Ah, the conference circuit: familiar faces, cocktail receptions … and educational sessions so close to infomercials that they’ll put you to sleep faster than an alligator on its back getting its tummy rubbed.
It’s not often that you attend a conference that surprises you (at least not in a good way), but such was my experience at Konica Minolta’s 2012 Business Conference and Product Expo at the Bellagio in Las Vegas – and no, I’m not being paid to say that. The theme of the conference was “Inspire Customer Passion,” and I’d have to say that Konica Minolta set a strong example of how to do just that; I and the dealers among the 1,100 attendees found ourselves, as Konica Minolta’s customers and guests, inspired – and that’s a pretty tall order, especially for those of us who’ve attended countless shows and have been in this industry since the dinosaurs bit the dust.
One impressive part of the event was the presenters – three in particular that I was able to see who focused on education that applies to all companies as opposed to delivering the typical hour-long ad for their companies. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, was the keynote, and, taking a page out of his bestselling book “Delivering Happiness” to echo the idea that if you work on making your employees happy, the rest will naturally fall into place, he described how dealers could create their own company cultures conducive to winning more business. Rick Von Feldt, senior partner of Kolaborative Consulting, also addressed the culture of the workplace, though through a more chronological lens, providing insights into how the various generations of employees can come to “all just get along” under one roof, leverage technology and move into a profitable future together. Doug Lipp, former head trainer of Walt Disney University and private consultant, not only took on the challenge of living up to a session title that was strikingly similar to Konica Minolta’s – “Igniting Customer Passion” – but knocked it out of the park, bringing lessons from the culture he helped create at Disney to bear on the print space. Information about sales, social media, and, of course, MPS was also abundant.
The show floor was also dynamic, including several partners who’ve been acquired in recent years, such as All Covered, alongside their contributions to the Konica Minolta product suite. The most interesting area to me was a spot near the center of the floor that had been carved out for the education vertical, wherein Graphtech’s (one of All Covered’s managed IT acquisitions) ActivClassroom by Promethean products were brought to life, complete with an Albert Einstein look-alike theorizing nearby. Ever notice how those pavilion areas on show floors tend to have empty seats? Not so here. In fact, every time I walked by when “class” was in session, all the chairs were occupied, and people were even standing on the sidelines, checking out the interactive whiteboard and handheld gadgets the “students” could key in product quiz answers on to win prizes. This classroom of the future is definitely something to keep an eye on, and Sam Errigo, SVP at Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., informed me that what I saw at the show is only the beginning. “It’s really cool technology and certainly will have impact in the marketplace,” he said. “The more exciting stuff is where they’re going, how we’re tying technologies together and how we’re using our products to interface with their products and make that classroom experience something really, really special. That’s the exciting part – finding great partners that share our vision and enthusiasm around growth and really doing something different and special that has big impact in those vertical markets. That’s the key. So we’re being really selective in our partners – and not necessarily just for the technology; it really is the shared vision.”
That shared vision was evident all around – not only among the partners at the event, but those presenters who’d been chosen as well. And speaking of sharing, multiple book giveaways to all those who attended certain sessions to me signaled Konica Minolta’s highly inspiring dedication to dealer education as well as its interest in including dealers in that same vision. If it’s any indication of the changes Konica Minolta has said it’s made within its own organizational culture, it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years in the print and managed services marketplace; inspiring customer passion will undoubtedly also inspire customer loyalty.
Posted on 02/20/20120 comments
I recently traveled to Salt Lake City to watch my sister, a professional violinist, perform in a solo recital. I felt very fortunate to be sitting there, in this beautiful theater, watching and listening to her. It took me back to my childhood.
I grew up in a very musical family. My mom is a violinist, and she raised all her children to have a deep appreciation for music and the arts. Beyond our private music lessons and orchestra rehearsals, we were constantly going to concerts and seeing classical performers who had come to town. There were never packed theaters, but the people who were there really wanted to be. They were respectful of the music and the musicians.
I remember my mom telling us stories about the music scene when she first moved to Las Vegas in the 1980s. Shows on the Strip mostly used orchestras at that time. They weren’t huge, but they were live. Somewhere down the road, though, musicians got cut and orchestras got smaller until most shows didn’t use live music at all. Instead, they opted for a sound system and a CD. Recorded soundtracks seemed like the way to go. It was much cheaper. It cut back on rehearsal time, allowing the theater to be open for more shows or showings, and the majority of audiences didn’t mind.
Thankfully, the allure of recorded music has worn down. Show producers eventually saw the value of live music, so musicians have made a bit of a comeback. Some shows still use that trusty sound system, while others utilize a small quartet, jazz band or chamber orchestra. It’s not the same as 20 or 30 years ago, but it’s something. For me, that something adds a bit more personality to the show. It adds to the credibility of the show, and it most certainly adds to the magic. For other people, it makes no difference.
