Cloud Computing has Started a Revolution

Over the last few months I have made mention of the Cloud and how it will become a major talk track among businesses in 2011. As a follow up to my previous articles (outlined in the list below) I would like to share some interesting marketing points that EMC has been using in their advertising about their Cloud Strategy!

• "Cloud Printing Services" Reprographics on the Cloud  
• 2011 the Year to Emphasize your Managed Services  
• PlanWell Collaborate & AbacusPCR Awarded BERTL's BEST  
• HP and Canon Announce Game Changing Wide Format Technical MFP Devices.
• On the Road with Fellow Reprographers (Part 1) BIM  

EMC has been advertising almost every week in Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek throughout 2011. Not only has EMC been evangelizing about the Cloud but many of the other leading technology players like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Oracle, Google, Amazon, Dell and Apple are too!

But this one advertising article I read, in the March 28- April 3, 2011 edition of BusinessWeek really summed up what the Cloud means for businesses and why it will be the next big shift in technology for the masses.

EMC begins their article by reminding the reader that all of us are using the Cloud today whether we realize it or not. The ad states “You probably did some cloud computing this week. The last time you posted a photo to Facebook, sent an email with Google account or bought something on Amazon.com, you put a finger in the cloud.”

The article goes on to describe what Cloud computing is and sights the key advantages of Cloud Computing and why it is such an exciting platform and that is should not be overlook by anyone especially businesses. Some of the advantages of Cloud Computing is highlighted below.

Key Benefits of the Cloud:

• Pay as You Go 
• Leaner and Greener 
• Cloud is Power to the People

 Terms you will want to get become familiar with:

• SaaS (Software as a Service or Software on Demand) 
• Paas (Platform as a Service) 
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

If you want to read the full article/advertisement please click the link here or read the March 28th edition of BusinessWeek or, better yet, subscribe to the Cloud based version of BusinessWeek by using the application called Zinio. Zinio is my preferred app to use with my iPad, iPhone and PC as it is one of the best ways to read your favorite magazines (electronically) and have them available anytime and anyplace.

So do not overlook the opportunities to position your business on the cloud and be prepared to talk to your customers intelligently about your ability to offer solutions that involve the cloud in some way or another. If you don’t someone else will.

Sincerely …..Shaun Meany

Offer "Self Managed" Project Workspace Solutions to Your AEC Clients

The document management needs of the AEC marketplace are changing and reprographers who fail to acknowledge these changes will be challenged to survive in the years ahead.

Over the last several years we have seen more and more AEC end-users starting to adopt low-cost file sharing tools that are diminishing the needs and value of traditional reprographic offerings, even On-line Plan Rooms.

Owners, GC’s, Sub’s and Design Professionals are aggressively moving towards using self managed solutions for distributing critical project information to project stake holders. Many are choosing to use CD’s, E-mail, FTP and web-based technologies like: BaseCamp, iSqft, SmartBidNet, Yousendit, BoxNet, DropBox, FileGenius, and a slew of others products to share and exchange project documents digitally.

Questions that you need to ask :

1. If you are experiencing these workflow changes with your key clients, what are you doing to stay relevant?
2. Does your existing plan room offering meet the needs of your clients today?
3. Are you having a difficult time getting your customers to pay for your plan room services?

Many plan rooms offered by reprographers today are mostly Repro-Centric (developed by reprographers for managing files at the repro-shop along with a web component for end-users to view and order prints and digital files). Although plan rooms are still a valuable offering from reprographers, I hear almost every day that posting and organizing documents into plan rooms is being done at a loss or with the hope of future print or download orders. This is a very risky business model for reprographers!

AEC end-users who were once comfortable using plan rooms and paying for digital services are now resisting paying for these tools and services and are now requesting the use of these services for free (due mainly to some repro companies who have not charged for digital services or subscriptions to their plan rooms). Others are just not interested in using plan rooms at all and are looking at using inexpensive managed file transfer (MFT) solutions mentioned above; by-passing the reprographer all together.

If you are struggling to overcome these challenges you might want to take a look at what PlanWell's Development Team  has been working on to respond to these new paradigms.

The reality is, many AEC end-users want the ability to manage and distribute project information themselves. More and more, Project Managers are asking for tools that simplify the process of notifying and distributing documents to select team members.

Reprographers who respond by offering these capabilities will have an opportunity to remain valuable to their AEC customers. Reprographers who fail to introduce these capabilities will be overlooked by the AEC community because the services they offer are not relevant to the workflow needs of today!

To learn more about The “New PlanWell Solution” click here:

Sincerely

Shaun Meany

"Cloud Printing Services" Reprographics on the Cloud

The economy has had a major impact on the AEC industry over the last couple of years and as a result has forced many AEC firms to change the way they do business. The Great Recession has been a wake-up call for almost all firms in the Design and Construction Industry. Companies have been pressured to reevaluate their core competencies, work behaviors and workflow processes; all with the intent to keep costs down, increase productivity and stay alive.

While most AEC businesses are cutting costs many are looking for project opportunities outside of their traditional geographic areas. As your customers become more digitally savvy and begin to realize the power and efficiencies of using the Internet (Cloud) as a cost effective means of sharing and distributing project information the need for traditional local reprographic printing is going to continue to contract. Your customers will use the cloud to participate and manage projects anywhere in the world.

What does this mean for the future of reprographics? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to project the impact this change in behavior will have on your current and future revenues. The basic premise that many of you began your reprographics business (production equipment offering centralized production printing and distribution) is being challenged on a variety of fronts.

First, clients are working with application software to create digital documents and they are sending print ready files (emailing or FTPing PDF files) out for distribution-- diminishing the demand for traditional production volumes of reprographic services like scanning, copying and printing.

Secondly, printer manufacturers continue to introduce low cost MFP devices (both LF and SF) with the goal of having convenience MFP’s in all firms of any size; again further eroding the demand for centralized production printing.

Thirdly, the advent of widely available mobile devices with interactive displays and significant computing power has redefined how people request and receive documents and marketing collateral, but has not eliminated their need for relevant printed materials (Garner). This last challenge should actually be viewed by reprographers as an opportunity.

The fact that printing will still be demanded is a good thing. The problem is, it may not be printed in the volumes of the the past or in your repro shop at all but; rather at the customer’s office or maybe in some repro shop across the country or across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

So, in order to address this new paradigm shift, reprographers need to think about the opportunities to provide some type of Cloud Printing Services.

Cloud Printing Services (CPS) is a buzz word that you might want to start introducing to your customers. According to Gartner, Cloud Printing will grow to a multi-billion dollar industry in the US alone. If you want to ride the wave and let your customers leverage the power of the Cloud you should promote digital document distribution and cloud printing to your customers.

Here is what Gartner is saying about Cloud Printing.

“Cloud printing services (CPS), driven by the commoditization of print and the growth of electronic communications, has changed how, when and where people access print. CPS's "anywhere, anytime access" will drive rapid acceptance by global 1,000 companies. Print technology providers must anticipate the reduction in print volumes as pages transition to video and voice messaging by partnering with the leading players in unified communications and collaboration (UCC) to provide users with a complete solution that includes context-enriched content.”

Summary

To help our members and other reprographers position their businesses on the Cloud the PEiR Group has been busy developing Cloud Solutions for the AEC market that can be marketed by the Reprographics Industry. The solutions involve Cloud Computing Technologies (PlanWell Enterprise, PlanWell Collaborate SubHub and iShipDocs) education and training (best practices for sales and production personnel) and professional services (support , customization, advanced training and consulting).

If you are interested in knowing more about Cloud Printing Services click here  for our whitepaper.

Thanks ….Shaun