AIOI: Battle Cry? LOL!

Blogger Pete Lavelle of Printerinks.com News posted a comment on my post; MPS Providers interview #2. I could not help but chuckle at what he had to say:

"Interesting idea for a series. Interview enough executives and the great MPS mystery may finally be solved.

By the way - it never occurred to me how much the acronym for 'Adventures In Office Imaging' sounds like a battle cry."

-Pete Levelle

With that in mind I have decided to post my response to his comment:

"Thank you for reading Peter, indeed I would like to think this will be a most illuminating series of interviews.

AIOI - Battle cry? lol! I like it, I would go so far as to say you "get it". I was told yesterday by one of our readers that:

"There’s a bit of “angst” that tends to come out in your posts – anger and resentment as opposed to a focus on education. It’s hard to pinpoint, but it’s there and puts a reader on edge."

"We must be clear in that we do not have any interest in slamming “ uber big print manufacturers” as we partner with several on many different levels and would never want to jeopardize our relationship with any of them."

I admit, I do tend have a bit of angst towards the folks I call the "big boys" (Ikon, Xerox, HP, Canon etc.) only in regards to MPS however.

Hey lets face it, many of them only jumped on the MPS bandwagon when it became clear that box pushing would no longer line their pockets with gold.

With that being said we do business with some of these companies and as manufacturers they are excellent companies.

Based on their time in the MPS industry though, compared to a company like us who have been doing MPS before the term managed print services even existed, they are not MPS experts."

-AIOI

I would like to make it very clear, that the simple fact of the matter is that 10 years ago none of the "big boys" were doing managed print services. Some companies like Expert Laser Services have been doing managed print services or have been involved with managed print services early creation and evolution for almost two decades.

To see companies like HP, Xerox, Ikon, Canon, etc. Hit the scene claiming to be experts in managed print services is to some extent, insulting. Our founder was in the trenches at the very epoch of what we know managed print services to be today.

Does this mean that I hate the "big boys"? NO! But I will not stand by and watch as these giants claim expertise in a field that they have only just recently entered. When compared to many of the smaller MPS Providers who have been part of MPS for many years prior to these companies even having an interest in managed print services, the need to bring this to light is important.

The fundamental truth here is that customers have the right to know that in some cases these smaller MPS providers will give them a superior product and service backed backed by years of experience, something that the "big boys" simply can not offer.