Although musicians are being used more frequently, the job of a musician is a rough one. There may be a violin opening for a show, and hundreds of talented violinists will audition for it. It is competitive; it requires long hours and hard work – for something that some people don’t even notice.
As I sat in the theater and thought of the career my sister has chosen and how hard it has been, I started thinking that musicians and managed print providers aren’t all that different. Stay with me here as I make the associative leap.
Back in the heyday of the imaging industry, everyone was printing. People couldn’t get enough paper, which meant more devices, more supplies and more successful salespeople. Today, print volumes are flat, workers are mobile and everything can be accessed, viewed and shared on a screen. Paper isn’t always needed. Competition is fierce. All those successful salespeople are fighting for those clients that actually do print.
But the great thing about the music and managed print industries is that there will always be an audience – I’d like to believe, anyway. It might not be standing room only, but just like the people who were there to watch my sister perform wanted to be there, the people who need to print will.
The world changes, and people change. One decade, the entire community is going to orchestra concerts, opera and the ballet; the next, they are watching 3-D movies from their couches. One decade, people are printing everything they view and even things they don’t; the next, they don’t even have home printers. I am guilty of all of this.
But no matter how much the world or people change, there is always a market. You might have to work harder to get the gig – or the contract – but success is still possible.
Go support your local music scene and print your tickets!
Posted on 02/14/20120 comments
One of the signs of a good conference is the number of sound bites that come out of it. As a journalist (among other things), it’s my job to make note of those quotes and sound bites to then succinctly wrap up the event and give those who couldn’t make it a good overview.
However, I discovered something at this year’s event: Twitter is either making my job easier or making me obsolete.
There was a “critical mass” of Tweeting going on at this year’s event (that’s a sound bite in itself from Lyra’s Frank Stefansson), so to get an overview of the event, one only has to take a look at the Twitter stream from the event. Jim Lyons, who is possibly the king of social media in this industry, created a great Storify feed of the Tweets, and you can also find them by searching the #lyra12 hash tag.
The feed tells a great story – of the innovation, intelligence, quest for knowledge and, yes, humor in this industry (Greg Walters is always good for laughs and keen insight all at once).
One of the biggest talking points/debates/conundrums? Mobile print. Is it the future? Or is it our last-ditch attempt to stay relevant in a world of tablets and mobile devices? Lyra’s Robert Palmer stated that mobile printing is unlikely to drive new, incremental print. And at a roundtable discussion I attended, which consisted of representatives from four OEMs, the consensus was that there has to be a way to make mobile printing simple and necessary for the consumer. Can it be done? “The longer users go without printing, the less they will want to print,” the MPSA tweeted in agreement with a quote from Palmer. And although I can’t remember whom this next quote is attributed to (possibly Robert Palmer again), I agree with Greg Walters that it’s a “great friggin’ quote”: “Paper is simply a competitive display device.”
As always, there was talk of the need to educate consumers to print from their mobile devices, which led to my favorite quote of the entire conference: “I cringe when I hear we need to educate consumers,” said Lyra’s Palmer (perhaps the winner of best sound bites for the conference). It’s true. Consumers don’t want to be educated. They want things to be easy, to just work. If mobile printing has a future, it’s in a simple, agnostic, cloud-based solution that meets actual needs with no education required.
The Lyra 2012 Imaging Symposium was notable for reasons beyond great quotes and active tweeting. It was the first official event of the new Photizo/Lyra merger (as someone called it, PhoLyra – or was it LyrTizo?). The Lyra Symposium has always been a great resource for hard copy and imaging supplies data and information; this year marked the addition of a Managed Print track at the end of the second day – a harbinger? Or simply a sign of the times? We look forward to our continued work with this group and hope to see everyone and their Twitter feeds not only at the Photizo event in May, but at The Imaging Channel Managed Print Summit July 17. Long live the sound bite!
Posted on 01/31/20120 comments
Not even a week into the new year, M&A news came through the wire. Xerox announced that it had acquired LaserNetworks, a managed print services provider in Canada. In the past five years, LaserNetworks more than doubled its revenue and annually supported approximately 1 billion pages under MPS contracts.
Former president of LaserNetworks Brian Stevenson sat down with TIC and offered his two cents on what this acquisition means for Xerox, LaserNetworks and the industry.
TIC: What does the acquisition mean for Xerox?
