May 2010 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 16 No. 11 G

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

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Vertical Markets Are you building on the opportunities?

COURTS & CAPITOLS 25

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

With few, if any, exceptions, today’s office technology dealerships focus predominantly on a horizontal sales approach. That is, they sell to virtually any type of business in their geography. Some, however, are finding success in proactively pursuing certain vertical markets. Are you among them?

The last months have shown a definite decline in our legislative process. Listening to the debate and various positions, it was difficult to find anyone who had read the entire proposal, and even more difficult to determine what it meant to you.

DocuWorld 2010 Software vendor hosts annual partner meeting

PRINCIPAL ISSUES Appreciative Inquiry An important tool for transforming your business

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Joanne L. Smikle Smikle Training Services

While 2009 was generally seen as a down year for many companies, it proved to be another up year for DocuWare Corp., makers of the DocuWare 5 document management system. This was the message, in part, of the company’s annual partner meeting, DocuWorld 2010, held on March 23 in Miami, Fla.

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Sales Force Development Forecasting the ROI of employee training

Doctoral graduate David Cooperrider created something called Appreciative Inquiry (AI), an emerging, evolving approach to organizational change that is rooted in the premise that enterprises move in the direction they pay attention to.

Cyber-World Differentiation Is it safe to do business with your dealership?

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by David Ramos Strategy Development

by Peter Cybuck Kyocera Mita America Inc.

I have been fortunate to have learned the value derived from sales force development. At Xerox, I learned the benefit and impact that sales training had on my productivity. What they taught me was that it was not just the words that were important; the value was the detailed documentation of the steps.

21

Health Care Reform What does it mean for your business?

‘Building the Future’ Kyocera hosts Pan-American Dealer Meeting

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Announcing plans for the launch of 22 new products and emphasizing dealer opportunities in managed print services (MPS), Kyocera Mita America Inc. hosted its Pan-American Dealer Meeting on April 6-8 in Orlando, Fla. The meeting drew more than 1,100 attendees.

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More than 1.1 billion people are connected to the Internet. They probe our government networks 380 million times per day. Office equipment is connected directly or indirectly to these global networks and is potentially subject to constant attack.

DEPARTMENTS Business Technology Association

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G

Education Calendar

G BTA Highlights

6

Executive Director’s Page

8

BTA President’s Message

30

Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Have You Embraced the Promise of MPS? n Apri l , I had th e privilege of attendin g th e national dealer meetings of two manufacturers — Kyocera Mita America Inc. and Ric oh Am ericas Corp. In presentations at b oth m e etin gs, th ere was a stron g emphasis on the need for dealers to pursue managed print services (MPS). The agenda at the Kyocera Mita meeting, for example, included a dealer panel discussion on the topic of MPS. Clearly, MPS has moved to the forefront of the office technology industry, and with good reason. It is an ideal strategy for dealers wanting to capture more page volume, lock in customer relationships, distinguish themselves from competitors and increase revenues. Have you embraced the promise of MPS? If not, are you looking for some guidance in developing an MPS program?

As I consider the MPS opportunity, I am pleased to be able to say that BTA provides some excellent workshops to help you take your dealerships to the next level. In fact, since 2007 we have offered a two-day MPS sales education workshop through our alliance with Strategy Development, a management consulting and advanced sales training firm. The reviews of our two MPS workshops have been very favorable.

The “BTA MPS Sales Workshop” is taught

by Strategy Development’s Tom Callinan, Ed Carroll and David Ramos. Here are two samples of the types of comments we have received from many of the 175-plus attendees to date: I “This is the best workshop I’ve been to that walked me through the process step-

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by-step. I can do this with confidence now.”

— Rob Hanna, Aaron’s Products Inc., Huntington, W.V. I “The knowledge that I acquired from real-world experiences as well as the documentation examples has given me the confidence to launch a print management division in our company. You have broken the process down to a step-by-step building block approach that makes the target very visible and achievable. I look forward to implementing the program in our company.” — Richard Detwiler, Digital Business Machines, Nashville, Tenn.

The “BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop” is taught by Strategy Development’s Mike Woodard and Jim Boulden.

Here are two sample comments from attendees of this one-day workshop: I “As a copier guy, this gave me an excellent service perspective on MPS. It was great to see the positive impact MPS brings to our service and operations.” — Matt Mawby, Professional Business Systems, Rogers, Ark. I “Strategy Development, specifically Mike and Jim, bring a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of operations and service with regard to MPS. Their knowledge of operations and service is second to none.”

— Ken Staubitz, Modern Office Methods, Cincinnati, Ohio The next “BTA MPS Sales Workshop” will be held June 7-8. The “BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop” will be held June 7.

Both workshops will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. You can find more details on these workshops at www.bta.org/MPSSales and www.bta.org/MPSOperationsService. Now is the time to embrace the promise of MPS. I — Brent Hoskins

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Peter Cybuck, Kyocera Mita America Inc. www.kyoceramita.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Joanne L. Smikle, Smikle Training Services www.smiklespeaks.com David Ramos, Strategy Development www.strategydevelopment.org

®

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership & Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org ©2010 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material.

However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

®

2009-2010 Board of Directors

Meet BTA’s 2010-11 Volunteer Leaders he Business Technology Association was formed by dealers back in 1926 in Chicago, Ill., and continues to be governed by dealers to thi s day.

Throughout our 84 years, countless volunteers have stepped forward to give back to the association that has given them so much.

BTA’s dealer volunteers are dedicated to developing programs, events, etc., that will help their fellow dealers. For example, planning efforts for the upcoming BTA Southeast Dealer Strategies Summit 2010, scheduled for June 16-17 in Orlando, Fla., are being led by member dealer volunteers. Such volunteers are at the foundation of BTA’s success.

Recently, BTA’s voting dealer members cast their ballots, electing a number of new national and district officers for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins July 1. I would like to recognize these distinguished individuals and thank them for their willingness to give of their time. By way of introduction, following is the BTA leadership team for the 2010-11 year.

BTA National: Rock Janecek, 2009-10 president-elect, will assume the presidency.

Rock is division service manager for Burtronics Business Systems Inc., San Bernardino, Calif.

Tom Ouellette has been elected to serve as national president-elect. Tom is president of Budget Document Technology, Lewiston, Maine.

Terry Chapman has been elected to serve as national vice president. Terry is president of Business Electronics Corp., Birmingham, Ala.

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BTA East: Todd J. Fitzsimons, 2009-10 district president, will remain in the presidency. Todd is president of Network Imaging LLC, Southington, Conn.

Alan Albergaria has been elected to serve as BTA East vice president. Alan is president of Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, R.I. BTA Mid-America: Ron Hulett, 2009-10 district president, will remain in the presidency. Ron is president and CEO of U.S. Business Systems Inc., Elkhart, Ind. Michael Kelly has been elected to serve as the district’s vice president. Michael is a service manager at R.K. Black Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla.

