, a touchstone in the project. As the project progresses and questions arise, reflect back to the statement for guidance.

This exercise results in a most important deliverable — in a word relevance.

Your IT project is not thought of as a top-down, IT-driven set of corporate rules. But rather a goal the entire organization can aspire to achieve, with the help of IT.

Today’s turbulent business conditions present an opportunity for IT.

The right set of circumstances exists for IT to contribute to the health of the company and establish relevance with a concise and relevant Print Policy.

It all starts with "Who Are You..."

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The Missed Opportunities in Managed Print Services

Artist, Christine Walters

Managed Print Services (MPS), or the act of supplying and servicing printing devices, originated before 2007. MPS engagements promise supplies and/or service delivery, billed by usage.

For example, for every page printed, a provider will charge as little as 0.0120 for each. Invoicing is periodic and covers supplies along with any service calls required to maintain the devices under contract. At the base level, when an end user requires toner or a service call, the provider sends supplies or dispatches a technician with the goal of meeting defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The promise of MPS was the continuous management of an unmanaged resource – which would ultimately reduce costs. Some programs promised as much as a 30% reduction in printing costs, but for many MPS clients, these costs were never realized.

From banking to healthcare, every industry has explored the many facets of managed print services and experienced false promises.

There are three basic missed MPS opportunities:

1. Device reduction and fleet optimization, resulting in lower costs
2. Support for paper-to-digital workflow transformation
3. Enhanced customer relationships

Device reduction and fleet optimization

For decades, printers have been purchased and installed ad-hoc. It was assumed that every new employee required a PC and printer to fulfill their assigned duties, so the number of printing devices grew exponentially. The transmission of information shifted from paper to screen, but the production of printers and copiers did not slow.

Overcapacity in print environments was institutional. For example, consider all the copiers capable of reproducing tabloid-sized (11” x 17”) documents. These machines must be physically large enough to support the paper size; rollers, fusers, glass, output trays, and the like. Yet, when analyzed, less than 3% of ALL business output is in the tabloid format, but nearly 90% of copiers were built to support the larger media size.

Today, companies have more print devices than they need, which has generated a pool of underutilized assets and avoidable costs. Though net new device installations are decreasing, a significant increase in operational productivity around the print is still nebulous.

Support for paper-to-digital workflow transformation

As the idea of MPS grew and more assessments were performed, companies started examining the reasons employees print in the first place. (The least expensive image is the one that is never printed.) Additionally, as tablets and smartphones invaded the corporate space, information began to flow from screen to screen more often and businesses naturally started printing less.

For MPS providers, this presents quite a quandary: promoting a reduction in print (one of the marketing pillars of MPS) means shrinking revenues. Presented with the choice of either moving into digital workflow solutions or continuing the old ways of contractual service and supplies management, most providers chose the latter. Regardless, organizations are organically discovering ways to move and present the information faster than the speed of paper: without (and some might say in spite of) printer and copier manufacturers’ MPS programs.

Enhanced customer relationships

Many organizations feel they can better manage cost reduction in-house, without an outside vendor. Aligning internally-managed MPS goals with an overarching organizational vision is easier accomplished without conflicting intent. A provider usually is serving an equipment quota whereas IT departments serve end users.

The missed opportunity for most MPS providers is the chance to become a technology partner. Because printers and the management of output assets fall within the IT realm (an area unfamiliar to most MPS providers) the chance to build credibility with IT in addition to procurement was inherent to the assessment process. Unfortunately, managing to status quo became the norm as breakout opportunities for deeper relationships slipped away.

Today, organizations might be implementing their third or fourth MPS engagement. But what have we learned?

• Who’s responsible for measuring cost reductions?
• How are results measured?
• How do you manage a new MPS program?
• Do you mix copiers and printers into the SLA?
• What are the results? Have costs been decreased and goals met?

Here are some basic recommendations:

• Treat output devices as endpoints.
• Define and implement clear assessment protocols
• Initiate asset tags and an asset management program
• Design refresh strategies similar to PC/laptop
• Define output goals (for example, paper reduction, enhanced patient experience, etc.) that are supported by executive management

There are around 30 relevant points to consider when looking to reduce the costs associated with moving information within and outside your organization – and the cost of toner is just one. The five recommendations above represent the beginning of a Print Policy.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll share more on how to design a realistic and sustainable Print Policy.

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Don't Buy Another Printer, Copier, Toner, or Managed Print Services Unless You Have One of These.

