The Death of The Copier is Greg_Walters

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:08:34 PST

Go tell the Spartans, Passerby,

That here, obedient to their laws,

We lie.

To Boldly Go

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:44:13 PST

And so it has finally come to this - There is nothing new for me to write. There is nothing I can say, that I haven't said before; Manage Print Services has peaked and it's time to "jump the curve". Sure, there are plenty of adventures remaining, lots of cold calls, assessments, proposals and engagements remain to be had.

Have it.

I will certainly NOT stop talking or writing about technology in our little niche - see you at some shows. But there is more...

As we begin 2012 - my 50th revolution around the Sun - it is Time. It is time to remember, acknowledge and let go.

These past four years have been "full of Stars" - so many new colleagues, partnerships and friends.

People, comrades in arms, walking up to say hello. To tell me that my words, my thoughts helped them in some personal way. I am still flabbergasted, stunned and humbled.

Thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for saying hello, for emailing me, for asking and for moving forward carrying with you some remnant of me.

In the end, I have always known this - DOTC isn't so much about me, it is about Us, about You. Defiant.

All those sales meetings and slammed doors. The spilled toner, messed up demo's, confusing commission structures, abusive, ignorant, report-generating middle management - cold call blitz's - and Friday afternoon round-ups.

I've been there. You've been there. I am not alone. You are not alone. We Are Not Alone.

That's what DOTC is about. People.

Personal Note -

I've met along the Way, many people, many souls and I have been so fortunate to have met a special person - That special person, again.

Jen -

"I have nothing left...nothing to give you. I have No Pride, No Dignity, No Money...I don't even know how we'll make a living. But...I promise, I'll love you, the rest of your life." - Again and Again.

Jennifer and I are piecing together a world, creating a platform for integration. Full life integration. New adventures, new Edges and leaps of Faith.

Oh the fun we shall have.

Our relationship reminds me, again and again, that life is more than a blog, more than a job, occupation, political structure, funnel management or MpS. Life is Personal, integrated, about people. All the people we've ever met, known, loved and left.

And Life can be full.

Not full of boxes. To box and separate all the segments of your life is to lose the potential for even greater accomplishments.

Integration of business and personal, of who you are with what you do, within reason, is risky. Exposing. Crazy. Contrarian. Defiant. And can be more fulfilling. Satisfying. Deeper.

The niche we work in has the power to connect so many on every level - but there is a DarkSide an Edge.

This same technology can chill and separate, isolating all of us into jello filled cocoons.

But we can only be separated by choice. If we allow ourselves to get caught up and numb. If we forget to hear the music, to taste the music. That is why I've embedded so much music into these works. It is humanizing.

To listen is to Remember. To Hear is to Acknowledge. We are all human. The CxO puts his pants on the same way I do. We are all Flawed. Hurd ain't got nothing on any of us. Get the F over it.

The ride isn't over, the world moves and we move with it. We are all Born to Run.

I am building a new craft. A bigger, inclusive, more ambitious Enterprise (1701-X). Failure, surrounded by the Dark UnSeen, is always a possibility.

That's where We want to go, through the Darkness . Are you coming with?

I fucking love it.

To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
Star Trek at MOVIECLIPS.com

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DOTC Parting Shot: Announcing the DEATH OF OUR INDUSTRY, IMAGING.

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:49:20 PST

MpS, Managed Print Services is both the Destroyer and Mother.

"Managed" means reducing the number of prints and devices(MIF). As long as our industry relies on selling machines that put marks on pages - it is doomed to fail.

Period. No wiggle room. No mobile print to the rescue. No inkjet in every garage as savior. We're to deep in the woods to smell the fire. Most MpS programs simply rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

From the outside, looking in, how can one not ask,

"What in the hell is wrong with THAT industry?!!!"

- "Yeah, I saw your band...when you going to learn..."

Well the list is long, the road bloody and riddled with the ignorant.

But what the hell, here it is - the DOTC, 12 Things Wrong with the Imaging Industry.

Enjoy.