BTA Southeast: David Perry, 2009-10 district president-elect, will assume the presidency. David is co-owner of Integrity Business Machines, Conway, S.C. Debra Dennis has been elected to serve as district president-elect. Debra is general operations manager at CopyPro Inc., Greenville, N.C. BTA West: Greg Gray, 2009-10 district president-elect, will assume the presidency.

Greg is vice president of service for Burtronics Business Systems Inc., San Bernardino, Calif.

Ronelle Ingram, 2009-10 district secretary/treasurer, will remain in the position.

Ronelle is vice president of technical service for Steven Enterprises Inc., Irvine, Calif.

Steven Diumenti has been elected vice president of the district. Steven is president of Steven Enterprises Inc., Irvine, Calif.

On July 1, additional biographical and contact information for each of the 2010-11 volunteers will be posted on the BTA Web site, www.bta.org. I — Bill James

President Bill James WJS Enterprises Inc. 3315 Ridgelake Drive Metairie, LA 70002 bjames@wjsenterprises.com President-Elect Rock Janecek Burtronics Business Systems Inc. 216 S. Arrowhead Ave. San Bernardino, CA 92408 rjanecek@burtronics.com Vice President Tom Ouellette Budget Document Technology 251 Goddard Road Lewiston, ME 04240 touellette@bdtme.com BTA East Todd J. Fitzsimons Network Imaging LLC 122 Spring St. Southington, CT 06489 tjfitzsimons@networkimaging.biz BTA Mid-America Ron Hulett U.S. Business Systems Inc. 3221 Southview Drive Elkhart, IN 46514 ron.hulett@usbus.com BTA Southeast Terry Chapman Business Electronics Corp.

219 Oxmoor Circle Birmingham, AL 35209 tchapman@businesselectronics.com BTA West Lokke Patrick Docutxt Corp.

11110 E. Artesia Blvd., Ste. B Cerritos, CA 90703 lokke@docutxt.com Ex-Officio/Immediate Past President Ronelle Ingram Steven Enterprises Inc. 17952 Sky Park Circle, Ste. E Irvine, CA 92614 ronellei@msn.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC 222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2100 Chicago, IL 60606 robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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Vertical Markets Are you building on the opportunities? by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

ith few, if any, exceptions, today ’s office technology dealerships focus predominately on a horizontal sales approach.

That is, they sell to virtually any type of business in their geography. Some, however, are finding success in proactively pursuing certain vertical markets.

Are you among them?

Of course, vertical sales opportunities exist in every sales territory, ranging from education to health care. They present the opportunity for a dealership to find success in distinguishing itself from competitors as the local resource for solutions geared to serve the document-related needs of a specific industry.

Today, increasingly, hardware manufacturers and software vendors are working diligently to help dealerships achieve success in vertical market sales. Lexmark International Inc. (www.lexmark.com) is a good example. “Our vertical approach has been around since our inception in 1991,” says Phil Boatman, manager of Business Solutions Dealer (BSD) program development. “It stems from Lexmark’s desire to go to market in a very different way than other manufacturers.”

That “very different way” includes business solutions designed for such diverse industries as education, financial services and health care. “We hired an outside consulting firm when Lexmark was being formed,” says Boatman. “Out of that came our paths to market — vertical solutions.”

Similarly, Stephen Young, president of Square 9 Softworks (www.square-9.com), says his company also embraces a vertical market approach. “We introduced the promotion of vertical markets with the launch of SmartSearch,” he says, referring to Square 9’s document management solution. “We all came from the document management industry, so when we created SmartSearch, we had a lot of experience in vertical

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markets and how our application could be used. We took off with this from day one.”

Dealerships that sell Square 9’s software can reap the rewards of the vertical market approach, says Young. “I think the biggest thing that a vertical market approach does for dealerships is establish credibility with customers,” he says. “If you are in a highly competitive area, it is your knowledge of your customer’s market that gives them the comfort to do business with you.”

While there are many hardware and software companies offering products and solutions targeting vertical markets, following is a brief look at four of them, in each case focusing on a specific vertical market. Perhaps the insight shared will lead you to take another look at your local vertical sales opportunities.

Lexmark International Inc. As noted, one of the many verticals served by Lexmark through its network of authorized dealers is the education market. Increasingly, dealers are finding that the company’s Education Station, along with the optional Testing and Grading Solution, give new meaning to the multifunctional aspect of the MFP. Lexmark’s Education Station provides teachers the ability to retrieve and print certain documents, such as bubble sheets for tests, on demand. Its Scan-to-Classroom application also allows teachers to scan documents directly to a specific, personalized destination on the network, helping them manage their documents. Likewise, office personnel can scan tardy slips, doctors’ notes, etc., directly to teachers.

The optional Testing and Grading Solution allows teachers and administrators to prepare test materials, scan and score tests, create reports and analyze data from the MFP. The

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Education Station also can Actually, he says, a recent “We bring customers be upgraded to integrate survey reveals that only 35 safety without huge directly into many student p erc ent of l aw f irms are information systems, enabilling clients for prints. capital expenditures “And today, your average law bling scanned information or requiring them to firm is printing two times to be sent directly to an elecspend hours, weeks or more than they are copying,” tronic student record. even months trying says Gilbert. “So, if the firm “ We worked ver y hard to figure out how the is recovering $1,000 a month to make our solution elesolution works.” for copying, it may be leavgant and simple,” says Deby — Nick Ciarlante ing $2,000 ‘on the table’ each Oliver, who serves as LexOKI Data Americas Inc. month for prints.” mark’s education industry Selling nQueue Billback’s consultant. “We wanted to make it appealing to the teacher. It will print out the answer solutions can help to distinguish dealerships from competisheet, the students take the bubble tests, the teacher scans tors and “get them out of the price war,” says Gilbert, adding them in [along with the answer sheet] and the solution that the installation of a solution that will actually help a law firm customer directly improve the bottom line will pay off grades the tests immediately.”

As noted, the solution can also produce reports based on for the dealership in other ways. “Who is that firm going to the test results. “You can look at reports by test question, by look to when they buy their next copier/MFP?” he asks. “Is it student and by answer distribution,” says Oliver, who further going to be everybody who is fighting for the business, or the explains the value of “answer distribution” reporting. “This dealership that helped the firm recover more costs and report can show, for example, that 90 percent of the class better manage expenses?” thought that ‘B’ was the answer to a question, when really it was ‘A.’ This may guide the teacher to change the means of OKI Data Americas Inc. MFP and printer manufacturer OKI Data Americas Inc. teaching some of the material.”

