OKI Data Americas Announces AirPrint Compatibility in Select Monochrome, Single Function Printers
May 27, 2014 — OKI Data Americas has announced that its B710, B720, B730, B721dn and B731dn monochrome single function printers now support AirPrint – firmware upgrades for which are now available on the OKI Data Website. AirPrint allows users to wirelessly print from iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices to OKI’s AirPrint-enabled products with ease, improving both productivity and convenience.
For customers who currently own a B710, B720 or B730, the firmware upgrade for AirPrint is available through download here on OKI Data’s website. In addition, the firmware upgrade for AirPrint for the B721dn and B731dn is available through download via a separate link located here via OKI Data’s website. Step-by-step instructions are provided with each appropriate firmware upgrade, along with instructional documentation.
Nubeprint’s MPS Management Suite Integrates with ODC’s DOCassess
May 27, 2014 — Nubeprint’s MPS management Cloud Print Suite (CPS) has integrated its technology with Office Document Consulting’s (ODC) cloud based DOCassess assessment software.
“Our desire to integrate with Nubeprint became a primary goal after a mutual customer of ours began utilizing Nubeprint’s MPS management tool. It became very apparent that the accurate information and reliable short and long term needs forecast provided by Nubeprint unlocked the full potential of our assessment software, DOCassess, ” says Mike Lamothe, president of ODC. “Our job as MPS consultants is to optimize profitability, eliminate risk, and provide reliable analysis, our software is providing our customers a competitive advantage. The synergy of DOCassess and Nubeprint is a sure bet for any dealer or consultant looking to gain real control of the customers print environment.”
“Working with ODC’s technical team to maximize DOCassess’s technology by utilizing ALL of Nubeprint’s accurate information was pure joy. Nothing pleases me more than having a team that understands the importance of accuracy and the impact it can have on maximizing their great technology,” adds Antonio Sanchez, CEO of Nubeprint. “The integration process was made efficient by utilizing our universal connector. The universal connector is compatible with any data transmission format existing in the market, making the transfer of data from Nubeprint to any ERP or any other software system an easy task.
Print Audit to Host Educational Solutions Showcase at Photizo Group’s Transform Global 2014
May 26, 2014 – Print Audit will attend, sponsor, and provide an educational session at Photizo Group’s Transform Global 2014 conference which takes place in Louisville, Kentucky from June 2nd to the 4th.
Transform Global is a unique conference that allows the diverse imaging industry to network and receive hands down, the most cutting-edge education available for those who are interested in taking their business to the next level. The education provided at the event is focused primarily on transforming these types of businesses from product-led to services-led. “What we think of as MPS is changing at lightening speed and it is essential that we continue to educate ourselves,” says John MacInnes, President and CEO of Print Audit. “Photizo does a really good job of bringing together the brightest in the industry and presenting excellent learning content. We’re proud to be part of that mix this year.”
John Hewitt, Print Audit’s Vice President of Distribution, will host an educational session, entitled ‘Moving Past the MPS Starting Gate with Print Audit Premier’, during the show’s Solutions Showcase on Tuesday, June 3rd. The session will demonstrate how offering print management solutions via a subscription based pricing model can help dealers win new customers, keep current customers and build recurring revenue.
Print Audit Premier is a unique membership program that gives office equipment dealers virtually unlimited access to all of Print Audit’s products for one low monthly fee. The print management capabilities offered as part of Premier include remote meter reading, cost recovery, rules-based printing, in-depth print assessment, as well as secure print release and pull-printing.
Additionally, West McDonald, Vice President of Business Development for Print Audit, is exhibiting at the event on behalf of FocusMPS. McDonald will also be delivering the half-day pre-conference dealer/reseller workshop and hosting an educational session on June 2nd entitled ‘Comparing MPS Solution Sets: The Software Sets That Could Put Your MPS Business Ahead of the Pack.’
Transform Global will take place June 2nd-4th, 2014 in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Galt House Hotel. For more information on Transform Global 2014, please visit the following Website: http://photizogroup.com/events/transform-global-2014
Compass Sales Solutions Announces Melanie Cole as New Major Account Specialist
May 22, 2014 – Compass Sales Solutions has announced that Melanie Cole, former Consultant for Cole Consulting, specializing in Soaring Sales and Training, has joined the company as our new Major Account Specialist. Melanie will be responsible for expanding the company’s Sherpa product, helping launch the newest, highly anticipated cloud-based MPS product – ezMPS, and also providing training for new and current customers.