1. The people in charge are idiots - you know I'm right
2. The old Business Models are wrong and still practiced - you're going to delivery toner by hand? Really?
3. The guru's are out of touch - another story about what you did at IKON? Really?
4. Hardware is still the focus - We sell Solutions on the 1st, hardware on the 15th

5. Lots of money spent on MpS, little return - MpS Sales classes, anyone?
6. Those Who think they Know, don't - How many MpS directors have you fired over the last 18 months
7. Sales reps are not comp'd on service agreements - truly, not all of us are as stupid as sheep
8. Too much Ego stuffed into the standard owners' cranium - nice watch, stop blaming HP for your problems
9. The word 'Solution' - it refers to a mix of liquids, you dolt
10. Those who think MNS is as easy as selling color - ah...omg...I just threw up in my mouth, a lil
11. Those who think they've been selling MpS for 25 years - re-inking ribbons in your mom's basement don't count

And the biggest problem with our industry:

12. Copiers - both the machines and the People...How many times are you going to cut and paste mine and Photizo's stuff into your presentations?

There's more, but I find this line of discussion tedious and fatiguing...

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Don't Know How Long We have Together...Who Does?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:19:40 PST

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"Twelve Hours out of Mackinac City..."

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:18:39 PST

"...The Great Divide...I could go East, I could go West...it was all up to me to decide..."

Rounding the final turn...

"...next time, we'll get it right...Roll Me Away...Tonight..."

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Does Making a Man a Knight...Make Him a Better Provider? Yes.

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:28:52 PST

This post was first started April, 2011 -----

The battle for MpS.

As the 3rd Annual MPS Conference fades in the rear-view, its deja vu all over.

Today, questions around MpS border on the mundane; reflecting, once again, the commoditization of me and of you:

Cold Calls, Dialing for MpS - old school scripts
MpS is Dead - Toner and Service only
MpS is Dying - MIF is shrinking
MpS needs 'farmers' and 'hunters' - labels and boxes
MpS Reps are simply coin operated - sure, that's all we care about, isn't it
The OEMs are not working with the channel - working 'on' is not working 'with'
The OEMs are losing control - do we sell machines or services or supplies
"I have MpS on my HP's. The copiers are all on a service agreement. We're fine..." - quote from an IT guy

So, here we are again...after DOTC defined it...we're stuck asking, "What is MpS?"

"What is Managed print Services?"

What's old is new. We've all been here before. Timeless. From Jerusalem to BattleStar Galactica to The Matrix - the footprints we follow are our own...

Knight's Oath
Kingdom of Heaven — MOVIECLIPS.com

I have it from very credible sources, my prospects and clients, that MpS is being defined as simply, "toner and service for everything except copiers...".

Wait, what, huh?

The OEMs have hijacked the meaning of MPS to mean simply toner and service...exactly like the old CPC models around copiers? Why? So they can continue to sell hardware.

IT directors are telling us they already have MPS on their printers, and CPC on the copiers. Purchasing is still buying copiers. We've been here before. The Walls are all the same, just the people have changed.

Your MPS and my MPS beliefs lie over those who believed color was secular.

And those lie over the analogue to digital evolution.

And those cover the OEM's who learned how to build in obsolescence, define and segment an entire industry - from the ditto machine, carbon paper to white out.

"Those who own the network, own the account."

Who has claim?

No one has claim...

All have claim.

MPS is not about faceless copier manufacturing companies or heartless IT behemoths. Its not about infrastructure or meter reads or remote monitoring, behavior modification, M2M, third party toners, or A3vA4. It isn't even about the transactionalization of the 'solution sale'.

All that is corporate dogma.

No Quarter
Kingdom of Heaven — MOVIECLIPS.com

It's about People. We fight not for the machine. We fight for the people in the machine.

MpS is more than print, it is more than toner and service and supplies - it is about Content and Dark Content, technology and change - and People. All that infrastructure, those walls, fall away, crumbling and crashing, ultimately exposing who we are and what we do.

We Are, All of Us, What We Do.

What is all this worth?

"Nothing..."

"Everything..."

As with everything great, it comes down to the individual - real change starts in the grass, in the roots.

What can you do?

First, change your mindset. The 'church' is not 'faith'. 'Religion' is filtered, shaped and slanted. Doesn't mean it's wrong - it means you have more responsibility in choosing what you follow. Who you follow.

Look at our niche. The hierarchical model - Top Down - of the OEM is dissolving. Corporate org charts are flattening.

The 'Cloud', in the Sky, connects us with all the Content ever created - directly. We don't attend the corporate cathedrals those homes of empty priests.

We work at home. In the dirt. In the trenches. Again, reclaiming our power and forcing us to be more personally responsible.

It's here.

The Gates have fallen, the new guard pouring in - we have seen the enemy and they are Us.