Demand for the Education Station is growing, says Oliver, (www.okidata.com) has developed several vertical market who notes: “Our largest customer has a little more than one solutions. Among them are health care solutions specifimillion students.” That customer, the New York City school dis- cally focused on enhancing patient safety and operational trict, uses a Lexmark custom-developed attendance application. efficiencies within hospitals and clinics utilizing thermal print technologies. nQueue Billback Partnering with DataRay Inc., a vendor specializing in bar For nQueue Billback LLC (www.nqbillback.com), the code technology, OKI offers thermal label and digital printers primary vertical market served is the legal industry. In fact, 75 that can produce two-dimensional bar code/RFID (radio-frepercent of the company’s customers are law firms, which quency identification) wristbands and labels. The products includes more than 30 percent of the 250 largest U.S. law are intended for hospital admission departments, inpatient firms. nQueue Billback’s iA solutions assist firms by pharmacies, bedside point-of-care, medicine verifications enhancing the automation and processing of any operational and Tall Man Lettering (TML) applications. (TML reduces and administrative expenses, including print, copy, scan, reading errors by making similar drug names easily distinguishable by automatically capitalizing certain letters.) phone, fax, court fees, overnight, courier, travel, etc.

“Our primary goal is to bring a solution to market that proJohn Gilbert, vice president of sales and marketing, says the company’s primary value proposition is information vides easy integration,” says Nick Ciarlante, senior marketing accountability, hence “iA” as the brand, allowing law firms to manager for monochrome SFP, MFP, dot matrix and specialty recover costs for prints, copies, etc. However, he says, products. “We bring customers safety without huge capital nQueue’s line of iA solutions also helps the firm to address expenditures or requiring them to spend hours, weeks or even “financial leakage,” tracking expenses that are currently not months trying to figure out how the solution works.”

Often, says Ciarlante, OKI’s health care solutions are inibeing properly accounted for in order to increase recoveries or gain insight for better business and financial decisions. tially installed in the hospital pharmacy where bedside point12 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0

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“Most recently, with a tool we of-care begins. “We recom“They are like everyone developed for e-discovery, we mend that the dealership else; they are being allowed a county prosecutor’s sales rep get in front of the forced to be more office to begin distributing pharmacy director first,” he discoverable documents to says, noting that the director efficient because of the defense through either eis generally eager to replace budget cuts. They are mail or disk,” he says, noting aging dot-matrix printers. looking to cut back that, as often happens, the “Pharmacy directors are acon paper while making installation has since led to a cepting of the solution bethe information accessible.” new opportunity — an expancause IT support is not — Stephen Young sion of SmartSearch into the required other than proSquare 9 Softworks county sheriff ’s department. viding an IP address. Addi“This is a common way a lot tionally, the cost of implementation is minimal compared to traditional software- of our dealer partners sell into government agencies. They based bar coding packages. Later, they will recommend you establish that initial toehold and then go from there.”

Today, government agencies are particularly interested in to admissions and get you integrated within the hospital.” document management solutions, says Young. “They are Square 9 Softworks like everyone else; they are being forced to be more efficient Among the various vertical markets that it pursues, because of budget cuts,” he says. “They are looking to cut Square 9 Softworks has found government agencies to be back on paper while making the informaamong the most significant. “Government happens to be a tion accessible.” very large part of what we do,” says Young. “In fact, 22 percent Brent Hoskins, executive director of the of our overall 2009 sales were in the government market.”

Business Technology Association, is editor of For its SmartSearch document management solution, Office Technology magazine. He can be Square 9 does have several government modules, says Young. reached at brent@bta.org.

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DocuWorld 2010 Software vendor hosts annual partner meeting by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

hile 2009 was generally seen as a down year for many companies, it proved to be another up year for DocuWare Corp., makers of the DocuWare 5 document management system. Looking forward, with more authorized DocuWare partners (ADPs) embracing proven success factors, 2010 is on track to end as a good year as well. This was the message, in part, of the company’s annual partner meeting, DocuWorld 2010, held on March 23 in Miami, Fla. The event drew total attendance of 192 people, including 172 attendees representing 77 different ADP companies.

Thomas Schneck, president of sales and marketing of DocuWare AG, parent company of DocuWare Corp., recalled the positive attitude among the partners at the 2009 meeting, when the U.S. economic crisis was only a few months old. “I was excited that many of you showed a fighting spirit and said you expected a good year for DocuWare,” he told attendees. “Now, we can look back at 2009 and say that we ‘weathered the storm well.’ Our business grew in the American market by almost 15 percent. It is a number of which we can all be proud. Thank you for a job well done.”

Schneck shared some of the details. In 2009, he said, there were 950 new DocuWare installations worldwide, including 359 in the Americas, representing 37 percent of the company’s revenues. He also noted that by industry, the most sizeable percentage of new DocuWare installations occurred in health care with 14 percent, followed closely by the finance industry with 13 percent of installations. The next three industries were education, public administration and services, each claiming 10 percent of new installations. “ What we’ve seen is that there is not one dominant industry,” said Schneck, emphasizing that DocuWare works well in a variety of industries, with accounting-related tasks the most common usage. “ That supports the market approach that we have been focusing on over the last few years — to go after the accounting department. That is

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Clockwise from top: Greg Schloemer (top right), president of DocuWare Corp., introduces company employees; attendees listen to one of the many presentations; the Technology Pavilion featured 13 exhibiting sponsors; and Thomas Schneck, president of sales and marketing, DocuWare AG. paying off very nicely.”

Looking to the remainder of 2010, Schneck said he is optimistic that the company’s success will continue. “The economic climate is improving in that the panic we saw in 2008

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is gone and the GNP [gross national encouraging all ADPs in the audience to “So, please walk into product] is growing again. It is all good embrace them. Commenting on profesnews for DocuWare.” sional services, for example, he noted conversations with your The company regularly reviews the that many prospects only have a vague prospects with confidence revenue numbers for each of its ADPs, understanding of document manageand conviction regarding said Schneck, noting that company offiment. “Therefore, they are looking for your professional cials have obser ved certain factors professional guidance and consulting services. Never forget, among the most successful ADPs. “We and they are willing to pay for that,” he you are the ... experts.” want to highlight these factors to achieve said. “So, please walk into conversations one goal — to build a sustainable soluwith your prospects with confidence tions business with DocuWare,” he said. “Or, to state it simply, and conviction regarding your professional services. Never we want you to always be successful with DocuWare. forget, you are the document experts. So, leverage that.”

“The success factors that we’ve seen across the board are: The agenda at DocuWorld 2010 also included a number of they constantly prospect, they can excite the prospect with other presentations by DocuWare senior management and their DocuWare presentation, they can show convincing ben- guests, including a keynote presentation by John Mancini, efits and ROIs, they show very strong closing skills and they president of AIIM (the Association of Information and Image have a very comprehensive professional services offering,” Management). There was also a Technology Pavilion featuring explained Schneck. “I don’t think any of these factors comes the products and services of 13 exhibiting sponsors.

Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology as a great surprise to anyone. The challenge is to continuously Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can focus on these factors and to execute them flawlessly.” be reached at brent@bta.org.

Schneck further addressed each of the success factors,

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Sales Force Development Forecasting the ROI of employee training by: David Ramos, Strategy Development

have been fortunate in my sales career to have learned the value derived from sales force development. At Xerox, I learned the benefit and impact that sales training had on my productivity as a sales executive. Each individual process was very detailed. They armed us with step-by-step instructions for every scenario. What they taught me was that it was not just the words that were important; the value was the detailed documentation of all the steps — the order, the timing and all the possible outcomes along the way. They taught us to apply it to selling any product or service we offered.

After leaving Xerox, I started with IKON Office Solutions and after two years as a regional sales manager, I had the opportunity to work for IKON University teaching salespeople the impact of the sales process on their productivity and sales managers how to effectively develop, lead and execute a plan. The skills learned in my assignments became my foundation for leading the sales force as director of sales in Mexico and in the north Florida marketplace.

At Strategy Development, we recognize that dealer principals and sales leaders need information that is relevant to the challenges or issues they face developing their employees and achieving company goals. You need information that is credible, reliable, concise and compelling for you to understand how much to invest, where to invest and what impact you will derive from developing your people. Forecasting and measuring the ROI of development is essential when investing in training, from sales to technical service or customer care.

Here I will use sales as the example, but you can apply the methodology to any training investment in your organization.

A performance-based analysis approach focuses on: Efficient use of resources — Ensure that learning is only undertaken if it adds value and impacts the goals, strategies

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and objectives of your company.

Improved business impact of all training — Because the process is focused on key company needs, the success of learning opportunities will be enhanced to show improved business impact.

Increased client satisfaction — New customers can cost five times more than retaining current customers. Most companies today lose, on average, 10 percent of their base each year. A 2 percent increase in customer retention will have the same affect on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent. Also, a 5 percent reduction in defection rates can increase profits by 25 percent or more. Companies need to clearly see this connection to their performance. Dealer principals and sales leaders will have useful information to assist the sales force as they coach and inspect behavioral changes in this area.

Increased support and commitment from dealer principals and sales leaders — Quantifiable results from learning and performance indicators will provide you with hard and soft data to assist sales force development in attaining your company goals.

Business Needs Strategic analysis of your key business needs is the first step. Proactively identify the business and performance needs in your company versus just training.

(1) Grow market share profitably. Everyone wants growth, but profitable growth is our focus.

(2) Reduce turnover and retain a high-performance sales culture.

(3) Increase rep productivity in revenue. Are you focusing on deepening customer relationships through account expansion in MPS, color, EDM or variable data in production or color?

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(4) Do you need a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy to adapt to the marketplace that focuses on gaining market share in competitive accounts?

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Addressing skills, the environment and resource gaps should be the result of your analysis.

Look for a blended approach: classroom training, eLearning ...

Sales Organization Needs Identifying key performance needs can be done with a self-assessment between dealer principals, senior sales leaders and directors of finance.

(1) Does the sales team need core sales skills?

(2) Does the team need improvement in identifying, understanding and addressing customer/prospect needs?

(3) How are team members selling against the competition?

(4) Can they establish and maintain strategic relationships at the correct levels inside both current and prospective accounts?

(5) Can they effectively overcome obstacles and objections?

(6) Does sales management need development in giving clear direction, setting goals and establishing effective processes?

Do they lack a consistent coaching model/process?

Is sales communication/vision clearly defined?

Do they have the proper tools to measure and report sales results?

(7) Is there a lack of partnership between sales and service staff members?

Feedback At this point, you want to know that whichever learning environment you choose addresses the following: (1) It allows for varied levels of experience in sales force and sales management to allow for customization.

(2) It focuses on customer service and retention.

(3) It leverages industry expertise.

(4) It addresses product, process and technology learning needs to allow the sales force to adapt to the marketplace.

Solutions Addressing skills, the environment and resource gaps should be the result of your analysis. Look for a blended approach: classroom training, eLearning, industry leaderled conferences, etc.

(1) Core sales skills — Training programs are usually developed and initially deployed by a vendor. The programs need comprehensive content and delivery options and need 20 | w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0

to address the majority of the common core skill needs you identified.

(2) Professional coaching for sales managers so they learn how to develop, lead and execute your company plan.

(3) Industry-specific sales skills: MPS, color, EDM, etc.

Objectives Our performance objectives are designed to target specific skills and behaviors: (1) Professional skills and application, selling against the competition, sales negotiations, winning account strategies.

(2) Sales management fundamentals to develop employees.

(3) Industry-specific sales skills, armed with the correct level of training in key areas to address new sales initiatives.

Evaluation Because of the cost associated with core sales skills, professional coaching and industry-specific selling skills, we need to forecast the potential success of the programs. It is critical to identify the link between the specific programs and their business impact. We identify specific business measures that will be impacted by the training programs and this will allow us to put in place a model for our returnon-investment (ROI) forecast.

As an example, we forecast and measure a training program designed to reduce turnover by increasing sales manager effectiveness. The cost of training is $2,000 per sales manager. Three sales leaders are trained, for a total training cost of $6,000. To forecast the impact and dollar value of training, we set a goal of reducing turnover from 20 percent to 15 percent. Two percentage points is estimated to cost approximately $50,000 (lost productivity, hiring costs, salary, benefits, etc.). Therefore, the training forecast can help save a company $125,000 (2.5 x $50,000) — an ROI of 119 percent.

Business outcomes that can be linked to training, such as revenue productivity and customer satisfaction, have to be tracked over time. By forecasting outcomes before and trends after, changes in outcomes can be linked to your training initiatives.

David C. Ramos is a consultant with Strategy Development. He can be reached at ramos@strategydevelopment.org.

Visit www.strategydevelopment.org.

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‘Building the Future’ Kyocera hosts Pan-American Dealer Meeting by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

nnouncing plans for the launch of 22 new products and emphasizing dealer opportunities in managed print services (MPS), Kyocera Mita America Inc. (KMA) hosted its Pan-American Dealer Meeting on April 6-8 in Orlando, Fla. The meeting drew more than 1,100 attendees, representing Kyocera Mita and Copystar authorized dealerships from across the United States along with dealers and guests from Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico and Japan.

“On behalf of the Kyocera Mita America Group, I stand before you today, together with KMC [Kyocera Mita Corp.]