Melanie comes to Compass with 20 years of industry experience starting with a seven-year sales professional career selling office technology, followed by a 13-year consulting career working with dealers across the country introducing them to technology that not only improved the sales process but ultimately led to increased revenue.
Konica Minolta Expands Solution Portfolio with NSi Output Manager
May 22, 2014 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. and Notable Solutionshave announced the immediate availability of NSi Output Manager on Konica Minolta bizhub MFPs. An integrated print management solution, NSi Output Manager is suited for office and enterprise environments in need of a convenient and secure way to control the production and delivery of printed information.
NSi Output Manager provides customers with secure print capabilities to help ensure accountability of all output, and offers a convenient means to print sensitive documents “on-demand” to an office printer. To safeguard confidential information, NSi Output Manager holds print requests in a print queue until released by the authorized user. Authentication is completed on the front panel of the bizhub MFP with a user’s username and password, or the user’s security card. Once set up by the administrator, NSi Output Manager’s rules-based printing capabilities determine the types of print jobs that each type of user can send to the device, and can also recommend a preferred printer by the print job’s page count, and/or color/monochrome. Compatible with printers and MFPs from major manufacturers, NSi Output Manager also monitors printing infrastructure with real-time, statistical displays of printing resources, and schedules email reports for full detailed accounts of printing usage.
NSi Output Manager ensures greater continuity of an organization’s business processes. Used with bizhub MFPs, NSi Output Manager improves overall efficiency of an output environment, helps to reduce unnecessary printing, and ensures mission critical documents are printed at the right place, at the right time.
Click here to learn more about NSi Output Manager, now available on all Konica Minolta bizhub MFPs.
GreatAmerica Hosts Service Leadership Managed IT Sales Training July 8
May 21, 2014 – GreatAmerica Financial Services and Collabrance LLC will host Service Leadership Managed Information Technology (IT) Sales Training on July 8, 2014 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Office equipment and telecommunication dealers, independent VARs, and managed service providers with sights set on being top performers in Managed IT sales should attend. The session is designed for sales, sales and service leadership, Virtual Chief Information Officer, and IT subject matter expert individuals. Successfully Selling Managed IT for Win/Win Outcomes will explore a defined sales structure, process, and approach to selling profitable Managed IT Services.
“Paul and his team have an extremely deep understanding of selling Managed IT and as a result, they are successful at helping organizations achieve the desired outcomes,” said David Pohlman, EVP & COO of GreatAmerica. “What they share will help those on the front lines shave time off their sales cycle and increase profitability.”
Service Leadership currently delivers 15‑20 Managed IT sales training events worldwide per year. The firm is the most recognized resource for Managed IT Services benchmarking (the Service Leadership Index®) and business consulting in the VAR spacewith a number of high-profile clients including Cisco and Microsoft. Their team’s vast experience with sales training and growing Managed IT revenues includes growing a Managed IT company from $3M to $50M in only 20 months, training 68 sales reps in the process.
According to Paul Dippell, Founder and CEO of Service Leadership, there’s no training on the market for service providers like this. “I’ve managed or trained dozens of IT sales teams, started Managed IT businesses, and grown multi-billion dollar IT operations. This is how my team and I are able to offer attendees the specific sales approach that works—down to the words to use in both positioning your offering and handling objections.”
Seating is limited. Find out more and register for the event by visiting http://www.greatamerica.com/landing/service-leadership-training.aspx.
Nubeprint Named Technology Supplier to Cartridge World UK
May 21, 2014 — Nubeprint has announced that its Zero Click MPS service has been selected as the preferred technology supplier to support Cartridge UK’s CW Print Manager franchisee program.
Cartridge World UK has partnered with Nubeprint as the technology behind their recently launched CW Print Manager program.