"Roll the Dice"

I often describe the office print environment in one word, "overcapacity".

Even as manufacturers (Ricoh, Xerox, Canon) start to make smaller footprint devices - it wasn't that long ago when copier reps would mock those little devices - businesses have more print and copy capacity than they need.

It is like the Tragedy of the Commons.

My point: we've been over-purchasing (or over-sold) print devices for decades and it's because the decision process has been unmanaged.

Well, that's not one hundred percent accurate - copier acquisition, printer procurement, supplies fulfillment, and service request procedures have, for the most part, been managed - they've just been managed by VENDORS AND SUPPLIERS.

Not customers.

Think about it -

• Who tells you the lease buyout figure?  
• Who determines the "best" device for your needs?  
• Who conducts the 'agnostic' assessment?  
• Who interfaces almost daily with your end-users? To you they are end-users, to the vendors, they represent 1,500 images a month.

Expecting your copier, printer, or toner supplier to build a program that supports your cost reduction program is like expecting the wolf not to eat the rabbit.

It is worse than you think.  It usually is.

Managed print services in 2017: PSO is the New Mps

"Pro-actively optimize devices and processes associated with presenting information in the form of documents, regardless of medium." - GRW

If you understand the above definition, you quickly see the traditional MPS definition as stunted, restrictive.

I submit to you, the active MPS practitioner, a vision, philosophy, strategy and tactic that will expand your horizon beyond toner and service.  Print Server Optimization(PSO).

Stated simply, PSO delves into:

• End user data - you remember them, right?
• Less network traffic - compression, encryption and the like...
• Mobile print - like anyone really prints reams from their phone/tablet/LT
• Secure/pull/follow you print - 'nuf said
• Optimized print driver management - look into this...
• Fewer print servers - NO NOT A UNIVERSAL PRINT DRIVER
• Easy to execute, end-user installations - with maps n stuff that show what printers are available
• and more...

I double-dog-dare you...I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU...to call your best IT contact(you have one of those, right?) and ask him how he feels about managing print servers.

Go ahead, ask.  Ask him what happens when a print server blinks out.  Ask him how long it takes to manage all the print drivers on his network and if the automatic configuration of printers would be a good thing.

Here's a delicious suggestion, find a prospect with a print policy designed by your competitor(you have one of those, right?) and ask him why they didn't include print server optimization.

Go ahead. Ask.

I've gotten behind a few programs in the last seven years or so, this one - the reduction of print servers - I see as the next big wave to hit not just our niche, but the entire technology landscape.  Why not get into the movement today and leverage the talk track into a deeper IT relationship?

Would you like to know more? greg@grwalters.com

This is a wave we can celebrate.

This is Why MSPs (and their customers) Don't Like MpS

Originally posted, 3/2014

A while back  I was with an MSP/IT specialist at one of our clients.  He knew us as the "printing consultants" hired to help them with their print policy, cost reduction processes, etc., and was our guide for the day.  For him, we did not fit into the salesperson model and he was unaware of our copier heritage - in other words, he was candid and open about his feelings around printers and copiers - from the IT side of the yard.

Well, as with most conversations, we started talking about service calls, toner delivery, managing user behavior, and his observations of the decreasing need for print.

I ask if he's ever looked at managed print services.

Without hesitation, he groaned,

"Everybody is trying to force MPS into the MSP environment.  The guys from Kaseya and Connectwise are always pushing MpS and to tell you the truth, the biggest reason we don't want to get into MpS is the pushy salespeople.  We don't conduct business like that with our clients.  We're not salesy like those copier guys and our clients don't want to be sold."

Okay then.

Know this, we did not coax him into a response nor did we agree or disagree until he was done venting.  He confirmed printing and printers really aren't all that important or carry that much interest in the eyes of most IT people - nobody likes copiers - and besides, "they are all going away anyway."

Yikes.

Look at it a different way:  this client is currently working with two major OEMs - there are thousands of devices and hundreds of sku's.   Both OEMs have formidable managed print services offerings and vertical industry solutions: the account generates millions of dollars in revenue for both, yet the customer holds each in only the slightest regard.

"...and our clients don't like to be sold..."

The imaging industry is known for its sales prowess.  For whatever it's worth, copier folks are defter at managing the selling cycle than managing services.  The ability to bury cost in the lease, lock the customer, increase the share of wallet and automatically increase pricing has been part and parcel of the industry's selling playbook. Thousands of copier zombies inhabit the landscape regurgitating the "same cost, better, faster, newer technology" value proposition.