Saladin's Terms
Kingdom of Heaven — MOVIECLIPS.com

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Let it Rain...with Arms Wide Open

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:57:00 PST

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Turn the Page...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:34:00 PST

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I hate Security Check points and Waiting in Lobbies

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:45:05 PST

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Cadillac of the Sky!...another favorite...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:18:00 PST

Nice shot at 1:19, out of the smoke...

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"...my cars out back, if you're ready to take that long walk..."

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:17:59 PST

"...so you're scared and you're thinking you ain't that young anymore...show a little faith, there's Magic in the night..."

Remember when all the redemption you needed was beneath a dirty hood...

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Always Loved This One...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:58:19 PST

"...last to leave...first to go..."

"Hope is a moment now long past..."

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I've seen things...like tears...in the Rain...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:40:56 PST

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"...in a hopeless place..."

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:00:09 PST

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Final Scenes: BSG -

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:58:00 PST

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More News from the VAR World: ConnectWise introduces 'Vendor Management'

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:58:43 PST

Today I attended a webinar hosted by ConnectWise titled "Vendor Management"

You remember ConnectWise as a VAR infrastructure software package which includes modules for everything from dispatch to Sales to Marketing support.

"Vendor Management" is a new functionality and is intended to assist Managed Service Providers (MSP) in managing technology vendors for their clients. The MSP could now handle interfacing with the telephone, domain, internet vendors on their clients' behalf - and yes, not only did one graphic include a "copier vendor" icon, the word "copier" was mentioned no less than 12 times in under 42 minutes.

Their primary concern? "...vendors are starting to invade each others space leading to finger pointing...leaving the customer stuck in the middle..."

With this new module, ConnectWise is recommending the MPS step into the middle of the convergence, taking and maintaining control of their clients' vendor ecosystem.

This is a valuable service, and strategic in nature along the lines of 'whoever owns the network, owns the account' mentality.

If you manage the Vendors, you manage the access, billing, relationship and minimize each uniqueness.

Additionally, they see this convergence as predatory. Outsiders infiltrating 'their' accounts, specifically mentioning copier vendors.

The module looks completely adequate with everything from annotation capabilities, workflow and contract renewal reviews.

A pivot point- positioning for the approaching struggle.

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What Keeps a Blog In the Air?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:40:51 PST

So why let DOTC fade?

Over 250,000 views, running an average of 15-18k/month...some would kill for this kind of attention. So why?

Simple, really. The success of our past will hold us back - like never before in history.

And so it is with DOTC. I have enjoyed the experience, the writing and the friendships created. The "success" or notoriety

This is not the end, it's a transformation - for anything to truly transform, it must die. Rising again different and clear.

Fresh.

The Spirit of DOTC can never fade - we are all rebels, we are all little bit crazy.

Out here on that Edge, the line between what is expected and what is real, you'll find DOTC.

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Greg's Top 12 of 2012 - The End of the World as We Know It...Well, not Really...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:53:57 PST

For you, dear reader, my personal top 12 for 2012.

A list of what I see happening in the coming year, for us, our industry, our world.

In a moment of pure randomness, a stream of consciousness, my off the cuff opinion - feel free to disagree:

12. Content

Content is everything. And it grows. Not simply printed content, Tweets, cable/digital TV, cellphone calls, dead-emails, texts, sexts, DropBox, utility bills - bumper stickers, ATM transactions: Everything.

And there is the DarkContent/DarkMatter - the "meta data" - the stuff we can't forget, because we've never seen it. For example, if you are running FourSquare, your every step is recorded, not just the cute 'check-ins'. Your movement is recorded and filed off into the great Rift that is DarkConent. Same with your NetFlix orders and cable TV viewing patterns, your Visa spends, and the digital footprint that follows your every search, view, post, comment and click.

All there, all Dark and unseen. Collective.

The Age of Content is engaged, 2012 will reveal more.

11.Social Everything

Everybody is touching everyone, everywhere - Twitter is going to kill news collectors and email; and not a printer in sight. DropBox/BoxNet make sharing large, exchange-choking files a snap. Tablets will be faster, .PDF's will download instantly(almost) and the screen will be the new 'paper'.

10. Less Copiers

That's right, less 11x17, less off the glass copying. 'Nuff said...

9. Less Print

Yup, more airlines, schools, and businesses replace printed manuals with digital, tablet presented manuals and text books. Been to StarBucks lately? "Do you want your receipt, today?" When you say 'no', they don't even print one.