President [Katsumi] Komaguchi, and commit to investing in and growing this vibrant dealer channel,” said Mike Pietrunti, president and CEO of KMA, during the opening General Session. “Remember, 85 percent of our revenue in North and South America comes from you, our dealers. We know that the only way we can build our future is with you. That’s why the theme of this meeting is ‘Building the Future Together.’”

Komaguchi also expressed his appreciation to dealers, commenting on their role in keeping the company financially strong in today’s “tough” economic climate. “During the past fiscal year [ending March 31, 2010], Kyocera Mita Corp. reported worldwide results of $2.54 billion in sales and $212 million in profits, which is equivalent to a profit margin of 8.4 percent,” he said. “It is obvious that these results could not have been achieved without the daily efforts and strong determination of our channel partners marketing and selling our products.”

Focusing on financial results for KMA Group, Pietrunti reported that total revenues for the recent fiscal year were $575 million, which represents 102.9 percent year-over-year (YOY) growth. He noted that Brazil “led the way” with 15.1 percent YOY growth. “In the United States, backed by the best dealer channel in the U.S. market, your dedicated efforts allowed us to achieve 2.2 percent YOY growth,” he said.

Beyond reporting on KMA’s last fiscal year, looking to the future, Pietrunti encouraged dealers to find opportunities

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Top photo: Attendees gather in the Product Fair. Middle photos, from left: Katsumi Komaguchi, president, Kyocera Mita Corp., addresses dealers during the General Session; Mike Pietrunti, president and CEO, Kyocera Mita America Inc. (KMA); and Peter Hendrick, vice president of marketing for KMA. Bottom photo: Steve Rolla of BEI Pros (right), moderates a dealer panel on the topic of managed print services. “amidst the challenges” of the economy. Specifically, he discussed the need for dealers to adopt an MPS-focused business model. “In the ‘new business reality,’ MPS is replacing the old w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0 | 21

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CPC business model,” he said. “Being able keting for KMA, commenting on the “Adopting an MPS to sell MPS changes your competitive company’s recent and planned product position in your local market. Adopting announcements. “No other manufacbusiness model will ... an MPS business model will not only give turer can make the claim of delivering secure and expand you an immediate competitive edge 52 new products in a two-year period, your base and provide today, it will secure and expand your base across such diverse product categories an increased revenue and provide an increased revenue stream and segments.” stream for years for years to come.”

Models introduced at the meeting to come.”

Komaguchi also emphasized the included a series of color and monoimportance of an MPS strategy, noting chrome A3 and A4 MFPs, including 10 that KMA’s product line is ideally suited for MPS. “We strongly new color MFPs ranging from 20 to 70 color pages per minute feel that with the breadth of our product line, unrivaled relia- (ppm), nine monochrome MFPs ranging from 25 to 80 ppm, bility and the lowest total cost of ownership, no other as well as color and monochrome ECOSYS printers. company is as well positioned to capitalize on the emerging The meeting also featured a panel discussion with KMA managed print services trend,” he said. “Last year, our MPS- dealers addressing the topic of managed print services, six related sales revenue was 12 percent of our total sales revenue.” education sessions and a Product Fair featuring KMA prodAs noted, the meeting also provided the opportunity for ucts and solutions, the KMA HyPAS Developer Support KMA to announce plans to launch 22 new products, begin- Program and various third-party vendors.

Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology ning this summer. “ The strength of a manufacturer’s Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can product pipeline is a key indicator of the overall strength of be reached at brent@bta.org. the company,” said Peter Hendrick, vice president of mar-

Do you crunch the numbers, or do the numbers crunch you?

T he BTA ProFinance course will teach you how to set the strategy, track critical performance measures and manage your assets according to a proven business model designed to improve the profitability of your company.

Instructors John Hanson and John Hey of Strategic Business Associates take a holistic approach to the redirection of your business — from sales rep compensation and projecting service revenues to inventory management and an action plan for implementation — with the short-term goal of achieving a minimum of 14% operating income. You can achieve these results by monitoring 24 key benchmarks and making strategic shifts as discussed in the program.

Upcoming ProFinance courses: August 11-12, 2010 Chicago, Ill. November 10-11, 2010 Las Vegas, Nev.

For more information or to register for ProFinance, visit www.bta.org/ProFinance or call (800) 843-5059.

ProFinance is designed for owners and executive-level staff who make the critical business decisions that impact your company’s success. Many OEMs reimburse for ProFinance tuition through advertising co-op or professional development funds. Check with your OEM to be sure.

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EDUCATION CALENDAR June 7

BTA MPS Operations & Service Workshop Las Vegas, NV With entry into the print management/MPS space, you add complexity to your back-office operations and to your service department. Taught by Jim Boulden and Mike Woodard of Strategy Development, this course is designed to jump-start your understanding of how to set up and manage all operational and service aspects of an MPS agreement.

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BTA MPS Sales Workshop Las Vegas, NV Taught by Tom Callinan and Ed Carroll of Strategy Development, this two-day education workshop is designed to provide dealerships with the tools they need to establish a managed print services strategy that will allow them to significantly increase the quantity of captured prints, lock in customers, distinguish themselves from competitors and sell more hardware.

16-17 Dealer Strategies Summit 2010: A BTA Southeast Event

Orlando, FL BTA Southeast’s Dealer Strategies Summit will feature 12 education sessions presented by eight speakers, each sharing industry-specific insight, strategies and practical advice that collectively will help attendees move their dealerships to a higher level, ultimately boosting the bottom line. Speakers will include: Sally Brause, GreatAmerica Leasing Corp.; Larry Breed, MarketMentorOnline Inc.; Terry Chapman, Business Electronics Corp.; Teresa Hiatt, Ricoh Americas Corp.; Bob Goldberg, BTA General Counsel; David Ramos, Strategy Development; Bob Sostilio, Sostilio & Associates International; and Mike Woodard, Strategy Development. In addition to education, the event will include time to network with fellow dealers and exhibiting sponsors, as well as a trip to Universal Studios Orlando.

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Building My Business Webinar — “Transitioning to IT” Many office technology dealers are looking to broaden product and service offerings in order to create new revenue streams. A natural way to capitalize on current customer relationships is to offer a wider range of products that integrate into the office technology suite. The products that fit into the current customer base and provide an expanded service model are within the world of network technology. This webinar, presented by Susan Muth of Strategic Business Solutions, will address the key issues that a company must face in order to make the most effective transition into network technology. Muth will host two panelists, Kerry McDonough of Cisco and Joseph Edwards of e-velocity, who will discuss engineer capabilities, skill sets and management; technology components; and marketing and sales considerations and transitions. Free to BTA members, this webinar is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, June 24.

For additional information or to register for courses or events, visit www.bta.org or call (800) 843-5059.