Stevenson: Up to this point, Xerox had done exceptionally well in the production space in Canada (greater than 50 percent market share) and has been competing well in the A3 space (approximately 25 percent market share). The A4 space, however, had been a huge issue, with minimal traction and minimal market share for Xerox. This acquisition will double Xerox’s footprint in the A4 space in Canada and may provide it enough momentum to hold or grow its new position in this market. The second benefit is its access to key Canadian verticals, such as oil and gas, legal and financial/accounting. LaserNetworks has a dominant presence in these verticals, and I fully expect Xerox to exploit this opportunity.
TIC: What does it mean for LaserNetworks?
Stevenson: One of the greatest strengths of LaserNetworks’ has been its independence and its commitment to provide the best solution for the customer, whether it be HP, Lexmark or another solution. I would expect this to continue in the short term. However, being owned by an OEM automatically adds a bias to the “independent” equation. Mix in the expected Xerox corporate and sales training to the LaserNetworks sales team, and it becomes even tougher.
TIC: In terms of top MPS players, where does this position Xerox?
Stevenson: Xerox has picked up a lot of MPS knowledge with LaserNetworks, and there’s a major opportunity to leverage this knowledge into its existing direct business. If Xerox is successful transforming its direct business to this services-led, customer-centric model, it will certainly become the top MPS player in Canada. But that’s a big “if,” given the traditional “push” that occurs every month-end and quarter-end to sell more hardware.
TIC: How does it help Xerox play in the SMB space?
Stevenson: The service infrastructure at LaserNetworks covers all of North America and supports a wide portfolio of manufacturers. Xerox will be able to leverage this service network and immediately grow its “share of wallet” by placing non-Xerox-branded devices under management. In theory, Xerox should be able to offer this capability through both its direct and agent organizations.
TIC: Xerox started 2012 with this news. What do you expect to see further into 2012? More acquisitions? Who’s next?
Stevenson: I believe we’ll continue to see consolidation and expansion at the same time. The savvy MPS providers will continue to be on the radar of the OEMs as the OEMs seek to maintain existing revenues and further transition to a services-led model. I also see new entrants coming into the MPS space, as the barriers to entry have largely been eliminated. IT VARs, office supplies resellers, remanufacturers and strong independent sales agents will continue to come forward and pull share from the traditional direct OEM companies. It’s certainly an interesting time to be in managed print.
Brian Stevenson left LaserNetworks in May 2011. Today, he is the president of footPRINT Managed Services. FootPRINT is focused on helping business owners transition their companies to include a profitable MPS model. Similar to MPS itself, footPRINT Managed Services delivers these results faster and for less money than other alternatives. Stevenson has lived through the challenges and understands the best practices needed to improve the profitability and revenue growth of an MPS program.
Contact Brian at bstevenson@footprintmps.com.
Posted on 01/23/20121 comments
2012 – I can’t believe it’s already here. Some people might fear this year, as the Mayan calendar has predicted that it will be Earth’s last. But I’d like to think the majority of people are looking at it from a more positive perspective – maybe even a more positive calendar: the Chinese calendar, which marks the start of the Year of the Dragon in 2012. At least that’s the calendar I am choosing to look at – for the purposes of this blog and my sanity.
Apparently, the Year of the Dragon is a good year. It signifies power, strength and success. The dragon itself – the only mythical creature in the Chinese calendar – is made up of different animals, including a tiger, fish, snake and eagle. These features add to the powerfulness and uniqueness of the dragon, and the Chinese culture believes that those born in the Year of the Dragon will stand out among the rest.
When I think of this industry and the strength it’s had throughout the past few years of economic turmoil, I wonder if 2012 might be somewhat of a birth year for “MpS” (yes, I’m stealing that from Greg Walters).
“How can this be?” you’re probably asking. “MPS/MpS has been around for years.” Of course I know this, but when I’ve talked to different people within the industry about what 2012 will be for the MpS industry, each person has a different response. Some people say 2012 will be the Year of the Cloud. Some say it will be the Year of Automation. Others say the Year of Converged Infrastructure, and still others the Year of the Hybrid Strategy. The list could go on forever.
MpS has grown, and the players within the industry are growing. Many believe that providers can no longer just offer managed print; companies are now seriously looking at and investing in the cloud, security, automation, managed network services – again, the list could go on forever. And this is why I say that 2012 may just be the birth year of MpS – a year where all these components of a complete, comprehensive offering come together.
Some of you are already there. You are the leaders, the companies others will look up to and try to emulate. But for those of you who are just starting to merge some of these components together, draw from the dragon. Be smart, have strength and be successful. It is your year!
Posted on 01/09/20120 comments
2011 was definitely an interesting year. I have spent the last couple of days combing through news, articles, blogs and webinars focused on this year’s mergers and acquisitions, natural disasters that severely impacted many OEMs, and evolving trends in the managed print and managed services spaces. It has been an active year, to say the least.
