MPSA News and Announcements

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — On Thursday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. EDT, BPO Media will host a webinar titled “HP + Samsung + A3: Winners and Losers in the Industry's Biggest Deal — Ever.” The webinar will explore the largest print acquisition in HP’s history: HP Inc.’s planned $1.05 billion acquisition of Samsung’s printer business, announced last week. HP touts the move as groundbreaking, saying it “positions HP to disrupt and reinvent the $55 billion copier industry, a segment that hasn't innovated in decades.”

Is it really that big of a deal? Is this true disruption? BPO Media will explore that, as well as a number of other questions surrounding the transaction including:

• What does it mean for HP’s three-decade-long manufacturing partnership with Canon?
• Can HP make business inkjet a reality with its PageWide A3 devices?
• Will copier dealers embrace — or even accept — the new HP devices or even just HP?
• Can HP’s brand awareness with the IT buyer create new opportunities for “copier” placements?
• What new features, programs and devices can we expect to see from a marriage of Samsung and HP technology?

BPO Media’s team of analysts bring more than 40 years of experience in the printing industry to the discussion as we examine these and more questions. Senior Analyst John McIntyre will lead the discussion. McIntyre has worked in the industry as an analyst, product developer, strategist, marketer and researcher, and has covered the printing and supplies sectors for prominent market research firms and major OEMs, allowing a unique and unrivaled perspective on this major announcement.

Register now for Thursday’s webinar.

The Analyst Corner Live! webinar series is sponsored by MWA Intelligence and presented by BPO Media.

About BPO Media

BPO Media is a publishing, marketing, and research firm. Its BPO Research division provides market research and consulting services focused on office technology, workflow, process optimization, and the transformation resulting from the ongoing integration of digital and mobile technologies. BPO Media's other divisions include BPO Marketing and the Office Technology Group, which produces the leading trade publications The Imaging Channel and Workflow. Visit www.workflowotg.com and www.theimagingchannel.com.

About MWA Intelligence

MWA Intelligence Inc. (MWA), an SAP Business One OEM partner, delivers enterprise-class and leading-edge Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Machine-to-People (M2P) solutions to better serve the imaging industry. MWA’s intelligent service, workforce, assets and GPS solution suites deliver mission-critical information in real time to the hands of customer-facing employees and into companies’ back-end ERP systems including the powerful MWA FORZA with SAP Business One. The MWA solution automates all of the business intelligence management, meter collection, consumables and service alerts and also offers an integrated pre-sale MPS tool. Visit www.mwaintel.com.

Chicago, Ill. – September 15, 2016 – Clover Imaging Group (CIG) is excited to host a LinkedIn Copier Sales Roadshow on Monday, Oct. 10 at its Van Nuys, Calif. facility. From 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., imaging dealers will learn boot-camp style how to leverage LinkedIn for prospecting and sales. Larry Levine, who has more than 27 years of experience as a copier sales rep in the Los Angeles area, will lead the educational event distilling the knowledge that he has learned from integrating LinkedIn into his legacy sales strategy.

“Anytime that we can offer our dealers a value-add such as this educational event on how to prospect and sell via LinkedIn, we jump on it!” said Luke Goldberg, EVP Global Sales and Marketing for Clover Imaging Group. “LinkedIn offers a vast network of potential prospects, and trying to navigate that network on your own can be daunting. Larry will help attendees ace using their social sales skills to grow and advance their dealerships.”   

Levine will instruct attendees on how to upgrade and brand their LinkedIn profiles to get attention; how to integrate their social sales strategy with their traditional methods; how to “flip the table” to get decision makers to accept invitations and network; and ultimately how to make a sale leveraging LinkedIn. The event is filling up fast. Purchase tickets for this social sales educational event for print dealers online at: https://socialsalesacademy.ticketspice.com/linkedin-copier-sales-roadshow-fall-2016.

"Just as dealerships must transform themselves beyond the MFP, sales reps must as well,” said Larry Levine, Social Sales Strategist and Co-Founder of the Social Sales Academy. “As sales reps, we operate inside a highly digital and connected business environment, yet our prospecting methodologies are highly analog. I want to bring the best of what I learned through the traditional means of growing sales revenue and infuse it with more modern social methods. I am passionate about seeing sales reps win. I love coaching sales reps to integrate the use of LinkedIn inside the sales process. When used correctly, LinkedIn and digital prospecting can have a very powerful effect on the sales funnel."