Yet given enough time, one's strengths evolve into weaknesses: IBM was the mightiest server manufacturer at one time, no longer; Microsoft determined the world's desktop computing experience, not anymore; HP's printer division was the cash cow, now it's an anchor.

So perhaps this is where we are today.  The talents of yesterday align more with the needs of our masters, and less with those of our clients.  You are paid to move a box, NOT solve a problem.  Customers want solutions to their problems.

Unfortunately, customers understand copiers don't solve all that many business problems anymore if they ever did.

Think about that...

Steve Jobs Talks about " Xerox and Copier Heads".

13,000 feet somewhere over the Untied States of America heading to the Executive Summit.

This is a must see for everyone in the industry, in any industry actually. The year is 1996 and Steve Jobs is lamenting how Xerox had the world by a string, they just didn't know it.

Hear for yourself, possibly the first time a pundit refer to "toner-heads, copier-heads". Amazing.

Granted, those times were remarkable; Bill Gates is buying and selling the perennial operating system.  Wozniak is programming for days at a time and the first generation of computer geeks begin to take shape.

The status quo was being challenged by a unorganized, disconnected, computer nerds "doing it for fun".  Xerox, IBM, Burroughs, and others didn't see the PC revolution coming and when they did, most denied .  The rest, as they say, is history. They also say, "study history or be doomed to repeat it".

Look at your industry - There are two sides: the status quo and what I like to call the "Pirates".  The status quo employ marketing departments, game the search engines and confuse marketing content with content.  They purchase analysts and dictate to the market,  spinning a message through the ever dwindling and irrelevant equipment channel.  They tell us to sell equipment all the while knowing it is a dying argument.

There is no paper in the future because there is no future in paper.

Arrrg!  On the other side live the pirates, rogues, outcasts, crazies, disgruntled - the explorers, selling professionals, visionaries, lone wolves.  We'll play the game, find the edges and push. Of course we'll get in trouble, and from the outsider view, we will fail.  But failure has always been about getting back up, not quitting.   The ones on the sidelines never quit, do they? When things go well, everybody's a champio.

I guess what I like about this video is recognizing that this has all happened before.  The timing for such a revaluation couldn't be better.  Unlike the days of Young Jobs, we have instant connectivity to all the like minded.  The days of single voices, screaming in the night are gone.

The only question is what side do you call home?  

Do you feel the need to be dependent upon a " board of directors" or sales manager?  
Do you criticize free flowing organizational construct?  Is structure and policy more important?  
Do you manage to outside benchmarks and look for templates?  
Have you uttered and believed the phrase, "it's always been done that way"?  
Do you still think the "OEMs drive the industry"?  

Yes? Congratulations, you're part of the status quo - leave now and immerse yourself in the following movies/series(therapy): Oblivion, Cloud Atlas, V Is For Vendetta, Battlestar Galactica, Serenity, The Patriot, Tombstone & Saving Private Ryan. Not Glenn Gerry, Wall Street, or Boiler Room. Go...go now.

On the other hand, if you see through the manipulation that is an equipment quota (and still meet them), if you question studies reporting users demand mobile print, or print is growing.  If you do your "job" without going "to the office" and STILL required to show up for Monday morning sales meetings, if you've ever been "written up" - you could be Jobs-like, a Zig in the world of Zags.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Drop me a line.  I'm starting a group of fringe-thinking, bleeding-edgers.  We'll have a charter, but no Board of Directors.  We'll have meetings and adult beverages will be on the agenda.  Our goal will be to network within the group, share cutting edge ideas having fun and making money.

Moderator:

For our audience, what is 'toner'?

Jobs, "Its the black stuff..."

See the video here, http://youtu.be/_1rXqD6M614.


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The $HPQ Way : Destroy All Channels Except One

8/14/14

"My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail is a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!"

I've talked about HP Instant Ink before  -

"This is the plan; make printing so cheap the act of printing is as thoughtless as watching TV.

Friends, I give you one possible timeline for the Future of MpS - self-imposed irrelevancy. Rejoice and make mirth for the sun shall shine on our faces forever!

So be it.

Just because the Motley Fool thinks this is a bad idea, doesn't mean it won't work(mopier). We all know how innovative HP can be (TouchPad) and their commitment to customers (2007, product delivered to the highest volume accounts only), employees(25,000 layoffs), and suppliers (thousands of canceled laser engine orders to Canon) is beyond comparison (pale)." - GRW, 2013

Well here we are, not even a year later and HP is bringing its brand of MpS to the SMB  - without you.

