MARCH 2011 Will Leadership Equal Share Gains for Sharp? – True to its word, Sharp remains one of the most innovative office MFP vendors around today. The combination of the company’s new Smart MFP UI and OSA v4 provides capabilities unmatched in the industry, but Sharp’s demonstrated ability over the years to be innovative hasn’t translated into appreciable gains in its MFP market share. Is this time different? Cloud and webOS to Drive HP Printing – HP is planning as soon as possible to incorporate the webOS software it acquired with Palm last year into many or most of the printers it sells at a rate of two every second. HP says as well that it intends to build a “robust developer community” for webOS. Not only is this something Palm failed to do very well with webOS on its own, HP has repeatedly stumbled in its own efforts to foster a developer community for any of its own software products or platforms. Has something fundamentally changed? “Attack of the Droids?” – The tablet-style UI on Sharp’s new MFPs gives it a leg up on the competition, but it could also be a catalyst for other vendors to hasten development of their own next-generation MFP interfaces. Even though the do-it-yourself approach has a long history in office imaging, Goggle’s open-source Android platform could be a better enabler for tomorrow’s MFP screens and apps. Will vendors embrace Android or run the other way?

	FEBRUARY 2011 Samsung’s Big A3 Gamble – It would be a mistake to underestimate Samsung. If corporate size, good products, and a desire for business can assure success, then Samsung is in an ideal position to grow its office MFP revenue by leaps and bounds with its new A3 models and nascent dealer program. Samsung proudly points out that it has surpassed HP as the top global IT provider. Ironically, no one has learned better, more often and more painfully than HP that IT expertise and mass market printer strength by no means guarantee success in the dealer-oriented MFP business, particularly when it comes to placing A3 models. Tech Mergers Absorb Biggest MFP Chip Vendors – A larger British wireless chip company is acquiring Zoran just weeks after a private equity firm outbid another US chip company for Conexant. With the two largest merchant suppliers of processors for MFPs and AIOs now accounting for smaller portions of larger companies, the question arises ... who will be next? And what does this say about the changing global hardcopy market? “Same Old Song” – Back when I was in high school, Paul McCartney had a big solo hit called Silly Love Song. The opening line goes, “You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.” Frankly, I would have thought MFP vendors would have had enough of my haranguing and snarky sniping over the abysmal state of MFP marketing, but I guess Paul and I have gotten the same answer ... “No.” I do feel like a broken record when it comes to this kind of kvetching, but maybe one more time is the charm.

	JANUARY 2011 Will MPS and A4 Intersect at Ricoh? – Ricoh says it will spend $300 million to bolster its “Managed Document Services” program. When spread over three years and around the world, that’s not exactly a redefining investment for a company with $24 billion in annual sales, but it could be significant. Most of the money will likely pay for extra MPS staff and training. However, it would have been nice to see Ricoh tie in its overdue launch of the company’s first really credible A4-size Aficio MFPs for the office. I guess you can’t have everything. Where Is Konica Minolta Exposed in Its All Covered Deal? – Despite the absence of much proven synergy between MPS and IT services, Konica Minolta has just spent perhaps $100 million to acquire a US company called All Covered. The hope is to use the firm as a springboard for rolling out comprehensive IT services to SMBs across the US. So far, however, All Covered’s offices in 20+ cities are averaging less than $3 million per year in revenue. Can this work? “Are Tablets the Next Big Hardcopy Headache?” – For years, analysts could prognosticate that the future of hardcopy was safe until the dawn of big, thin, flexible, cheap displays, knowing full well that such technology was always a decade away. Who would have thought a much more credible and near-term danger would come in the form of smaller, thicker, more expensive tablets? Sounds like the last thing any hardcopy vendor will want to do is take a couple of tablets and call me in the morning?