“We invested significant time and resources into finding the right technology partner for our MPS program,” said Mike Hemming, Quality Assurance Manager. “The positive experience in North America motivated us to launch the program in the United Kingdom. Quality is very important for us. Only Nubeprint met our requirements in terms of accuracy for the automation and the elimination of redundant alerts. Automatic order fulfillment and remote management of our customer’s printer supplies are the first value-added services our franchisees will soon provide. The deployment of CW Print Manager will support our commitment of first in class service, and move closer to a cost-per-page program in the future.”
“Nubeprint makes great effort to remain the most accurate and complete tool for managing printers remotely. 2 years ago we set upon a new goal: significantly simplify the process in how dealers manage their print devices without reducing the accuracy for which Nubeprint is the recognized leader. Our agreement with Cartridge World confirms the success of our strategy”, said Antonio Sanchez, CEO of Nubeprint. “The United Kingdom is a very important market and a European reference in this industry. We feel honored that Cartridge World UK has now subscribed to the program, and we are very excited by our partnership.”
Konica Minolta Launches bizhub Connector for Box to bizhub MarketPlace
May 21, 2014 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. has announced the availability of the bizhub Connector for Box app in the Konica Minolta bizhub® MarketPlace. Providing direct access to Box, an online file sharing and cloud content management service, this app allows users to browse Box folders, print accessible files, upload documents into Box, and much more – all directly from the Konica Minolta bizhub MFP control panel.
Examples of how the bizhub Connector for Box app can be used include the following:
- Legal professionals can access and print saved case materials directly from a bizhub MFP.
- Healthcare professionals can securely preview and print patient information shared by colleagues.
- Sales professionals can access resources needed to close deals from any bizhub MFP device.
The bizhub MarketPlace platform allows customers to easily add enhanced functionality to their bizhub MFPs based on their specific business requirements and offers customers the flexibility to add new functionality to their MFPs throughout the life of their installation. Apps also take advantage of the award-winning INFO-Palette touch panel interface that supports finger-swipe navigation, maximizing productivity at the MFP.
Visit www.bizhubmarketplace.com to learn more.
Kyocera Earns Business Technology Association’s Top 2014 Channel’s Choice Award
May 20, 2014 – KYOCERA Document Solutions America Inc. was recently presented with the 2014 Channel’s Choice Superior Performance award by the Business Technology Association. Bob Burke, vice president of sales for Copystar, accepted the award on behalf of Kyocera on May 15 from 2013-14 BTA President Todd J. Fitzsimons at BTA’s Cruise to Success event, hosted by BTA Mid-America at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago. In addition, Kyocera received Channel’s Choice awards in two other performance categories: Inventory and Product Line.
Two other manufacturers were also presented with 2014 Channel’s Choice awards. OKI Data Americas received an award for its Outstanding Performance as a Secondary Product Line Provider. Mark Albert, regional sales director for OKI, accepted the award. Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. received the awards for the Corporate Support and Distribution performance categories. Jim Van De Veire, director of sales for the Midwest Region, accepted the awards.
BTA also presented 2014 Channel’s Choice awards in two other categories. MSE received the award in the Remanufactured Cartridges category. Darren Shapiro, account manager, accepted the award. GreatAmerica Financial Services received the award in the Third-Party Leasing category. Jennie Fisher, senior vice president and general manager for the Office Equipment Group, accepted the award.
Earlier this year, BTA emailed a link to the online ballot to all of its dealer members and a number of dealers outside of its membership. The association also encouraged industry vendors to provide the ballot link to dealers. The ballot asked dealers to rate their primary and secondary line hardware vendors in key performance categories, as well as to rate vendors in the two additional award categories — remanufactured cartridges and third-party leasing. The balloting results determined the Channel’s Choice award winners. BTA received 356 completed ballots.
A comprehensive look at the balloting results will be presented in the BTA 2014 Channel’s Choice Report, free to BTA members. The report, currently being prepared by Industry Analysts Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., will provide an unparalleled view of how dealers rate their vendor partners. When completed, the report will be available for download at www.bta.org/ChannelsChoice (a member username and password is required to download the report). Previous years’ reports are currently available for download from the BTA website.