MPS conference TransForm 2012 - Get There

Four the past four years, there has been one destination show for Managed Print Services - the Photizo Managed Print Services Conference.

It all started int San Antonio, Texas, back in 2008.

I was there.  Oh what a difference a few years make.

But this isn't about the past, it's about the shape of things to come.

And who better to talk about the future of MpS, than a few long-term MpS'rs.

But wait.

From London to LA, Detroit to Sydney, Tokyo to Cape Town, Seoul to Orlando, the place will be flush with purveyors of content, movers and shakers of big data, visionaries all - and that's just the attendees.

Is Your MpS Locked In An Eight-Track World?

9/2011

"Does this look like the past?"

Did you catch the Rolodex? The ashtray? One could sell Edgeilnes outta the back of CougarVan.  LOL!

Yes, this is an advertisement for MicroSoft and the private cloud. Again with the cloud. The MpS metaphor still holds - do you see it?

Is your MpS "locked in an 8-track world" - are you simply providing toner and service, an outdated plan, from the back of a van? LOL!

There's nothing wrong with sticking with the classics, unless all you have is the classics - then, not so much.

S1/S2 are classics.

I'm not suggesting you hire a complete EDM team or bring in CISCO or even become an iPad dealer(Doh!) - just expand a bit beyond the run of the mill DCA installation - get out of the powder blue vest, shave the fu-man-chu and for god's sake, put some product in your hair - yeah, that's right, leave the love-van and get into BeMod.

BeMod software lets you get away from the box, and into the process.  Into how end users behave, how they print - what the end user prints in addition to how many of what comes out of a printer.

Not sure about getting all involved with another piece of software?  Makes sense.

Try this: run a quick report on a medium sized fleet.  Look for percentage of 11x17.  It will between 0.05% and 2% of total output.

Now look at the fleet; calculate the percentage of the fleet A3 capable?  Whatever percentage it comes out to be, can you determine the amount of money this client spent on A3 capability that they never needed?

If 50% of the devices will handle 11x17 and the percentage of actual A3 is 2% - can you see or are you stuck in the past?

See More, see Deeper.  You don't need to go out and buy any fancy software tool, that would be good, but not necessary.

Two eyes, one brain, and a spreadsheet...

BYOD Policy

Click to email me.

Managed Print Services, Stage IV: What the Hell is Managed Network Services(MNS)? You're Kidding, right?

3/2011

Managed Network Services(MNS) the "next frontier" in MPS - something new and until a few months ago, unobserved in our industry.

Managed Network Services is "...the act of managing resources and processes associated with moving, saving and presenting information..." - look familiar?

Typically, this is in the Managed Services Provider's toolbox and supported by either Help Desk, N.O.C, or both.

A few 'traditional' copier dealers have entered this arena - with success, even.

Of course, these Beautiful Ones, don't carry words like "copiers" or "laser" on their business card.

The effort here is a commendable, if not a bit transparent, marketing move.  MPS is now crystallized, the market more mature, so let's define more mystery and sell MNS Training classes.  I love it. 

Don't get me wrong, MPS is an all-inclusive motion.

I've recognized this since the beginning, and remember the first time a colleague and I outlined the 4th, 5th, and 6th stages of MPS - back at iTEX 2009. (...technically, in a Japanese steak house, over beers... or was it whiskey...)

For most, MPS is simply Stage 1&2 - not much beyond; MPS players are stuck in the "MPS is CPC" world. 

Now we're going to get into "Managed Network Services"?

There be Icebergs, ahead right...

When I speak with existing technology customers, folks who work with us on Exchange migration, Unified Communication, Staff Aug., N.O.C. services, or SharePoint projects and ask them to describe their existing MPS Engagement, the conversation goes something like this,

Client - "yeah, we have MPS"

Me - "really? Cool.  What's that look like?"

Client - "they have a guy come in once a month and clean all the printers...they get my toner to my end users and service all the HP's...and they do this remotely with software..."

Me - "...great...how much has this saved you so far...?"

Client - "...bunches...oh, and they tell me they can do the same for all 1,500 laptops you guys sold me..."

Me -  "...really?  Impressive...can they image all your laptops, ITIL?"

Client - "...not sure..."

