The Future of Managed Print Blog

Building a Smarter Planet

In 1992, IBM began to transform themselves from a hardware company to one focused on services...or to become a bit more like LaserNetworks!

With the obvious exception of size (if it matters, IBM is approx 1,000 times larger than us, with annual revenues exceeding $100 billion), both IBM and LaserNetworks are service-based organizations with a broad range of offerings, including IT Services & Consulting, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Oh, and while we think we're pretty good, we have MANY things to learn from Big Blue. "Building a Smarter Planet" may be IBM's current marketing message...but it's a reality. They are! Three very impressive projects that IBM is currently working on include:

1. 67% of energy in the USA is lost due to grid inefficiencies. IBM is working to fix this.
2. In a small Los Angeles district, cars burned 47,000 gallons of gas in one year...looking for parking! IBM is working to fix this.
3. Only 20%-30% of reserves are extracted from existing oil wells. IBM is working to fix this.

Add in the work they're doing with the Human Genome and Global Innovation Outlook, and it's hard to imagine people ever looking to IBM for ‘just' hardware.

LaserNetworks isn't there yet...or if we are, it's on a much smaller scale. We understand our responsibility of being the world leader in IT Services for print environments. We are working to change the way companies work with documents by becoming smarter. This month, we were cited in the Photizo Publication "MPS Insights Journal" for our innovative work in Healthcare and Non-Profit organizations.

With the ongoing opportunity to reduce our impact on the environment, LaserNetworks will continue to ensure our services, offerings, and capabilities are changing to reflect the new realities. And at the end of the process, we'll ask our customers: "Has the value you needed been created by what we've done?"

Congratulations to IBM for creating a smarter planet...and a challenge to every business in a leadership position to do the same.

Gartner says...

According to the Gartner Group, the average employee spends 150 hours per year looking for misplaced documents.  That's almost 4 weeks of 'wasted'!!! 

From my perspective, that's an alarming number & I'm happy to be below average on this one.  However, if you're working in a document-intensive industry, I suppose it's possible due to the amount of information flow that exists today.  This would also help explain the huge growth we've seen in our Workflow Consulting and Application Software components of our business. 

In many respects, Print is the last unmanaged expense in an organization.  By understanding the true pain in the environment, customers will quickly have the information necessary to drive change needed to reduce those 150 wasted hours per year.  The Photizo Group calls this "Stage 3"...the understanding of Business Processes and Business Workflow.  They estimate 20% of Managed Print companies understand this Stage, of which LaserNetworks is one.  For additional information on the Photizo Group & the benefits around Stage 3, you can find them at managed_print_services.com.  Also, in their upcoming MPS Insights Journal, the edition is dedicated to Stage 3 and includes an update on LaserNetworks and how we're supporting our customers in their quest to reduce waste and create a sound output strategy.

 

LaserNetworks named Top Managed Services Provider in Canada by CDN