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BTA HIGHLIGHTS BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer Members Accelerated Business Solutions, Pompano Beach, FL Coastal Business Systems, Eureka, CA DiMax Office Solutions Inc., Madison, WI Downs Office Equipment & Supplies Pty Ltd., Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia Fowler Business Systems, Brigham City, UT Multiple Business Systems, Flossmoor, IL National Business Equipment & Supply, Albany, NY Office Products Inc., Fallon, NV Sharp Electronics of Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Tekniq Data Corp., Overland Park, KS Vendor Associate Members Epson America Inc., Long Beach, CA Metrofuser LLC, Roselle, NJ Service Associate Members Barrister Global Services Network Inc., Hammond, LA For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

MPS Sales eLearning Program: BTA members receive 15% off Developed by InfoTrends and Strategy Development, the new MPS Sales eLearning Program is comprehensive, self-paced online training with tests at the end of each module.

Upon completion, participants will have what it takes to go out and start writing contracts, without ever leaving the office for training.

For more information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org.

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For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its Vendor or Service Associate members in this space.

BTA Vendor Associate member Metrofuser offers numerous laser printer solutions including: HP and Lexmark printer parts, certified refurbished printers, printer service training, printer service and technical support, as well as a variety of products ranging from fusers to transfer kits. Metrofuser believes remanufacturing is not only an eco-friendly alternative, but it is also a chance for the part to evolve from its original state. Each repair generation is an evolution to greater quality — a continuous improvement from the original factory model. www.metrofuser.com BTA Service Associate member Marlin Leasing is a leader in the equipment leasing industry, specializing in providing small-ticket (up to $250,000) lease financing options to small businesses. The company focuses on serving the small business segment through personalized service, easy documentation and fast application processing. Its Single Point of Contact service provides customers with the individual attention they need in today’s fastpaced marketplace. www.marlinleasing.com A full list of BTA Vendor and Service Associate members can be found online at www.bta.org.

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COURTS & CAPITOLS

Health Care Reform What does it mean for your business? by: Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel for the Business Technology Association

he last months have shown a definite decline in our legislative process. Listening to the debate and various positions, it was difficult to find anyone who had read the entire health care reform proposal, and even more difficult to determine what it meant to you. President Obama has now signed the legislation into law, and amended it to appease those who reluctantly agreed to support it.

How will these laws affect you and your business?

Eventually, the law will provide insurance coverage to 32 million individuals who are currently uninsured. Most Americans will be required to have health insurance and certain individuals will be able to receive subsidies in order to afford their insurance. Medicaid has been greatly expanded to make more individuals eligible. Overall, health care should now be available to almost everyone.

While the most significant changes will not take effect until 2014, some important provisions will begin as early as June, and others by the end of the year. The immediate changes include new restrictions on the health insurance industry and new protections for individuals currently with insurance. Individuals who currently cannot qualify for insurance after losing it will have new coverage available. In areas where insurance companies could deny or eliminate coverage, it will no longer be allowed.

Specific changes in the next six months prohibit the denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, and insurance companies cannot drop people when they become sick. Young adults can stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26, provided the child’s employer does not offer coverage. Lifetime limits on policies will also be eliminated. Minor errors on an application for insurance will not be grounds to deny coverage. If you omit the fact that one of your parents has or had high blood pressure, that subsequently cannot be used to deny your benefits.

Beginning in September, insurance companies will be subject to limitations on administrative costs and executive compensation. If the limitations are exceeded, there will be mandatory

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rebates to policyholders. In 2010, tax credits as high as 35 percent of premiums will be available to many small businesses that offer health coverage to their employees.

Employers will be required to pay at least half of their employee’s premium to qualify for the credit. In 2014 and after, small businesses will be able to purchase insurance through exchanges and receive a tax credit up to 50 percent of the employee’s premium for two years.

Employers with more than 50 employees will pay a penalty after 2014 if they do not offer health insurance.

In 2011, it will be necessary for employers to include the value of health benefits on employees’ W-2 forms. There will be a federal pool for high-risk individuals who are unable to obtain conventional coverage. Although rates for this pool have not been determined, the legislation provides that the rates are established based upon the standard population and not a population of sick people. After 2014, all new plans will have to offer a minimum package of benefits, including certain preventive services at no additional cost.

For higher earners ($200,000 individual or $250,000 family), the news is not good. Starting in 2013, top earners will pay increased Medicare payroll tax on wages (currently 1.45 percent and increasing to 2.35 percent) and investments (0 percent to 3.8 percent). The income threshold for claiming tax deductions on medical costs will rise from costs greater than 7.5 percent of income to 10 percent. Flexible spending accounts that typically allow employees to shelter as much as $5,000 from taxes will be limited to $2,500 and will no longer cover over-the-counter medications unless prescribed by a doctor.

The health care insurance arena is changing dramatically and may change even more. Republicans have vowed to seek repeal of the new provisions if elected to a majority this November. I will continue to monitor significant developments and seek to keep you advised.

Until then — good health.

Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Appreciative Inquiry An important tool for transforming your business by: Joanne L. Smikle, Smikle Training Services

he work of a doctoral student from Case Western Reserve University could radically transform your organization. The student, now a graduate, is Dr. David Cooperrider, who began studying the human side of the Cleveland Clinic as his doctoral research project in the early 1980s. At a point in his research, he became more interested in what was going right than what was going wrong.

While his initial focus had been on deficits in the organization, he became fascinated by the cooperation and innovation in the organization. This shift in focus led to the birth of something called Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This article explains AI, explores its relevance to revolutionizing how an enterprise is led and presents an approach for applying the 4-D Model to creating sustainable change.

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Appreciative Inquiry Defined AI is an emerging, evolving approach to organizational change that is rooted in the premise that enterprises move in the direction they pay attention to. If an enterprise pays attention to its failures, it will create more of the same. The reverse is also true. If an enterprise explores its moments of excellence and its successes, it will generate more of the same. This is a dramatic shift for most of us trained in deficit-oriented change models where we devote much attention to problem identification and remediation. AI calls us to identify the roots of successes so that they can be replicated.

AI is rooted in a theoretical perspective called social constructionism. A brief summary of the theory will suffice for the purposes of this article. Social constructionism focuses on the power of positive images and holds that language does not merely describe and define, but rather that it is a powerful tool of creation. Further, the belief is that members of organizations create meaning through their dialogue — they use the power of the tongue to create the organization’s future (adapted from “Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination,” by Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard J. Mohr).

Social constructionism requires that dialogue move from a discussion of deficits to an exploration of vitality, health and organizational success.

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which gives them life. AI requires organizations to identify and strategize toward their greatest successes. This is a highly simplified synthesis of complex theoretical frameworks. “The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive Futures,” by Magruder Watkins and Mohr, provides an excellent synopsis for laypeople.