Many of these topics were addressed on TheImagingChannel.com. Some of the industry’s top players came here, under one domain, to discuss, analyze and inform readers about these issues, and I have to say, they’ve done an impressive job! But both the print publication and the website are evolving, presenting new opportunities to all. Do you have topics you’d like to see addressed? Email us. Do you have opinions about the content posted? Share your thoughts in the comments box. Would you like to be a guest blogger, or do you know people you’d like to see on the guest blog lineup? Let us know!
Bottom line: This information is for you, and we are listening. It is our goal to continue producing the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of content here on the site through additional writers, features, blogs, webinars and a few new things up our sleeves for next year. We hope you will join us for another exciting year.
And just a reminder: If you missed some of the content throughout the year, everything is archived, so you can revisit, reread and/or find what you are looking for easily.
Here are a couple helpful links:
Issue Archive: http://theimagingchannel.com/issues/issue-archive.aspx
Blogs: http://theimagingchannel.com/blogs/browse-blogs.aspx
Webcasts: http://theimagingchannel.com/webcasts/list/all-webcasts.aspx
See you in 2012! We hope it is a prosperous and successful year for the industry!
Posted on 12/22/20110 comments
A lot of time is spent educating salespeople on how to establish and foster relationships with customers. But how do you build a relationship with someone who won’t even read your email, let alone have a conversation with you? This was one of the dilemmas discussed during a session at the BTA West event last month, and the answer reminded me of an anecdote my sister recently told me.
She was visiting L.A. – a place she talks about moving back to every now and again, as she still has many buddies there. When she arrived at the house of the friend she’d be spending the weekend with, she saw a piece of paper on the bed of the guest room she was staying in. Naturally, she picked it up to read it, at which point she discovered it was an application – to her friend’s employer.
We’re in a recession. My sister already has a job. And yet here she found herself being offered an opportunity many would kill to have right now – and hers would come with a current employee’s recommendation to boot.
This is the power of relationships. Build strong ones, and the opportunities that might be thrown your way are virtually endless. Good old-fashioned friendship paid off for my sister, and those in the MPS business who attended BTA West were encouraged to put forth efforts to network and develop such fruitful relationships among peers as well.
How? Participating in any kind of community – and during this season, it’s especially easy to get involved with a nonprofit organization or charity – has benefits that extend well beyond the service you give to the group. Establishing relationships – perhaps even friendships – with people who aren’t in your field gives you not only a more well-rounded sense of the world, but may someday put you in the position to be recommended or sponsored in with a new client looking for someone reputable or maybe even with that customer you’ve been chasing who previously refused to return your voicemail (because it really is often a smaller world than you think). After all, a coworker probably isn’t going to pass a job offer they qualify for on to you, and a competitor likely won’t recommend you to a potential customer of his or hers, but a friend you made participating in a sport or hobby might do either or both.
Granted, this is not why we form relationships with other people initially – we do it for the fun of it, which incidentally makes it a lot more comfortable than cold calling and other awkward situations that require “building rapport” – but it’s a wonderful perk! You never know when the relationships you’ve built in your life might pay off beyond the immediate joys of camaraderie and connection they bring. So while you attend your conventions and training, working on your relationships within the industry, don’t forget to foster those outside of it as well – and always continue to forge new ones in both arenas.
Posted on 12/13/20110 comments
Last week, news broke that Columbia University researchers found a security vulnerability in certain HP LaserJet printers.
The story, reported by msnbc.com, seemed a bit sensationalized, what with its claims that millions of printers could burst into flames, but if the researchers’ findings are correct, the security flaw is definitely a serious issue.
HP addressed this in a statement it released saying, “Today there has been sensational and inaccurate reporting regarding a potential security vulnerability with some HP LaserJet printers. ... Speculation regarding potential for devices to catch fire due to a firmware change is false.”
However, HP did say that they have identified a “potential security vulnerability” with some HP LaserJet devices if placed on a public Internet without a firewall. The company also said that it is “building a firmware upgrade to mitigate this issue and will be communicating this proactively to customers and partners who may be impacted.”
Regardless of whether this story was sensationalized or not, security flaws are dangerous for anyone -- individual, small business or enterprise users.
In a demonstration of the vulnerability, the Columbia researchers printed a tax return to one of the devices, which in turn then sent the document to a different computer (which would be the hackers). The document was then scanned for critical information and once found, automatically published it to Twitter.
Social security numbers, Tax ID numbers, sensitive business docs -- anything that may be printed at home or at a business could get into the wrong hands.