About the Social Sales Academy

The Social Sales Academy coaches B2B tech sales reps on how to integrate traditional sales skills with new tools like LinkedIn. In addition to coaching territory reps, the new S-MAP program coaches major account reps to develop and implement a Social Major Account Plan to grow large placements. The academy has coached sales reps across North America and Australia including copier dealers and managed services providers. The academy also provides programs through several OEMs. Learn more at socialsalesacademy.net.

About Clover Imaging Group

Clover Imaging Group (CIG) provides unparalleled support, collection opportunities, and solutions to independent dealers, OEMs, and retailers throughout the imaging channel and includes the most respected and well-known brands in the industry, including: MSE, Dataproducts, Clover Environmental Solutions, OPRA, Axess Managed Print Services, Tecno Toner, Depot International, and Latin Parts. This impressive group offers the market’s widest array of products and services, supported by a vast engineering infrastructure, marketing resources, distribution capabilities, and strategic partnerships. By bringing all aspects of our business together, CIG is able to provide a level of partnership unsurpassed in the aftermarket imaging space. For more information, please visit cloverimaging.com.

DALLAS, Texas and BRNO, Czech Republic, September 13, 2016 – Y Soft, a leading enterprise office solutions provider, today globally released new hardware solutions for its YSoft SafeQ Workflow Solutions Platform. The two hardware solutions, YSoft SafeQube 2 and YSoft Terminal Pro 4, are designed to reduce costs in an organization’s print and digital transformation infrastructure.

Earlier this year, Y Soft announced a major update to YSoft SafeQ Workflow Solutions Platform. Now as a platform, customers can implement features and modules needed today and easily add additional features and modules using the same underlying framework and architecture, including print management and cost recovery for 3D printers.

YSoft SafeQ’s platform architecture also extended the company’s commitment to YSoft SafeQ’s core benefits: reducing print costs, increasing document security and improving employee productivity through custom document capture and automated workflows.

With today’s release of new hardware solutions for YSoft SafeQ, organizations have additional options to further reduce print and digital transformation infrastructure costs and extend the investment in their current fleet of multifunctional devices (MFDs). The latest hardware solutions that are now globally available provide the following:

· YSoft SafeQube 2. Expensive servers often drive the high cost of print services. By using SafeQube 2, a lightweight appliance, typically 2-4 times fewer servers can be used to support print services^[1]. When used with Client Based Print Roaming^® (CBPR), a software module in YSoft SafeQ, SafeQube 2 serves as a local connection point for the MFD’s user interface, to perform authentication tasks and data collection for reducing hardware costs.

· YSoft Terminal Pro 4. While SafeQ is embedded into the MFDs of the world’s most popular brands, Terminal Pro 4’s large, 7-inch capacitive touch screen provides a consistent user interface when an organization has multiple MFD brands or when the printer doesn’t support an embedded solution.

The Terminal Pro 4 is also the user interface panel in YSoft’s family of 3D printers, YSoft be3D DeeRed and YSoft be3D eDee.

Y Soft ensures compatibility of its software and hardware with the major MFD brands from our partners and some MFD partners require formal certification processes. YSoft SafeQ Workflow Solutions Platform received two certifications. They are:

· bEST certification from Konica Minolta. The bEST certification approves YSoft SafeQ for Konica Minolta’s portfolio of MFDs.

· Ricoh certification of YSoft SafeQ integration with Ricoh’s portfolio of MFDs.

“Research shows that a complete solution is more cost-effective than cobbling a solution together from various sources,” said Václav Muchna, Y Soft CEO and co-founder^[2]. “We take pride in designing, manufacturing and testing our own hardware and software to work seamlessly with the MFDs we support.”

About Y Soft

Y Soft provides intelligent enterprise office solutions that help build smart business. Our YSoft SafeQ workflow solutions platform is used by corporations and SMB organizations to manage, optimize and secure their print and digital processes and workflows. Our family of 3D printers provide easy-to-use, high quality and reliable solutions for education and manufacturing.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, with offices in North and Latin America, Europe, Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and the Asia Pacific region (APAC). For more information, please visit www.ysoft.com.