Simple, everyday BeMod - organic and not forced. From the individual up.

8. Mobility Print - the last Gasp

It is over before it began and still a slower death than TouchPad. Seriously, the best indicator that something is dead, Kodak invests in it.

7. InkJet fades

Like the Last Days of Disco, inkjet will fade into the confines of your mother's closet. Literally. Home use, SOHO will play the tunes, but never admit it in public. InkJet - Fly Robin Fly.

Yes, I know, inkjet is still talked about, sold and sometimes regarding as the print world's savior.

Nope. Nadda.

6. MpS in the US continues

Of course, there are oodles of machines out there that still need toner and some service - if putting those two items under a Cost Per Image engagement is MpS, than your MpS is still alive - have at it.

5. Lexmark Better

Quiet, but deadly? Let me tell you what I like about Lexmark - they know who they are, they know their limitations, and they OWN what they are good at - verticals. Their stock is rising.

4. Xerox More services, More MpS & XPPS comes to US

Watch Xerox. When I started this article, two weeks ago, XRX was at $7.50, today, they are over 8. I hear rumors that everyone from Ursula to the guys on the dock are being trained on how to craft, present and sell MpS deals - deals that run through XPPS AND include ACS services.

Could this be true? Yes.

3. HP, Tumbling

I love Mother Blue. I do. They created the ecosystem and inspired everyone from Tektornix to IBM into laser printing. HP rules the technology world. Nobody does anything without being touched by some sort of technology with HP DNA inside. Nobody.

This summer, it looked to some as though Mama Blue lost her mind. She attempted to boldly go into the future by shedding her past. Most criticized - all were shocked. In the end, the oracle of HP chose to ignore the reading on the wall, beheading the leader and installing a clone.

"...A significant spot is the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG), which saw revenues decline 10 percent and operating margins at 12.8 percent. This division has been the HP cash cow for years. While commercial business is increasing, consumer declines in revenue and units shipped are dragging down performance..." - here.

PC's and Desktops are the $30 billion anchor around IPG's neck.

2. VAR's, VAR's, VAR's & VAR's

The Borg, Xerxes, Decepticons...or Saviors?

The VARs are coming and no matter how you dress up your Classic Copier Dealership, without a complete transfusion, when you step into the particle accelerator that is MS, you'll get smashed.

In the beginning of 2011, half as many folks were in MpS as are today. At the end of 2012, the VARs will be licking their wounds, but enjoying what they consider a beachhead.

False comfort.

1. The Beginning of the End of the Imaging Channel - this time, for real...

MpS is Dead.

It's dead because we define MpS as "...supplies and service under a CPI billing structure..." no more.

If you stay there, you will die. The pool of prospective S1/S2 engagements isn't static, it's organically fading.

Beware the ones who say MpS is alive and well, they want to keep you in those low-end, entry levels - scared. And they want to hold you suckling the teat of ignorance and mystery at $550.00 a class; Butts in Seats. Think I'm wrong? When was the last time you got ANYTHING out of the current crop of MpS classes? I thought so.

The niche is dying, pruning the lifeless while the survivors move on.

Copier sales will lessen. How are all those service contract renewals going? MpS is killing copiers and their service contracts almost as effectively as 'these harsh economic times'.

Managed Print Services has taken up the slack for lower copier sales and contracts which haven't renewed.

MpS HAS saved jobs, keeping food on the table.

MpS HAS saved companies - smart people with vision have lived this. These people will see before most, that MpS, defined as Stage 1 and 2 is a short term comfort.

It won't last, it can't last. Stage 1 and 2 MpS is unsustainable.

"If the Imaging Niche goes away, What Next?"

Go look at the agenda for the 2012 MPS Conference then check out Lyra, 2012, Information Management Institute and iTEX is on it. Check out the latest advancements in PSA and RMM.

The End is at Hand. No Fear.

The world moves, it always has. Let's move with it, together.

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Christmas Morning...2011

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:48:00 PST

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Merry Christmas...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:01:00 PST

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Merry Christmas...in Heels...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:39:00 PST

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Merry Christmas From DOTC

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:52:16 PST

It's a time to reflect, to celebrate, and remember.

I know I will be doing all of the above.

On this particular Christmas, 2011, I especially acknowledge all the readers of DOTC.

May this be the merriest of Christmases and your family enjoy each other's company.