Me - "okay...so, how many copiers or printers have you eliminated?... What is your Print Policy?  How much volume has been shifted off those expensive printers onto your leased copiers?  Is your current MPS vendor set up to help you design your SharePoint project?  Can they, do you, understand how all this impacts your documents and the costs associated with those documents?..."

Client - "...ummm..."

Me - "...or are they simply shipping toner, replacing maintenance kits, and blowing air up your paper tray, once a month ?"

Client - "...yeah..right..."

---------------------------------------

You get the point.  And so do I. 

The Separation Continues -

MPS, stages 1 & 2, are table stakes that must be offered if you are considering a future that does not include responding to SLED RFPs.

And not just for Managed Print Services or Managed Network Services, which is nothing more than another component of Managed Services,(hint hint) you've got to be in S1/2 simply to survive in the short term.

For the long term, copiers are dead, MIF shrinking, volumes are down, and placements are still 27% below 2007 levels.

Managed Services are in everybody's future it's just that not everybody is going to be with us.

There is, of course, a very BIG Butt - we know how to service copiers, and fulfill toner;  but what the heck do you know about network traffic, CISCO switches, Blades, Data Centers, and ITIL?

Jumping from this dying puddle is the right idea, it's just that we're going into the deep end of a very large ocean already inhabited by some very capable and efficient sharks.

We're going to need a bigger boat.

Consider this a quote from a typical IT C-Level:

“We wanted to integrate voice, IP, and data on the same high-speed network for cost-saving efficiencies in terms of IT staff and for the easy rollout of new productivity-enhancing applications such as Service Advertising Protocol(SAP). [With our service provider] we are already seeing a return on investment and have found out how much more efficient our business can be.”

Bill Freyer

Vice President of Information Technology

JT International, Switzerland

Purchaser of Managed Service

One service provider for this and MPS too?

Two words of caution for any BTA/copier dudes, looking to expand into Managed Services:

1. When one of your copiers goes down for 2 days, some end users may get upset over the fact they need to walk down a floor to pick up output.

But, when you write and support an Managed Services SLA,  a network or workstation down for 4 hours, will put your "MNS" practice in the ditch so fast you'll be running back to the demo floor, begging to discuss "scan once, print many" with the local church Deacon.

2. You are now competing in the VAR/MSP space, the originators of jargon and acronyms - when you throw the "...we now do NMS..." at the CIO, he is going to recognize you as a wanna-be, "MNS" hasn't been used since 2004.

Are you sure you want to be a Beautiful One?

 pdf here.

"Managed Print Services is Business Process Management, MPS is BPM, MPS is BPM"- FireWork

Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.

First published, 2011

3-Point Synopsis:

1. Incorporating storytelling in your MPS sales pitch can help you stand out from the competition.
2. Engage your audience by making your pitch interesting and tailored to their needs.
3. Technical knowledge is crucial in the MPS industry, so stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments.

_________

Remember in the "olden days" when we would set requirements with our prospect? The requirements we would "demo" toward? Like copying on both sides, job build, stapling, multiple paper sizes, and all that? 

By the way, do we still demo "scan once, print many"?

Now, remember the next generation of questions?

"How often do you print?"

"Have you thought about color?

"What document types do you print?"

And then finally, the last iteration includes:

"...show me how you generate and process invoices..."

Are you asking these questions today or simply letting your DCA run your analysis?

tDOTC Managed Print Services PowerPlayer of the Week, Month or Year...

It's not the upper right quadrant.

Nor is it a distinction hashed out between the twelve members of the MPS StarChamber.(if there were such a thing, which there isn't)

Nobody mentioned will advertise on DOTC. No PowerPlayer will sponsor studies with DOTC.

It is an idea born out of cool contemplation; Sunday morning reflection.

The recipients will by be of my choosing - my judgement alone, my opinion, my calculations, and my view of how they either determine or voyage along, the MPS Path.

Good or Bad, Positive or Negative, a DOTC PowerPlayer may effect for good, or impact from evil.

I'll call em out, and serve em up - with Sprinkles.

This week - Robert Newry, co-Founder at newField IT.

Economic Woes - Can Managed Print Services Save the World? - Get Your Cape, We Got Work to Do.

DOTC, 2010

The recovery is losing steam, fast By Neil Irwin

Another day, another lousy piece of economic data. The 27.2 percent fall in existing home sales in July was far below analysts' official expectations (though in line with some of the whisper numbers that close watchers of housing data were expecting)...MORE 

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