¹ Results will vary depending on the print volume of the organization, number of users and devices used

² Nemertes DN4746 Re-Architecting the Enterprise: The Time is Now, 2015

ST. LOUIS, MO August 17, 2016 – Supplies Network is pleased to announce the addition of Ted Gruener as Director of Business Development. Ted’s primary role includes providing direction and oversight to an expanded Business Development Team tasked with delivering channel-specific solutions and greater value within the print category to reseller partners. Several new positions have been recently added to this team in order to meet customer demand and current growth trends within several customer segments. Product line expansion and an increase in solutions-related engagements have also contributed to the growth of this team.

“We are thrilled to have Ted join our team,” said David Concors, Vice President of Sales. “Ted brings a wealth of industry experience and an impressive track record of cultivating long-term strategic relationships. We look forward to his contributions, providing positive impact to our Business Development Team and ultimately driving greater value into our reseller community.”

Resellers wanting to learn more about how Supplies Network can help grow their business in the imaging category can visit www.suppliesnetwork.com or call 800-729-9300 to speak with a representative.

Chicago, Ill. – August 11, 2016 – Clover Imaging Group is proud to announce that its Mexicali, Mexico facility of Clover Environmental Solutions (CES) has achieved the R2:2013 Standard, the premier global environmental, worker health and safety standard for the electronics refurbishing and recycling industry. CES Mexicali is the heart of Clover’s cartridge collection operation and processes nearly 3,000,000 units a month.

“Clover is proud to be recognized for our rigorous sustainability initiatives as part of the R2 Standard certification,” said Luke Goldberg, EVP Global Sales and Marketing for Clover Imaging Group. “The process took almost exactly a year to complete, and this confirms our team’s commitment to reuse and the responsible disposition of end-of-life commodities. It also proves our dedication to the safety of our employees and the overall work environment.”

As part of the yearlong process conducted through a third party audit, the Clover team developed and confirmed processes for the security of shipments, enhanced storage of products, and confirmed that partnering transportation companies carry the proper insurance levels and licensing requirements. As part of the certification, Clover will track products through the downstream vendor chain to ensure compliance. In addition, a robust health and safety system under OHSAS 18001 was implemented and certified. To find out more information about the R2 Standard, please visit sustainableelectronics.org.

The MPSA is pleased to announce the winners of its Global 2016 MPSA MPS Awards.

The Global MPSA MPS Awards were established in 2010 to honor those companies that have excelled in various areas related to managed print. Winners serve as shining examples to the community regarding their commitment and expertise in managed print services (MPS).

An esteemed judging panel of industry leaders, chosen from the MPSA membership and led by members of the MPSA Executive Committee to ensure impartiality and adherence to guidelines, vetted and scored awards submissions. The company scoring highest in each category was deemed winner of the respective award.

“This has been a great year for managed print as a whole,” said Kevin DeYoung, President of the Managed Print Services Association. “The competition this year was higher than ever, pushing our judging panel to the fringes of work activity and evaluative disciplines. To say that it is a great honor to be deemed the best is an understatement. Never have we worked so hard and evaluated so much to determine the best.  Each winner should be very proud of this great achievement as they separated themselves from all others.”

The 2016 Global MPSA MPS Awards winners are:

Best MPS Innovation Award – Clover Imaging Group

This award is intended to single out organizations that have established new developments and initiatives in MPS that have the potential to redefine the way we view the industry.

Independent MPS Plus Provider  – Xtandit

An independent organization selling Basic managed print services and offers additional solutions such as document management, workflow, and/or business document processes.

Managed Print Infrastructure Provider – Supplies Network

An organization providing the necessary component structure to MPS Services. Providers that provide MPS to end-user customers. This organization is not owned, directly or indirectly, by a manufacturer.  

Regional Managed Print Services Provider – Xtandit

A local regional organization that provides all or any aspects of managed print services in one or more countries of the following regions; Asia Pacific, Europe/Russia, India/Middle East/Africa, and South America, whether directly or indirectly.  

MPS Software Provider – Print Audit

An organization that develops software for the managed print services sector, whether sales management, device management, user management, service management, or billing.

