We continue to discuss Microsoft’s SharePoint in this 4 part series, and whether SharePoint 2007 is a friend or foe of the independent dealer. In our last post, we discussed some of what’s under the hood in SharePoint, briefly.

Let’s move on to discuss how SharePoint usually interacts with the channel’s traditional Document Management Systems (DMS) offerings, and offer a few potential business models to think about in the months to come as your company decides how to cope with SharePoint.

How SharePoint Interacts with Your DMS Offerings:

As the popularity and bench strength of Microsoft’s SharePoint offerings have grown over the years, DMS players have had to take notice and begin to consider strategies to either coexist or oust SharePoint. Earlier versions of Microsoft were largely considered departmental solutions, according to Jeetu Patel of Doculads. This, however, is not the case with SharePoint 2007 offerings.

In Russ Edelman’s AIIM E-DOC article, SharePoint In The Enterprise, he asserts there are 2 fundamental paths traveled by organizations - those of exclusive (no existing DMS infrastructure) and inclusive (merge with existing DMS infrastructure) strategies. Russ goes on to expand upon the advantages and disadvantages:

Exclusive - Path 1 SharePoint Only:

• Advantage: No existing DMS migrations are necessary
• Advantage: Lower maintenance costs
• Advantage: Consistent user interfaces
• Advantage: Common repositories and reduced duplication of data
• Disadvantage:SharePoint is limited in certain functionalities
• Disadvantage:SharePoint records management is version 1.0
• Disadvantage: Users may have limited knowledge of DMS benefits
• Disadvantage: Architecture may impose limitations in various applications

Inclusive - Path 2 Coexistence:

• Advantage: Users and implementers have familiarity with DMS concepts
• Advantage:DMS applications may be more suitable for specific applications
• Disadvantage: Additional maintenance cost
• Disadvantage: Confusion on which software to apply
• Disadvantage: Potential inconsistent  user interfaces
• Disadvantage: Duplicate data may need to be maintained

From personal experience with integrating WSS within my own organization, in coexistence with a current DMS application, it is interesting to see the key differences. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but the greatest weakness of SharePoint has to be its architecture in how it handles documents themselves.

Truly, SharePoint is far better than any other application to date with collaborating with Office documents, but architecturally, it cannot compete with a true DMS in handling large amounts of documents - in its current iteration.

However, one strategy to skirt around the coexistence issue is what is known as “surfacing”, or the ability to overlay SharePoint as the user interface to reach into the DMS repository itself.

Getting Down to the Business of Business Models:

As you build your strategy, you must decide whether Microsoft SharePoint will be part of your go-to-market strategy or part of your hit list. There is a case to be made for embracing SharePoint, and several viable business models that might make some sense:

1. Acquire a development or integration partner: Acquisition of talent would offer a quick upside to both talent and possibly an existing customer base; in essence, you can drive the car off the lot. Obviously the downside would be a generally large capital outlay and potential culture clash.
2. Build your own shop: The do-it-yourself approach is a lot like building the model using a kit versus buying the car off the lot; possible margins, blending with the existing culture, and overall control can be better controlled. However, many dealers wouldn’t know where to begin, so creating the synergy would be generally difficult leading to a longer ramp time for success.
3. Partner with another company: For the independent dealer, this has potentially the best outcome. While strong partner documentation must be in place, dealers can immediately ramp up by simply adding solutions to their portfolio. The caution here is to know whether your existing teams are already strong in solutions selling. If they are not, this solution could be a recipe for disastrous distraction from your core business. Be sure you can ante up before you ask for your cards.

Which business model works best in your environment?

In the last article in this series, we conclude our analysis of SharePoint and its place in the dealer channel.

Read this series here.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

In the world of business, SharePoint is becoming a topic hotly discussed. According to the March 31, 2008 issue of NetworkWorld, Microsoft quietly sold over $1 billion dollars in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS). This number didn’t even include the integration dollars behind roll outs of MOSS 2007 or its SMB counterpart, Windows SharePoint Server (WSS), which comes as a free download from Microsoft or as part of the core operating system.

Did that $1 billion (with a “B”) perk your ears?

Well it should.

What does that mean to the independant dealer channel, and just about every other consultant out there?