Although researchers have only found vulnerabilities in HP devices so far, they are continuing their testing on other manufacturers’ devices as well as gadgets and appliances.
“Printers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vulnerable embedded devices,” warned Salvatore Stolfo, who directed the research at Columbia. DVD players, telephone conference tools and home appliances now all connect to the Internet and have no security at all. “Supposedly secure offices -- even in sensitive government agencies -- have networked teleconferencing devices, printers, even thermostats that create security risks,” the article pointed out.
As more and more devices have network capabilities, security becomes an ever-increasing issue. We are all aware that printers are no longer just printers. They store important -- perhaps sensitive -- information. They can be used as a gateway to the network and if unsecured, they can be damaging. End users may not be aware of the potential hazards an unsecured printer could cause, but here is the opportunity for managed print providers to step in, secure the network and secure the customer.
Posted on 12/05/20110 comments
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the ECi Connect Conference last week, one of the highlights of which was the keynote speaker, Jim Morris – not Jim Morrison, late Doors frontman (which was my first thought), because that would have been kind of spooky – but Jim Morris, aka “The Rookie.” Still don’t know who I mean? Let me reference IMDB — “The Rookie,” starring Dennis Quaid. “A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.”
So what does this have to do with printing/technology/corporate America? Aside from the fact that baseball is always relevant, in my humble opinion, Morris’ theme centered around never giving up on your dreams.
“Oh, sure,” you say, “never give up on your dreams. Easy for the high-school teacher who became a major-league pitcher at age 35 to say. But what about me? How does that relate to me, the managed print salesperson/marketing manager/software engineer/printer service provider?”
Well, let’s take a cue from the three themes of the conference: educate, collaborate and inspire. Morris, during his presentation, pointed out how critical those three factors are to living your dreams. Dream-makers will get everything possible from those three things and make the most of them. Education, collaboration and inspiration are critical to success. The more you learn, the more you interact with your peers and the more inspiration you find in every circumstance you experience, the greater your success and the better chance of fulfilling your dreams.
Dealer meetings, conferences and events like ECi Connect present the perfect opportunity to do this. The buzz and energy in a room full of like-minded individuals all learning from and finding inspiration in each other is invaluable, and it’s why all the technology in the world will never replace face-to-face interaction. The range of products and technologies in the vendor fair, the learning opportunities available in the classes and the networking opportunities throughout the conference are prime examples of this, and they are truly “dream-makers” of a sort.
Do you take advantage of every opportunity for learning and networking presented to you? Are you inspired by those around you – both collaborators and competitors? If not, make it a point to begin to do and be so. Opportunity is all around you; take advantage of it and be a dream-maker.
Posted on 11/11/20110 comments
A few weeks ago, Gartner released its 2011 “Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services, Worldwide” report, and the subsequent press releases from MPS providers who made the list started flying in.
Of course, it included all the big names – HP, Xerox, Ricoh, etc. But many other MPS providers apparently didn’t make the cut – begging the question of what sort of inclusion/exclusion criteria Gartner uses to determine which companies end up in the Magic Quadrant and where.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on the actual report, as it comes with a hefty price tag, but I was able to find some key information from last year’s report. And although some of it might have changed for the 2011 “Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services, Worldwide,” I think this gives a pretty good look at Gartner’s evaluation process.
Within the extensive report, Gartner listed its inclusion criteria, noting, “Only vendors that meet all the following criteria are included.” The list consists of:
- “Is able to provide the equipment (via lease or as a procurement service)
- Provides the supplies
- Performs the break/fix and preventive maintenance
- Provides the technical support
- Provides MPS in two or more world regions to at least one customer. The customer must be verifiable and have at least 500 MPS users. The regions are North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); Asia/Pacific (including Japan); and Latin America.
- Provides the long-term tracking and management of the printer/MFP fleet
- Performs the initial assessment(s)
- Buys back or disposes of existing equipment that is being replaced, if this is required
- Bills on a per-page or per-seat basis”
The exclusion criteria were much more concise. Gartner said, “The inclusion criteria exclude print-related services that fall short of MPS. These include traditional, narrowly drawn copier contracts, certain retail printer service packages, and most infrastructure outsourcing contracts. Some genuine MPS providers also did not qualify because they do not serve multiregional customers in a unified way.”
With this criteria and evaluation process, the 2010 Magic Quadrant broke down as follows: Xerox, Ricoh and HP were in the Leaders Quadrant; Lexmark, Canon, Pitney Bowes and Toshiba were placed in the Challengers Quadrant; and Océ and Konica Minolta were named Niche Players. The Visionaries Quadrant was empty. “At the current level of market maturity, there are no Visionaries in this Magic Quadrant,” the report explained.