Metrofuser Makes Paper Recommendations To Reduce Call Backs and Warranties
May 20, 2014 – Metrofuser, a leader in the printer parts service industry, has announced its recommendation for the ColorLok and BLI Certified paper for use in Laser Printers and MFPs. Metrofuser’s testing department prints over 5 million copies on 2.5 million pages of paper per year.
Over the last 11 years and in the process of repairing over 500,000 parts and printer devices, the company has seen the effects of both good and bad paper. Paper is increasingly a key contributor in poor printer performance and print quality but given little thought at the time of purchase and less thought when problems arise. Both ColorLok and BLI Certified Paper provide clearly superior performance. Printers are more reliable and are able to maintain image quality over more pages when compared to abrasive, large-particle filler papers. In addition to experiencing significantly fewer paper jams and other errors, these papers leaves behind less dust and toner contaminants, which could potentially contribute to long-term printer reliability and image quality issues. Testing for these certifications involve running roughly one million sheets through dozens of different copiers, printers, fax machines, digital duplicators and multifunctional devices while assessing packaging quality, cut/edge attributes, image clarity and crease permanence, as well as numerous “runnability” metrics. The tests prove which papers are least likely to suffer from image quality or sheet-feed problems.
Standards for MPS Providers Managed print services are an all-in-one solution for large fleets providing maintenance, toner and devices. Typically, however, the acquisition of paper is left to the customer. While MPS providers have the financial liability and performance accountability for uptime, they have little control or knowledge with regard to the quality of the paper. Paper certifications allow MPS providers to update contracts with specifications regarding standards. Certified papers are sold under various brands through retail, Internet, catalog, and contract stationers. Consumers can ask and look for the BLI or ColorLok seal of approval on cartons and reams of imaging paper. One of the top manufactures funded a study shedding light on this growing problem. From the research, a paper titled “Laser Printer Performance and Reliability” was developed and is a great tool to educate end users. Links to this paper and other in depth reports can be found at Metrofuser.com.
Prosperity Plus Earns 11th Model of Admin Know How Award
May 20, 2014 – Prosperity Plus Management Consulting, Inc. has announced the receipt of its 11th consecutive Model of Admin Know How (MAKH) award. Administered through WISE International, the Model of Admin Know How program requires a business to adhere to certain principles and practices as outlined in the Hubbard Management System. To qualify for the award a company must have specific systems in place: a standard Organizing Board, a proper communication system, and staff on regular training. The organization must manage its business via production statistics, follow standard financial procedures and be solvent and must maintain a basic library of materials related to the Hubbard Management System.
Prosperity Plus has been a licensed WISE consulting group since 2001 and has used elements within the MAKH program and the HubbardManagement System to help office systems dealerships nationwide grow their businesses.
Based in Smithtown, NY, Prosperity Plus Management Consulting, Inc. helps business systems dealerships improve their operations and attain their personal and professional goals. The company is licensed to deliver consulting based on the very successful Hubbard Management System. Since the company’s inception, Prosperity Plus has helped more than 175 office systems dealers implement the principles of the Hubbard System to excellent results. In addition to this Prosperity plus offers a full complement of marketing and promotion programs and assistance with mergers and acquisitions of all sizes.
For more information contact Prosperity Plus at (631)382-7762 or e-mail: info@prosperityplus.com.
Strategy Development to Hold Strategic Sales Management Workshop in July
May 20, 2014 – Strategy Development, a management consulting and advanced sales training firm, is conducting their comprehensive Strategic Sales Management Workshop on July 15-16, 2014 in Philadelphia, PA.
The SD Strategic Sales Management Workshop was designed to provide sales leaders a framework, process and tools focused to developing sales professionals while helping those sales professionals uncover new business and expand the share of wallet with current customers. All sales leaders, or sales professionals moving into a management position, will benefit greatly from this interactive workshop. They will leave with a clear understanding of activities, processes and metrics to guide and measure their team’s success. The workshop will be taught by Tom Callinan of Strategy Development.
Some of the topics covered in this intense, two-full-day workshop include:
- How to select the correct team members
- How to structure the new team member’s on-boarding to the company
- How to design a territory and quota that maximizes potential
- How to structure joint calls to ensure maximum development for the sales professional
- Metrics to measure and achieve success against business goals
- And much more!