MPS Professional Services Provider – GreatAmerica Financial Services

An organization with more than one full-time employee providing training, research, or consultancy.

Direct MPS Provider – Canon USA

An organization selling basic managed print services (supplies fulfilment, break/fix service, and equipment services) that is owned directly or indirectly by a manufacturer (includes branches and subsidiaries).

Winners will be officially recognized at the 2016 Global MPSA MPS Awards Ceremony on Monday, Aug 1, at CompTIA’s ChannelCon event, 5-6 p.m. in the Atlantic Ballroom of the Diplomat Hotel & Spa in Hollywood, Florida.

About the Managed Print Services Association

The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves the MPS industry. Its focus is on the development of standards, education, and industry guidelines that unite the different segments of the industry and bring value to all those participating. For more information about benefits and memberships, visit http://yourmpsa.org/Membership or contact us at info@yourmpsa.org.

Chicago, Ill. – July 28, 2016 – Clover Imaging Group (CIG) is launching a partnership with the award-winning Print Audit to offer an innovative managed print solution, Print Audit Premier. The new tool monitors remotely both print devices as well as users with cost-per-seat (CPS) billing. Print Audit Premier enables organizations to implement user and application based rules to monitor and control print behavior — lowering significantly the cost and environmental impact of printing and photocopying. As the most complete total cost of ownership tool in the industry, CIG’s Axess Managed Print Services (MPS) solution now calculates the CPS with Print Audit Premier by inputting the number of users and breaking down the total cost of print into a neat monthly figure.

"CIG is excited to partner with Print Audit on our CPS offering,” said Aldo Spensieri, Vice President of MPS Solutions. “The Axess CPS offering will better align dealer and customer goals. We are on the verge of a new way to deliver managed print, and CIG is proud to lead the way."

The commoditization of the printed page and the race to see who can offer cost per page (CPP) at the cheapest price are big factors in significantly reduced margins for dealers. On top of reduced margins, every time a dealer shows a customer how to print smarter by optimizing their print environment, the dealer reduces their revenue stream. Controlling or even modifying print behavior allows both the imaging provider and the customer to drive efficiencies and reduce costs related to print and document services.

Protecting revenue and margins must be the ultimate goal for the dealer. Cost-per-seat billing allows dealerships to optimize the customer print environment as they help move clients from an expensive device to a cheaper device, and move color prints to black and white prints, based on user and application rules, for example. Doing so reduces the cost of print while maintaining revenue because now the dealer bills by the seat and not by the page — protecting revenue and increasing margins.

Print Audit Premier is an intuitive web-based total cost of ownership (TCO) tool that empowers dealers to price contracts with accuracy by linking to individual account information. This revolutionary MPS tool both remotely monitors devices and manages users. The program gives detailed information about each print job, uses rules to cut printing costs, and gives the ability to the customer to follow securely the print and releasing it when the user is at the device. In addition, the customer will be able to charge the print back to the user or department for better accountability and control. For more information about Axess MPS and CPS, please visit http://www.cloverimaging.com/axess-mps.

July 26, 2016 – Chicago, IL –Clover Technologies Group, the parent company of Clover Imaging Group, Clover Wireless and Clover Telecom, announced today the launch of a new, enhanced Clovertech.com that consolidates all of its global business units into one intuitive, content-rich website.

Clover Technologies Group continues to lead the industry in helping businesses reclaim value by innovating new solutions for retired assets. This new website allows users to view the broad scope and diversity of Clover’s entire business portfolio and to delve deeper into Clover’s unsurpassed value proposition.

Partners, media and investors are now able to stay informed of the latest company news by accessing press releases and news articles for all of Clover’s business units in one central archive. Clovertech.com also features an interactive map that enables users to explore all of Clover’s 60 locations in 18 countries as well as in-depth historical performance data and sustainability reporting.

Clovertech.com was designed and developed for an optimal user experience utilizing the latest in responsive technology to make it easy to use regardless of device or browser.

“In alignment with the evolution of our global strategy and initiatives, we redesigned Clovertech.com to give stakeholders a holistic view of our business and a deeper understanding of who we are and where we are going. Technology and innovation are at the core of everything we do at Clover, and this new website is a perfect reflection of that passion. We are excited to unveil it to the market and our partners,” said Mike Posch, SVP eCommerce, Product Management and Merchandising for Clover Technologies Group.