This technology is not only hear to stay, it has rightly achieved a position within the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) space as a tipping point. Many experts are exclaiming that SharePoint has surprised everyone in how it has offered a wide-reaching solution to previously unmanaged information, and can scale from very small businesses up to large, worldwide organizations.

What is perhaps of most interest to the independant dealer is how SharePoint 2007 accelerates the talk track regarding managing a company’s documents and their workflow, overlays existing Document Management Systems (DMS) offerings, and has the potential to shift balances quite radically.

In this 4 part series, we will examine whether SharePoint 2007 is a friend or foe of the independent dealer; whether it should be embraced or exorcised will be a decision ultimately left to you, but this exploding market offers compelling evidence that you will indeed have to befriend this behemoth - or take it on head to head.

Read this series here. 

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

Almost overnight, Microsoft SharePoint 2007 sold more than $1 billion since its release, according to the March 31, 2008 issue of NetworkWorld. Mike Gotta, an analyst with the Burton Group goes on to say,

I have not seen anything like this since the early days of [Lotus] Notes… The talk [around SharePoint] is getting strategic now, and people are talking about it as a middleware solution”

In my March article, Are You Getting Schooled on SharePoint?, John Mancini, president of AIIM, went on to say:

1. The entry of Microsoft SharePoint as a serious player in the document and records infrastructure marketplace.  This is one of the most important developments in evangelizing these technologies that we have ever seen. Suppliers and consultants will debate what MOSS can do and what it can’t.  But it won’t matter; it will spread like kudzu through the end user community.

I said it then, and I say it again, John is right on. Without even trying, Microsoft has sold over $1 billion (that’s with a “B” folks) in licensing. This isn’t even including the WSS rollouts, and third-party revenues being generated. John Fontana had this to say:

…[It's the] prototypical Microsoft tool - good enough for small-to-midsize businesses; adaptable to large enterprises; and most important, having plenty of financial opportunities for third-party ISVs and systems integrators.

One of the big tricks for Microsoft is that it’s SharePoint solutions are so tightly integrated with it’s own unified communications stack, Exchange servers, and Office application suites. Simply put, it is extremely flexible for workgroup and small company collaboration opportunities.

However, it has its limitations. Those thinking it is the end-all-be-all of document management, are sorely mistaken. It does not scale well, according to Fontana. Simply put, Microsoft stores everything in “what amounts to one universal table”, to include the documents themselves. This is a nightmare to manage with large amounts of content.

However, Microsoft is expected to fix this in its next version, rumored to be shipping in 2009. What does this mean for the competitors? Watch and see!

My suggestion would be to acquaint yourself with the solution now, and either begin offering solutions with this in mind, or partner with a company that understands it and can work symbiotically with your company.

Do you ever feel like you are too wired in? Do you find yourself using a password manager to keep up with your passwords to your other password managers? Dan Keldsen just posted a very interesting piece that really got me thinking on linking all of these various social media types together to form multi-dimensional and very personal POP’s (point-of-presences) for every individual.

They are a meta-meta-aggregator in the sense that they are aggregating (collecting) information from multiple sources, and that their underlying data sources can also be aggregating information from multiple sources (such as ZoomInfo). This extends the reach and richness of the information that they are able to pull back on behalf of users of their system, in a similar fashion to the functionality of federated search or universal search in more traditional enterprise search.

In an ideal world, or at least with the smarter salespeople and marketers, such information will help to weed out who the appropriate people are to engage in more targeted discussions, and to engage in informed conversations of the “2.0 age” rather than in continuing to hammer out cold-calls and blanket, un-personalized (or badly personalized) mass-marketing.

Though Dan’s article is referring specifically to a product called SalesView by InsideView, I can’t help but notice we are drowning in a sea of social media outlets. For instance, Twitter is interesting, and a social medium to which many people subscribe. It begs a question though, in the context of its underlying purpose,

What is the end-game for this type of social experiment?

[Dan contends] social networking is not purely about person-to-person connections, or in providing a virtual watercooler (or virtual voyeur perhaps) view into your “friends” (peers, co-workers, etc.) but also for the ability of participants IN the network to use the data within that network to become smarter in the ways that they interact with the people in that network.