	DECEMBER 2010 A Leap for Canon & MEAP? – For all the positive things the seven-year old MEAP software architecture has done for Canon and the MFP industry, it’s been clear for some time that there’s room for improvement in both the fundamental MEAP technology and in Canon’s approach to partnering with software developers. See if Canon’s launch of MEAP Web fits the bill. Eyes Turn to China – The two biggest hardcopy stories of the month were set inBeijing, where first Fuji Xerox and then Ninestar launched important new toner-based printer platforms. For Fuji Xerox, this marks a major new push in the low-end office market. For Ninestar, the company’s new Pantum product line uses the first Chinese homegrown laser engine. Is this the shape of things to come, asChina and emerging markets define the direction of hardcopy? “All for One and One for Me” – It’s pertinent to ask the same questions of new MFP software that were raised about MFP hardware years ago. Are the individual pieces of new MFP suites as good as the best that’s available from partners? Are the components woven together so that the value of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? And are new all-in-one MFP software products effectively integrated, both under the hood and in the eyes of users?

	NOVEMBER 2010 Nuance Extends ShareScan in Every Direction – Recent imaging revenue growth at Nuance should be bolstered by new features in ShareScan 5, a lower starting price, and new Xerox support and distribution. Nonetheless, Nuance faces big hurdles to move up-market, compete with manufacturers at the low end, and forge a path in a market obsessed with MPS. Read on. Can the Cloud Give EFI’s PrintMe a Second Chance? – The potential of EFI’s new PrintMe to its office printing strategy beyond Fiery controllers and the ability of PrintMe Connect to leverage existing Fiery-enabled MFPs in new ways are important developments. Still, EFI faces big challenges in its effort to become a new cloud and mobile print leader. What are its chances? “More Than Just a Name” – Managed print services and managed document services sound a whole lot alike, but I’d argue there’s a big difference. It’s not so much which acronym ultimately holds sway, but rather these terms really do connote materially different worlds. We’ll soon forget about MPS, because it’s the underappreciated transition to MDS that will redefine the industry.

	OCTOBER 2010 HP and Canon Look “Over There”– While HP’s IPG Innovation Summit in Singapore and Canon Expo in Paris were mostly replays of recent US events, each included an announcement of an important new strategic partnership. HP will resell A3 MFPs from Toshiba to large enterprises across Asia and the Pacific, while Canon Europe is working with Accenture to build a new Consultancy Services unit. We look at what’s behind each announcement. Troubled OKI Bets Big on MFPs – Nearly every hardcopy vendor has reported growth in hardware placements and supplies usage for the first half of 2010, but OKI estimates its worldwide printing revenue declined 12% in the last six months. The company is boosting efforts to sell more MFPs, but are OKI’s new A4 color models and its first OEM’d B&W models from Lexmark enough? “And Then There Were Some” – There may be no more than 1,800 independent dealers left in the US, a figure that’s down 75% from the mid-1980s, and even this number exaggerates the footprint dealers have in the business. I’d guess only about 100 dealers with significant financial heft remain. We assess what the implications may be for the industry, for MFP vendors, for software providers, and for the channel participants themselves.

	SEPTEMBER 2010 Mega-News from HP – In a multifaceted imaging and printing PR event that was the company’s largest and broadest in years, HP announced a litany of products ... its first laser MFPs to support ePrint and apps; its fastest ever A4-size LaserJet MFP; a new version of its OXP MFP software; an intriguing pair of living room eAIOs; and its first AIO with oversize printing. Take a look at the single longest story we’ve ever written in 15 years of covering the MFP world. Canon’s Big Picture – Every five years, Canon stages an extravaganza to highlight the breadth of its consumer, business and other offerings, and to preview future technology and product directions. While there was no singular hardcopy theme at Canon Expo 2010, some interesting products were shown. But the big focus was on globalization and diversification. See what we mean. “That Raised Eyebrow” – What’s the role of an analyst? To be a thoughtful and well-grounded skeptic is the epitome of what it means to be a strong analyst. Being a curmudgeon is easy, but to be a truly insightful skeptic is something else. And no one was better at it than Steve Reynolds. Please take a moment to read our thoughts on a recent loss to the entire MFP community.

	AUGUST 2010