Gartner does point out that just because a company is named a “Leader” in the Magic Quadrant doesn’t mean that it is the only choice for the customer. “All selections are buyer-specific,” the report said, “so vendors in the Challengers, Visionaries or Niche Players quadrants may sometimes be a better match for your requirements.” The report goes on to say that customers who aren’t ready to go global, customers who are primarily interested in reducing costs and devices, smaller organizations, or customers looking for more attentive providers should seek out the companies in the Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players Quadrants.
Now, I have not been covering the managed print services industry for long, but throughout these past few years, I have come across many managed print providers (some of which have been snatched up by these Magic Quadrant companies) that seem like they should be sitting next to the likes of HP, Xerox and Ricoh – maybe not in the Leaders Quadrant, maybe not even in the Challengers Quadrant, but definitely evaluated and placed somewhere in the Magic Quadrant.
Gartner’s 2010 “Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services, Worldwide” report is extremely detailed, well-researched and well-organized, but with so many managed print options available today (and ones that were available in 2010), it seems a bit absurd to have only included nine companies in the report.
I have no doubt that the 2011 Magic Quadrant is just as thorough, and perhaps there were a few more companies that made the cut in 2011. As I said before, I have not seen the full report; I have only seen the press releases from HP, Xerox, Océ, Canon and Ricoh. The Imaging Channel congratulates the companies that did make it into the 2011 Magic Quadrant. We just hope to see a more extensive and diverse list in 2012.
Posted on 11/08/20110 comments
You’ve done a lot of the hard work. You’ve pitched a C-level executive, and she’s on board. You’ve assured the IT department that your software is secure and that you will be servicing the devices so they don’t have to. You’ve even done an assessment and know what changes need to happen to create an efficient print environment and save your client money. Now all you need is your client’s employees’ buy-in and cooperation. This last step doesn’t sound so hard, but sometimes it can pose the biggest challenge.
We hear all the time about how end users have a hard time adapting to and changing their printing habits in order to get the full benefits of a managed print program. It could be printing to a new device, not printing in color, getting rid of personal printers or duplex printing; something along the line is bound to rub one of your clients (or one of their employees) the wrong way.
So what do you do? How do you get everyone on board?
I recently read a FederalNewsRadio.com article titled “GSA: Changing printing habits could save government millions.” The writer, Jack Moore, talked to Steve Kempf, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at General Services Administration (GSA) who made a really interesting point about printing habits. Moore reported that if federal employees changed their printing behaviors in a relatively small way – changing the paper, the toner and the fonts they use – and devices were swapped out for better, more efficient devices, hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved. “But even with more efficient devices, Kempf emphasized the importance of changing behaviors,” Moore wrote. “‘You can buy better solutions all the time, but will the people use them?’” Kempf said in the article. “‘And will they use them effectively?’”
Both of Kempf’s questions are really interesting: Will people use the solutions that are there? And if so, will they use them efficiently? As a managed print provider, you can swap out devices, software and/or permissions all day long, but if none of the users take advantage of the features, the better cost per page, the duplex printing capabilities, etc., is your managed print program really delivering what you said it would?
You can take away desktop printers, and you can set permissions for color printing. You can set employees’ computers to default to a particular printer. But employees can find workarounds, and depending on how upset, annoyed and/or put out they are by changes you’ve made to their system, they just might find an alternative that makes them happier while at the same time making your MPS program less efficient and more costly for the client.
Thankfully, there are hundreds of articles online that tackle this predicament, and almost all of them turn to communication. The article “How to Get Your Point Across Through the Art of Business Communication” explained that “even if you are not worried about the changes taking place, that does not mean (the) staff isn’t concerned. They generally resist change because they do not know, or have a lack of knowledge, on what’s coming ahead. It is also because of the way the change is communicated to them. Constant clear communication throughout the change process is the key. The change can be as major as a company takeover, or as simple as a small change in organizational structure. Whatever the change, it needs to be clearly communicated to (the) staff to relieve any possible anxiety.”
If you communicate with your clients’ staffs about what the company is trying to accomplish, what the goals are and what the rewards will be for the employees, they might be more vested in making behavioral changes. Employees also have a chance to voice their concerns, opinions and even ideas on how to do things more efficiently.
With management on board, the IT department willing to give you some control, and employee buy-in, your managed print program has the ability to succeed and deliver the promised results.
Posted on 10/27/20110 comments
Just a few short months ago, I was writing for one publication under the 1105 Media umbrella. Now I write for two. And with the opening of that door – in this case, The Imaging Channel’s – a whole new set of opportunities have presented themselves to me; in the past month alone, I’ve attended two conventions – both of which target IT SMB owners. In both instances, my goal was to establish new connections with people in the field, but for the media, there’s always a need to keep eyes and ears open regarding more general industry trends as well, whatever that industry might be. In my case, it’s all about print.