Bluntly put, information about people abounds through many different channels, all of which were never before captured outside of family photo albums or epitaphs. Now that all of this information exists in a connected world, it is becoming a very relevant question to ask,

What can be done with all of this information about you? Is your information usable in its new formats?

All of this latent “social information” is buried in the heap of individual silos both inside and outside of the control of any one [corporation], even deeper … than “normal” electronic information is.

InsideView has a few ideas, according to Dan, albeit a bit Minority Report-ish. However, let’s assume we all have the best intentions of using this information to the benefit of mankind; it makes me wonder whether this medium will connect us in ways never before dreamed or allow us to conduct plastic surgery at-will to our public persona? And just who decides someone, or some organization, should be granted access to a given network of POP’s?

For now, everyone is having fun, and rightly so. By all accounts, this is a golden age of connectedness not seen in centuries past. Even as we marvel at our own magnificence, I can’t help but step back, take a breath and ask if we are all too connected?

Today we wrap up our review of John Mancini’s article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 10 influencer in the DMS space this year and evaluate social technology trends today:

10. A need to connect in new ways. End users need to find each other and learn from each other more than ever.

‘A need to connect in new ways,” Mancini writes… a fairly open-ended comment, but one that has some profound implications, and a statement that would indicated end-users aren’t exchanging information as readily as before…

This brings up a wonderful question of whether the up and coming generation is more apt to share information amongst themselves because of exposure to such an abundant growth of information and social media in general?

I’m sure there are studies and reports, but look around. The Corporate America of yesterday is getting turned on its ear. Big business still rules the roost, and the almighty dollar is high on the priority list of just about everyone, in the corporate sectors of America at least. However, I see an amazing and growing prevalence to gleefully share discoveries, much like scientists would revel in the discovery of some new star.

Newsgroups and message boards of the past offered no glitz or glam to attract users, and it was often hard to comb through what information was there. It finally seems that technology has actually become usable in the mainstream to improve the quality of life in general.

Add to this the simple fact people are more easily able to connect across larger geographies. First things like travel became easier with the additions of automobiles and trains; now we find ourselves in a brave new world where travel isn’t even as necessary; a time where mobile phones worldwide are close (or already) out numbers traditional land based lines, global positioning systems (GPS) are available in consumer-based handheld devices, and social media tools such as Twitter allows you to literally track what someone’s every move is.

I dare not dream of what tomorrow may hold for us, but the sunrise upon today offers a glimmer of what is to come: A world of open dialogue and information sharing which has Corporate America’s ears perked to be sure. We used to talk about globalization when I was in college, a few short years ago; well my friends - it is here.

John states people must find new ways to connect. Those ‘new ways’ are here so Corporate America must find applications for use of these tools to improve the business, increase efficiencies, and most of all increase mind-share from the grass roots to ivory tower.

Today we discuss the increasing tensions between control and access. In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 9 influencer in the DMS space this year:

9. Increasing tensions between control and access.  There are more and more ways to create, print and distribute information.  Trying to control everything will be a frustrating task. This will be exacerbated by the increasing power of search tools and the entry of younger workers into our workforces. The pendulum has been on the” control” side of the document management world for a while; it’s now on the move.

This is an issue of constant debate and consternation among newbies and pundits alike. This is much like anything in life, and security and convenience (access) are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Total control favors the individual or those in power, whereas access favors the masses and gives the individuals better control (or the illusion of better control) over a smaller cross-section of their area of influence.

 As our government trends towards more socialistic policy, too much control becomes a debate. For instance the debate revolving around socialized medicine is a classic debate of control versus access. This being said, we are really talking about who should have access to the information contained on the documents?

What is attactive about a [good] document management solution (DMS) is it offers access with a layer of control. A good solution will allow the owner(s) a leash, of a fashion. For instance, if they decide a certain group of people need access they can grant a level of access, and deny access to another group - or even layer varying rights like viewing, editing, or even deleting records.

John hits on an excellent point that companies of a size most definitely struggle with. In a smaller company, one person or a handful of people have all the access and control of information necessary to conduct their jobs effectively. As the business grows more specialized responsibilities are assigned and silos of information become prevalent - or bottlenecks in the flow of information.