To the beaches of Laguna, the streets of Seattle, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City and Detroit.

Ohio to Florida, Kentucky to Utah.

To my friends in London town, the Netherlands, and Europe.

From the Cape of South Africa to the Horn of South America, to the Opera House of Sydney to the shores of New Zealand.

From India to Singapore, Seoul to Berlin.

The Azores, Honolulu to Anchorage and back to good ole Davidson, North Carolina - Thank you for reading.

Merry Christmas to all...and to all...a good night...

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Lose Yourself - One Shot, You Only get One Shot...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:51:00 PST

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Bruce...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:24:00 PST

Stick around for the last 43 seconds, candid, real...

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The Big 3 in Managed Print Services: Xerox, Ricoh, HP - in that order

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Walters) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:23:06 PST

The top OEMs ranked for 2012.

Three

Assuming we will make it past the conjunction with the great Rift.

How will 2012 deal with the triad?

Gaze into the fertile imagination that is Greg and share the vision:

Soldiers, Dragons and Rocket Ships.

'The Big 3"

At the risk of rubbing everyone else the wrong way, the listing of three is not meant to ignore anybody else - this isn't the Magic Quadrant.

These three simply represent the biggest elephants in the room.

Big isn't always the best, but it can be the most visible. So it is with these three. They are the biggest in MPS - the biggest OEMs. They make stuff that MpS tends to reduce the need for; this makes for delicious fodder.

How can a firm promote a philosophy that ultimately assists in the reduction of revenue? It's like buggy whip manufacturers opening up car dealerships.

Interesting.

So here they are in order of projected success, as I see it, in 2012.

Xerox - new injection into MpS

The X and I have had varying differences in the past, mostly vision and philosophical. After careful review of PagePack 3.0, this year - I feel I have softened. I think Xerox at 8 bucks is undervalued. I think Xerox is on the right path when it comes to utilizing MpS as a jumping-off point into Managed Services.

I think Xerox knows this. I see a day when Xerox won't be selling copiers, ColorQube or other. I see a day when Xerox won't be competing with HP but the likes of IBM and EDS.

Caution - when IBM went through a similar metamorphosis, she ejected 250,000 employees. The pundits of the time called them crazy - how could a computer company stop making computers and survive?

IBM came through stronger. Can Xerox. Can anyone ?

Ricoh - Comfortable in the number 2 Slot

I enjoyed working with Ricoh while I was with IKON. They always seemed to want to do more than the Canon folks. I think it was because Ricoh considered themselves second to Canon always striving to get to the number one spot.

In 2011, Ricoh dropped $300 million into their massive MDS program. Half-way into the year, they launched Champs and hit the road with multi-city end user shows. I was fortunate enough to attend the show in Irvine, CA and impressed with the high percentage of end user/prospective MpS clients in the crowd.

It seems I've followed Ricoh/IKON's MDS/MpS journey fairly closely starting in 2009 with the MPSA. The infrastructure is huge, the programs gargantuan so it takes a very good middle management layer to get the right message out into the field - challenging for every, single OEM program around - let alone one who is still digesting a huge acquisition.

The biggest challenge they face is not getting the word out but collecting a following. The Champs program has a decent collection of partnerships embedded, but the dealers just don't see the value.

Why? MpS is difficult, MpS is contrarian and it's too big to add another 24 modules.

And most OEMs are not in touch with what really goes on in the field, in the trenches, across the desk from a prospect.

Time will tell.

HP - Lost, "Which Way did they go? Which way did they go?"

I love mother Blue - even through the Mopier/Hawk/Edgeline/TouchPad - I still like HP. The company that invented Coolers on Friday had a chance this past summer to let go their past and move into the future.

The DeskTop computer is dead. Tablets, and Zero-Client devices are the future and not the long term future. Leo was not the best, but his vision on this issue was clear. By appointing Meg, the board appointed one of their own and bowed to the street, the pundits.

When Mother Blue final does shed the sins of her past it may be too late.

In 2012 watch her spin the message, fight one last battle and then finally concede. They will change. They will come back. The journey will be difficult and many will be lost but they will come back. Unfortunately, 2012 will present more opportunity to painfully shed the past.

It isn't the HP way, it is THE Way.

We have trust and respect for individuals.
We focus on a high level of achievement and contribution.
We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity.
We achieve our common objectives through teamwork.
We encourage flexibility and innovation.

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