The Relevance of AI in Transforming Your Business What can the work of a sociologist from Ohio possibly mean to your business? It can mean three important things. First, that you have a viable method for creating sustainable improvements in performance and productivity. Second, that you can implement tested tools for changing the language and imagery that have ultimately created your business. And third, that you can make the transition from deficit-based leadership and analysis to a leadership posture that is affirming and positive.

Beginning with the first proposition presented in the previous paragraph, the 4-D Model of AI gives you a method that can be applied to everything from revving up sales to creating collaboration to process redesign. The model enables you to inquire into exceptionally positive moments and capture the life-giving forces in your organization. Wherever you apply the model, you will have a reliable method for creating sustainable change.

Now we will move to the second proposition — that you can

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presents the revenue issue as an opportuchange the language imagery that has A keen understanding nity to both examine instances of success shaped your organization. Applying AI and also as an opportunity to increase changes not only the dialogue in the enterof self and the ability revenue based on strengths previously evipri se, but al so th e language used by to skillfully play to denced when the organization was more leaders. It will call you to a higher level of one’s strengths are profitable. When an issue like declining accountability when discussing everything necessary if one is to revenue is reframed, a world of new opfrom receivables to staff performance to lead large- or smallportunities emerges. They include the customer satisfaction. Leaders become scale transformations. opportunity to build deeper relationships better able to begin from the positive and with existing customers, develop meanask questions that frame the issues from an affirmative bent. Remember, social constructionism in- ingful incentives for employees and identify the right product/ service mix. structs us that language is a powerful means of creation.

The model, defined by Cooperrider, is as follows: discovery, Finally, we come to the third proposition — that leaders no longer need to rely on deficit-based models of change or orga- dream, design and destiny. It is powerful in its simplicity and does not require extensive external consultation or facilitanizational development.

There are five generic processes typically applied in AI. tion. Organizations can groom their own AI experts to be able to guide them through the five generic processes or the 4-D They are as follows: Choose the positive as the focus of inquiry.

Model. The Center for Appreciative Inquiry, based in Las Inquire into moments of excellence or exceptionally posi- Vegas, teaches a week-long seminar for those interested in tive moments. learning how to facilitate AI processes in their organizations.

Share success stories and identify affirming or life-giving Case Western Reserve University also offers an intensive forces in the organization. seminar on the topic taught by Cooperrider.

Create a shared vision of a preferred, desirable future.

The discovery phase begins the process by focusing atten Create that future using innovation and improvisation. tion on identifying excellence, the very best of what exists in These processes can be applied to large and small systems the organization. This can be accomplished in any number of transformations. The processes can be used in tandem with ways. Interviews are typical. A cross-section of employees can the 4-D Model or as an alternative. be queried using a pre-designed interview guide. Facilitated workshops that allow participants to visually and creatively Applying the 4-D Model depict the best of who they are is another option for this The decision to employ AI requires leaders to re-evaluate phase. Ultimately, the goal is to help people tap into the times their approaches — not just toward how to transform an when they have experienced the organization at its very best. enterprise, but also to their own unique leadership styles. This Let us say that you are embarking on the transformation of presupposes a high level of emotional intelligence, particu- your office technology dealership. In the discovery phase, you larly the first two components of emotional intelligence: self- may gather all employees together and break them into small awareness and self-management. A keen understanding of self groups. The groups would be charged with creatively and the ability to skillfully play to one’s strengths are neces- depicting an answer to this question: “When is our dealership sary if one is to lead large- or small-scale transformations. at its very best? What do we look, sound, act and feel like Employing AI also requires a conscious decision to focus on when we are functioning at our best?” the positive — on what is best. This can be quite a stretch for Participants will be charged with delving deeply to define leaders wedded to deficit-based approaches to addressing and isolate moments of excellence for the organization. What organizational dilemmas. It compels leaders to reframe issues they will find are the exceptionally positive moments that may so that the language used begins the powerful process of posi- have been overlooked or obscured by a focus on the negative. tive creation. For example, the issue may be that revenue is Capturing this valuable information begins the process of declining in one of your locations. Rather than framing it as infusing new vitality into the enterprise. “revenue is declining,” the issue is framed as “the organization The next phase, dream, enables people to effectively chalcan examine the factors that were present when revenue gen- lenge the status quo by imagining a preferred future. It eration was at its highest and recreate those conditions.” This expands the organization’s potential by focusing on leveraging w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0 | 27

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riers between service providers and cusmoments of excellence. This is when tomers. You may decide that your human people begin to discuss possibilities, posiDrawing on successes resource function is not employee-oritioning and potential. They create radical, enables an organization ented and abolish the entire department. provocative propositions that are develto systematically plot for W hat happ ens durin g thi s phase i s oped to create the optimum organization. more of the same. In entirely contingent upon the organization It is during the dream phase that everyone addition to changing in question and its aspirations for itself is asked to take innovation to the highest the energy ... it will also and all of its members. This is a particulevel. They are asked to challenge comchange the outcomes. larly exciting phase because stakeholders monly accepted wisdom and create an are actively engaged in creating new, almost ideal future for the entire enterprise. Creating a preferred future requires challenging assump- vibrant, viable structures that make the dream a reality.

It is in the final phase, destiny, that stakeholders band tions, ignoring deficits and imagining the unimaginable. Jeffrey H. Dyer et al contend that imagining completely different together to implement and sustain the new structures that alternatives can lead to truly original insights (adapted from they have designed. Everyone works to ensure that their work “The Innovator’s DNA,” by Jeffrey H. Dyer et al, published in at the macro and micro levels is aligned with the dream and Harvard Business Review, December 2009). The dream phase subsequent provocative propositions. This is when new structures, systems, services, practices, products and processes are creates the space for this type of imaginative, innovative work.

Continuing with the previous example, once your em- integrated, implemented and refined. An “appreciative eye” is ployees have identified moments of excellence, they are then required for success at this phase. In other words, it is importasked with creating their unique vision for the organization. tant to constantly be in search of moments of excellence, Give them all of the kindergarten art tools that you can find demonstrable successes and the learning that emerges from and allow them to create with reckless abandon. Or, simply the implementation of the new structures.

It is the destiny phase that allows the organization to allow them to use whatever is available. In a recent session, a group found a piano at the retreat facility. They wrote and sustain the change. This happens because all stakeholders in sang a song that captured their dream — not only of the val- the enterprise are creating ways to deliver on the promise of ues they hoped the organization would embody, but also the the dream. They are focused on making the provocative products they wanted to develop and bring to market within propositions for their area come to fruition. Not only is fluid communication critical at this stage, so is the commitment to the next year.