All attendees will leave with an electronic file that includes best practices for interviewing, effective resume screening tips, final interview vignette, guidelines for account planning sessions as well as a customizable on-boarding schedule.
All SD classes can also be held at your location for larger groups. For a list of all classes currently scheduled please visit www.strategydevelopment.com/events.
For more information or to register for the SD Strategic Sales Management Workshop, please visit www.strategydevelopment.com/salesmanagement or contact Tom Callinan at callinan@strategydevelopment.com or at (610) 527-3317.
Toshiba Selected for Two Business Technology Association 2014 Channel Choice Awards
May 19, 2014 — Toshiba America Business Solutions has announced that it has secured two Business Technology Association (BTA) 2014 Channel Choice Awards for its exceptional corporate support and distribution efforts within the independent office technology dealer channel.
This year marks the 8th and 12th occasions the Irvine, Calif.-based leading managed print services (MPS) provider and business printing solutions innovator has earned the industry’s top honor within the respective distribution and corporate support categories. Since the award’s inception in 1989, Toshiba has won an industry-leading 43 BTA Channel Choice Awards.
BTA National President Todd J.Fitzsimons presented the awards on May 15 as part of the BTA Mid-America “Cruise to Success” event, which took place at the InterContinental Magnificent Mile in Chicago. “Congratulations to Toshiba for its exemplary performance in the categories of distribution and corporate support,” said Fitzsimons. “It is a privilege to recognize the company as the highest ranking vendor for 2014 in these categories.
BTA’s Channel Choice Award winners were determined by the results of ballots cast by 356 independent dealers located throughout the country. The dealer votes were tabulated by Rochester, N.Y., office equipment market analyst firm, Industry Analysts Inc.
Acsellerate’s Profitability Manager Software Is Now Available for Red Cheetah
May 19, 2014 – ECi Software Solutions (www.ECiSolutions.com), a provider of industry-specific information technology solutions, has announced that its Profitability Manager software is now available for Red Cheetah dealers. ECi Acsellerate initially released the Profitability Manager for DDMS and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers. Acsellerate always planned to make Profitability Manager available for other ERP systems, and has been working closely with Red Cheetah on an integration that would allow for real-time communication of current costs and customer price plans.
Profitability Manager is already helping independent dealers improve margin by automating the process of recommending more profitable substitute products. Initial analysis of 25 Acsellerate dealers showed margin improvement potential of 3–5 percentage points—in many cases this can equate to several hundred thousand dollars in additional margin, according to an ECi press release. By streamlining a previously manual and time-consuming process, the Profitability Manager will help Red Cheetah dealers consult with more customers and recommend products that immediately impact their bottom lines.
Buyers Lab Launches Upgraded bliQ Tool for Global Digital Imaging Market
May 15, 2014 – Buyers Lab has launched its upgraded bliQ tool earlier this week to its more than 30,000 global users. “New bliQ” includes a new design and a more intuitive user interface that will help users quickly and precisely identify and compare more than 17,000 equipment devices.
“New bliQ will save our users time and increase their productivity via a simplified search interface, improved personalization features, and faster, more precise search results,” said John Lawler, Chief Executive Officer of Buyers Lab. “We’ve taken an invaluable tool relied upon by our customers for many years and made it more powerful. bliQ users will find the new tool allows them to quickly locate and leverage competitive intelligence and product ratings helping them compete better, boost productivity and close more deals.”
Equipment manufacturers and dealers in the $50 billion digital imaging equipment industry use bliQ to support global product development and innovation, conduct competitive intelligence and support sales and marketing efforts. bliQ is also used to make better informed purchasing decisions by corporate buyers of digital imaging equipment..
“The New bliQ will help manufacturers compete more effectively by providing quicker access to competitive product insights, enable sales teams to easily locate and highlight product advantages for their proposals, and aid businesses in making informed purchasing or leasing decisions by enabling them to instantly find products that meet their needs and providing them with an objective and trusted assessment of the products,” said Lawler.
The new bliQ also features a new, personalized, tool– “My BLI” – that provides quick access to users’ saved content, including competitive product comparisons, configurations, searches, alerts and favorite products. For more information, please go to www.buyerslab.com.