To view Clover’s new website, please visit www.clovertech.com

Chicago, Ill. – July 21, 2016 – Clover Imaging Group remains committed to our Van Nuys facility (the former MSE facility), renewing the lease through the end of 2019 at 8201 Woodley Ave. The Van Nuys location will continue to be a central part of CIG’s U.S. distribution as well as manufacturing and packaging. The facility is also a key research and development center for color and monochrome toner. 

“This facility remains integral to our manufacturing, sales, customer support, and distribution strategy,” said Luke Goldberg, global EVP sales and marketing. “The Van Nuys facility will continue to serve as a critical element in our ability to deliver CIG quality products and services to our customers in the western U.S. and to global markets.” 

For more information about CIG and the MSE brand, please visit cloverimaging.com. 

About Clover Imaging Group 

Clover Imaging Group (CIG) provides unparalleled support, collection opportunities, and solutions to independent dealers, OEMs, and retailers throughout the imaging channel and includes the most respected and well-known brands in the industry, including: MSE, Dataproducts, Clover Environmental Solutions, OPRA, Axess Managed Print Services, Tecno Toner, Depot International and Latin Parts. 

This impressive group offers the market’s widest array of products and services and is supported by a vast engineering infrastructure, marketing resources, distribution capabilities, and strategic partnerships. By bringing all aspects of our business together, CIG is able to provide a level of partnership unsurpassed in the aftermarket imaging space. For more information, please visit cloverimaging.com. 

July 14, 2016 — Dulles, Virginia — Digitek, an industry-leading provider of business growth tools, innovative services and top brand products that help resellers, copier dealers and office supply dealers to compete and win in the imaging space, announced that the company will co-sponsor a free webinar with BPO Media on July 20 at 2 p.m. EST titled “Should You Outsource Your Business Services? When to Leave it to the Experts.” The event is being co-presented with The Imaging Channel.

The webinar is part of Digitek’s 2016 Thought Leadership Webinar Series, which delivers thought-provoking online events to the imaging industry on business and technology topics that help business leaders grow their businesses in an ever-changing market. The July 20 event will include

• The short and long term benefits of outsourcing
  
• What services dealers should – and should not – outsource
  
• How to find the right knowledge and expertise
  
• Special considerations for the SMB looking to contract out services
  

“It’s more challenging than ever to win and retain customers today. Companies we speak with in the imaging industry have seen their market share shrink,” says Aaron Dyck, management consultant with Digitek. As a result, there’s less money in the budget to pay for essentials like new technology and hardware, let alone hiring and training top sales people, or maintaining an in-house marketing department to build and manage the company website, social media and lead generation.”

“Many SMBs are either outsourcing business services or are seriously considering it, and by attending this webinar dealers will get the information they need to make the right decision for their organization.”

The webinar will be presented on Wednesday, July 20, 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST. Register here: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EC55D68780493D

For information on Digitek’s Partner Pro, the imaging industry’s first single sign-on business growth platform that combines professional sales training and digital marketing programs visit http://partnerpro.digitek.com, or contact Aaron Dyck at 888-353-0301 x 1196 or at adyck@digitek.com.

About Digitek

Digitek is an industry-leading provider of value-added services and products that help our customers compete and win in the imaging space. Our Partner Pro™ business growth platform helps service and solution providers to attract new customers, expand their MPS, MIT and other solutions portfolios, and grow their business value with the unique combination of on-demand, video-based professional sales training and digital marketing programs. Digitek is a distributor of OEM and compatible imaging supplies and hardware with national distribution for all the top brands, plus custom branded services and R2 Recycling capabilities. Visit www.digitek.com or call 888-353-0301. 

About The Imaging Channel

As MPS moves beyond print and MPS providers delve further into document management, ECM, managed IT and more, the channel continues to seek resources to understand and navigate the changing space. The Imaging Channel (www.TheImagingChannel.com) is an integrated resource to help address the shifting landscape, providing insight, information and resources, and creating a network between the OEM, dealer, vendor and reseller to bring together the leading market information, business concepts, strategies and people in the MPS market.