The third phase, design, is where members of the organiza- ongoing action. A commitment to innovation, continuous tion become architects of their own enterprise. In their learning and continuous quality improvement are essential in dreaming, they identify what should be the ideal and in their this phase. designing they collaborate on building that imagined future.

Not only is energy directed toward developing provocative Conclusion propositions about what the organization will be, but it is also AI is an ingenious tool for creating sustainable organizadevoted toward defining the infrastructure required to tional transformations. It enables an organization to move support the dreams articulated in the prior phase. Close beyond deficit-based thought and action and into a more attention is paid to leadership, strategy, structures, human affirming, energizing focus on excellence. Drawing on sucresource utilization and organizational culture. The collabo- cesses enables an organization to systematically plot for more rative construction that happens at this phase answers one of the same. In addition to changing the energy in the enterquestion: “How can we make it happen?” This is what moves prise, it will also change the outcomes. the entire organization into the realm of positive action.

Joanne L. Smikle is an author, consultant and speaker This is the time when the organization comes together to specializing in leadership development, craft all of the systems required for enduring success. Any collaboration and customer satisfaction. number of outcomes may emerge. It is at this point that Visit www.smiklespeaks.com to read more sacred cows are slaughtered and taken to market. You may articles on current business topics. opt to dismantle many bureaucratic structures in favor of a Smikle can be reached team-based organization. Or you may decide to eliminate barat (301) 596-3140.

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PRINCIPAL ISSUES

Cyber-World Differentiation Is it safe to do business with your dealership? by: Peter Cybuck, Kyocera Mita America Inc.

ore than 1.1 billion people are connected to the Internet. They probe our government networks 380 million times per day. Major U.S. banks are probed at least a million times per month. Meanwhile, office equipment is connected directly or indirectly to these global networks and is potentially subject to constant attack.

Today, information assurance staff are fully aware that today’s connected multifunction devices can be the weakest links in their networks. Jobs might be redirected to unauthorized personnel.

Unencrypted e-mail and documents scanned from MFPs can be intercepted and replicated. MFPs can be remotely configured to launch denial of service attacks on corporate networks. The infrastructure of businesses of all sizes is at risk, as well as the nation’s infrastructure. The sites responsible for air traffic control, the power grid, the telephone networks, energy pipelines, the banking system, the health care system, etc., are full of connected office machines and are constantly under attack. Their office equipment can be the weak link; the key to launching cyber attacks on their assets and their ability to do business.

For many years now, the FBI has cautioned us about the insider threat. While the global threat has dramatically escalated, the internal office users with password access to the network and access to critical assets (the current, “approved” office equipment users) have consistently been the greatest threat. Anonymous use of an MFP with no access control or audit trail, anonymous MFP e-mail used to skate confidential documents out of a facility and printing of confidential documents with no audit trail, etc., continue to be major security threats if MFP security is not made a priority.

Disgruntled employees are a bigger threat than remote attackers. Some of the classic government espionage cases have involved the use of office copiers and printers. Today, access to many Kyocera MFPs can be controlled by federal government-issued Common Access Cards (CACs) that provide a positive ID of the user, limit access and eliminate the possibility of anonymous e-mail. Digitally signed and encrypted email can be sent directly from the MFP. The information needed for an accurate, user-focused audit trail is also generated. The knowledge that such records are stored minimizes the threat that the MFP will be misused. In corporate accounts, user proximity and magnetic cards used for ID pur-

M

poses can provide similar access control for MFPs. IT security personnel have become understandably more conservative about approving connected MFP applications in order to minimize the above risks. At the same time, the latest generation of MFPs goes far beyond copy, print, scan and fax capability. They support network-based and internal software applications that fully integrate them into these vulnerable computer networks. These new, connected, MFP-based network applications and the MFPs themselves will only be approved for deployment if they are deemed sufficiently secure to operate without undue risk.

As a result, IT security personnel are at the top of the MFP acquisition pyramid. If they do not approve the MFP applications and the hardware itself, the acquisition will be blocked and the new office equipment-based applications will never be deployed. On the other hand, if the MFP manufacturer delivers strongly secured product, new business development and expanded use will be assured. Security is the key to next-generation office business development.

Today, MFP dealers are savvy about print, scan, e-mail, fax and other MFP applications. However, unless they are also knowledgeable about MFP network security vulnerabilities and the MFP tools and features required to mitigate or eliminate them, they will lose an increasing number of orders. Security grows in importance with the size of the opportunity. Larger organizations have greater assets at risk and now give more attention to the devices that process their data and output, and w w w . o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g . c o m | M a y 2 0 1 0 | 29

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reproduce and transmit their documents, new opportunities. Security makes the often as MFP-processed hard copy. If the new MFP applications and economic benIf the dealer makes potential buyer has assurance from the efits deployable. It is today’s most imporsecurity a priority when MFP supplier that security risks are tant office product differentiator. presenting product ... addressed, the opportunity for new busiThe latest generation of MFPs has he (or she) can ness increases dramatically. amazing f lexibility and most vendors differentiate himself and If the dealer makes security a priority have put together solid cost justifications. improve his chances of when presenting product and especially If the new hardware and applications getting the order. emphasizes the users’ liability risks when cannot be deployed (actually installed) all they neglect security, he (or she) can difof those great features, sales tools and ferentiate himself and improve his chances of getting the time invested are wasted. The importance of security cannot order. It is usually necessary for the dealership’s presenter to be underestimated. Learn how to develop, configure, present call attention to these issues and educate traditional MFP and install secure MFPs and you will see business grow. buyers who might not fully appreciate the scope of the new Ignore this issue and you will soon be negatively differenticyber threats. Inviting and involving IT security staff to the ated from competitors that appreciate its role.

Peter Cybuck is senior director of security and software initial presentation can help assure that the threats are appresolutions at Kyocera Mita America Inc. He is responsible for ciated and emphasize the role a secure, deployable MFP can managing the planning and marketing of security and play in delivering on its cost-saving potential. advanced MFP software solutions at Kyocera Mita.

Today, federal and international laws exist that prohibit the Previously, he served at Sharp for nearly 15 years, where he transmission of unencrypted personal information (such as helped secure the first Common Criteria certificate for a documents scanned to PDF by MFPs and e-mailed) so there security product in the copier/printer/scanner industry. are legal, as well as liability, issues. MFPs that can create and He also served at Ricoh for more than 10 years. e-mail encrypted PDFs of hard-copy patient records and perCybuck is currently involved in additional sonnel files provide compliant solutions. They actually Common Criteria evaluations and Protection provide liability insurance for users by providing evidence Profile development projects, as well as in the that reasonable care was taken to assure the privacy of planning, development and introduction of new records. The dealer who is able to address these issues with security solutions for multifunction devices. confidence and configure units properly can clearly differenVisit www.kyoceramita.com. tiate himself and open the door to new business and large

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