Now, I’ve been hearing for quite a while about how the SMB is this great untapped market for companies that play in the MPS space – how the OEMs have struggled to penetrate the SMB segment, have their message resonate with small MSPs, and are thusly acquiring specialized players in the MPS business (e.g., Printelligent, FMAudit, Equitrac, etc.) to be able to seize this last frontier: the as-yet-unclaimed pages printed by MSPs’ end users. So imagine my surprise when I got my floor maps and found only two MPS vendors making appearances at these shows.
In the face of this cognitive dissonance, I was forced to ask myself a few questions about what I was observing. First off, where is everyone? Sure, purse strings are tight, but it’s not like nobody from the MPS arena is attending these shows, and the fertile ground of the IT SMB space is being touted by research companies such as the IDC as the promised land for MPS companies. “The fast-growing managed print services (MPS) market … remains open to a variety of would-be providers,” said Leigh Worthing, senior research analyst, IDC Western European Peripherals Group. “This is particularly true when looking at the largely untapped SMB segment, where systems integrators, VARs, and IT service providers are all continuing to vie with hardcopy manufacturers to gain a foothold and grow share.”
So why aren’t those already involved in MPS committed to bringing it to the SMB? Either I’m misinformed, people think they can somehow avoid the inevitable increasing competition resulting from the convergence of print and IT, or the worst has happened: People in the MPS space just don’t care to court new markets – a scary thought, considering how stagnant things are on this side of the fence. Page counts are flat, at best, and many in the industry at this point seem to be land-grabbing/cannibalizing versus investing in the pursuit – or even the creation – of new and surely more profitable markets for MPS.
Why do I say “creation”? Because based on other observations I made while attending these shows, there may be a bit more selling involved at this point when it comes to educating IT SMBs who either have no clue about or no stake in offering MPS. It will be your task to make them see the light if you’re seeking new money from this arena. Question is, will you, MPS company, dedicate yourself to convincing them that your offering is worth what you know it is?
When I think of the two companies who made appearances at one of the conventions in particular, the dedication they have to selling to SMB owners is clear – and these companies essentially have no competition at the moment, which makes the deal even sweeter for them. So will you sit back and let these folks win all the business? Will you play it safe, waiting to see if their efforts are ultimately successful before making your move – by which time, it may very well be too late? Or will you stop competing for the same old pages and throw your hat in the ring alongside these companies to pursue new ones?
Truth be told, if you don’t put yourself out there now, not only is there a strong possibility that one of your current competitors will obtain the business instead, but you may someday find yourself competing against the very MSP you think you can ignore today. Don’t misunderstand me: Just because MSPs currently seem a bit confused about MPS or are unsure of getting involved in it right now doesn’t mean they won’t be your competitors once they figure out – or partner up with people who already know – how to make money at it. And they already have a sizable customer base ripe for the picking.
The good news is, having a background in MPS might make you better able to onboard MSPs well before they become your opponents. At the conferences, one person pointed to resources the majority of MPS companies have versus SMBs and another pointed to copier/printer dealers’ superior sales skills as edges that, if leveraged, can allow you to significantly impact the space. So carpe diem! Get out to these shows and take advantage of your strengths while there’s still a market left to tap. Sell, sell, sell!
Posted on 10/19/20111 comments
On a very basic level, I use the cloud on a regular basis. If I’m writing a blog or working on a document that I might want to access from home, a coffee shop or even an airport, I store my document through Google Docs, and I am assured that I can access that project from any Web-connected area, from any Web-connect device.
While my use of the cloud is based more on the convenience of having access to my work wherever I am, for businesses, connecting to the cloud is becoming less of a novelty and more of a mandate for an efficient workforce on the go.
I recently listened to a webinar about how the cloud impacts IT. Its audience consisted of medium to large businesses that may have their own IT departments and the ability to connect without utilizing a service provider. One of the most important messages to the audience that presenter Phil Wainwright, a software industry analyst, blogger and consultant, shared was, “Businesses must connect (to the cloud) to compete. … If you’re not getting your IT in a position to support all of this, then your business is going to fall behind.”
That’s a pretty strong mindset, but one that is being adopted by more and more people today. When you think about being able to print documents, share projects and access specific business information while out on a service call or sales meeting, it’s obvious the instant information at your fingertips could help close deals, make you more efficient, and ultimately positively impact your bottom line.
Based on the information from the webinar, though, many companies’ IT departments are struggling with integrating the cloud into their business. Challenges that Wainwright addressed were with infrastructure, support and management. This is where companies like yours can step in.
When it comes to the cloud, the role of service providers should be “providing the skills and assistance that’s going to be needed to make sure that integration, governance and infrastructure takes shape in the right way,” Wainwright said. Much like finding the pain points in managed print, the cloud offers many opportunities for service provides to step in and relieve the client’s pain.
“The cloud can have hugely transformative effects,” Wainwright said. “If you’re not already in the mindset to take advantage of the cloud and harness its capabilities, then your organization is going to miss out.” I think this applies not only to end users but also service providers like you.
Posted on 10/07/20110 comments
Muratec executives, partners and industry analysts made their way to Las Vegas for the Muratec Dealer Conference, dubbed “Advance.” A crowd of roughly 425 invitation-only guests gathered from September 14-16 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino for three days of fun, education and networking.
Advance built on Muratec’s views of the document imaging market today and in the future. Muratec sees short-term opportunities stemming from marking your territory, capturing print devices and offering services around hardware. Successful implementations in these areas can help dealers lock in business and transform offerings into longer-term opportunities like the management of the network, storage systems and business applications that these documents flow through.
“Dealers will have to be in a position to offer all of these services, either directly or through partners, and we want to be able to position ourselves to provide these services to them,” said Lou Stricklin, director of marketing for Muratec.
It is because of this philosophy that Muratec’s national dealer conference incorporated much education about managed print services as well as managed services in general. Photizo Group’s Ken Stewart presented “Going to Market With Software and Professional Services,” where he discussed ways to “inject your products and services with steroids” in order to keep up with your customers’ needs and beat the competition.
Brian Bissett of The MFP Report addressed trends in capturing documents in the power session titled “Office MFPs and the Next Generation of Document Capture.” The role of the cloud for document storage, surfacing scanning apps, and the convergence of document capture and production scanning were just a few of the discussed topics.
“The Morphing of the Copier Channel Into the Imaging Enterprise” was presented by MWAi’s Mike Stramaglio. Talking about technological milestones of the past year, successful business methods, and how you can meet the demands of IT departments, Stramaglio painted a picture of a promising growth strategy for dealers.
These were just a few of the educational seminars Muratec organized for its dealers.
“We hope that dealers came away with the belief that Muratec is still a strong partner,” Stricklin said. “We’re dedicated to their success and we’re transforming our business in order to assist them in transforming their business. We believe that our programs (built) around managed print services, network services and document management/workflow will help dealers with both their short and long-term growth targets.”
Posted on 09/26/20110 comments
“IT guys don’t care about print,” says my husband, an IT guy, who then softens his position with a qualified, “Well, it’s not that they don’t care at all, but it’s way down on the list of stuff they care about.” I sort of suspect that addendum was to pacify me, however, since we’ve been living in the dueling-yet-converging worlds of IT and print since we met and often have conversations to this effect (yes, dinnertime conversations at our house are exactly as stimulating as you might imagine).
We hear the same sentiment echoed at IT-centric events, where many “IT guys” tell us they’d prefer not to mess around with print devices. “Leave it to the service technicians and the copier guys,” they say. “It’s more trouble than it’s worth.” But is it? Or is print simply an unrecognized potential profit center — a hidden gold mine for those who take the time to uncover it?
This is old news for us in the managed print world, of course. But for many in the IT world, it’s still an undiscovered and untapped resource that leads to many aha! moments for those who take the time to discover it. In the October issue of The Imaging Channel, we explore the converging worlds of print and managed services and talk to those who are making the crossover (in both directions) to find new profit centers.
One company we talked to for that article is Mythos Technology, a managed services provider that has recently made the leap into managed print. Mythos did have those same “IT guy” concerns about print. “Quite honestly, the biggest thing that was stuck in my mind with managed print was, if we get involved, we’re going to have to go touch the printers, and we’re going to have to change the toner,” says Mythos’ CTO James Laszko in that article. The solution? Partnering with a managed print provider to do the heavy lifting. The result? A month-to-month revenue increase of approximately 10 percent and a total 20 percent profit growth while achieving a 50 percent markup — all while mitigating the risk of losing its business to a print solutions provider that had expanded its offering to include managed services, which is a model we also look at in the article.
Want to know more about Mythos’ successful leap into managed print? Laszko will join us for a webcast,“Completing the Technology Pie,” sponsored by OKI Data, on Tuesday, Sept. 20 (if you’ve missed it, no worries; that link will take you to an archived version). Hear firsthand from Mythos and OKI how MSPs can get into print, find out how caring about print can equal profits, and then come on over to my house for dinner and join in the conversation.
Posted on 09/19/20110 comments