To continue to grow, good companies blast through these dead-zones of information and empower associates access to information while keeping the leash on and allowing it to be yanked if someone gets out of control. It usually isn’t until something quite bad happens (theft, loss, etc.) that a company realizes how loose their perceived control actually is. This realization is usually followed by an extreme tightening of the belt except in the wisest of companies and causes a huge culture-crash.

Enterprises are a bit different, and government organizations even more so. Within enterprises, the ability to report on access is extremely important, specifically in publicly traded companies or companies heavily regulated by government agencies. While control is important, access is a consideration as well. IT usually plays heavily in this teeter-totter of the enterprise because they are charged as gatekeepers.

Control is usually more important than access in the public sector, and even with recent legislation enabling citizens access to more documents the access is almost never expedient because there is no enterprise-level initiatives for DMS.

All organizations are coming to grips with the wild fire of access to information provided by access to the Internet and social media (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Twitter, etc.). People have come to revere social media as authoratative (see Wikipedia), and feel both empowered and entitled to have access.

Smart business executives and management are undergoing an awakening to the power of social media within the company as a means to turn-on new levels of productivity and tap previously unrealized resources by assisting associates in blurring their work and home lives… afterall, isn’t it a greater benefit to have a production-focused individual rather than a clock-puncher?

In a nutshell, technology empowers and distracts people. The blurring of lines between work and home has become a dangerous trend that can threaten one’s sanity just a bit. However, everyone feels they have to have a constant flow of information (access), but we must ask whether we are in control of the information or if the information is in control of us, demanding we continually check-in to see if we missed anything.

Indeed, the debate of control and access will rage on, and in every case a culture (be it corporate or a nation) must make constant decisions as to which will win. Generally, most sane individuals will choose a median approach - a compromise of reasonably controlled access. So should there be all of this drama of who should have what?

Too little information means we cannot provide knowledgeable service, and too much information can provide more options than necessary and short-circuit the decision-making process. I would contend we ask ourselves what information is necessary to do our job and keep us as close as possible to our valued customers. No more or no less information is needed.

Up next, we finish our series on the top 10 drivers of document solutions this year. We ask why do we feel such a need to connect?

Today we discuss the blurring of technology lines. In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 8 influencer in the DMS space this year:

8. The blurring of technology lines.  What does your business need? Copiers? Scanners? Records management? Content management?  Document management? Business process management?  E-mail management?  Most likely, all of the above in some configuration. And the solution providers who can help end users figure out the appropriate configuration – they won’t all be the same – will find end users racing to their door.

John strikes a cord with this article. It resonates a simple truth, “Add value to your customers’ business and make them clients for life.” More than ever, companies are looking for answers. They hire analysts and accounts to give them a clue about what’s going on in this rat race. They hire consultants to spin a web and show them a future where they are rich and wise. They hire marketing and public relations firms to package all of this up and put a nice bow on top…

What happened to common sense?

To some extent, people are a little scared about all of this technology being thrown at them. In reality, it’s a lot of F.U.D. Combine this with the intent of some opportunistic individuals who are looking to capitalize on a little ‘man behind the curtain’ (so to speak). So what’s this common sense nonsense all about, anyway?

 For those of you who haven’t read Jim Collins’ Good to Great, get it, read it, and sleep with it! I can’t tell you one book that a business should live by… It’s not a bible by any means, but it has some good ole fashion common sense advise. Collins goes on to say that you have to have the right people in the right seats on the bus and get the wrong people off.

With all of this waving of fists and frothing of mouths going on about the ‘document industry’ people keep missing the one truth that a business is not four walls and a roof, it is a group of like minded and passionate individuals working as a team. File that!

Tonight we discuss ”the rise in importance of the channel and solutions providers” of document solutions. In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 6 influencer in the DMS space this year:

6. The rise in importance of the channel and solution providers.  As the core technologies become viewed more as infrastructure, the capabilities of those who actually deliver and implement solutions becomes critical.

This is a critical role many solutions providers count on in order to drive professional services revenue. I would be interested in what others in the industry are seeing as there is definitely some truth in what John says, but not to the extend I would call it a fire sale just yet. The solutions providers’ business models still vary widely from company to company, as do the expected results.

I would propose there are two general schools of thought at the solutions provider level. The first revolves around the transitional copier dealer attempting to play in the arena of “solutions”. Typically a dealer will take on one (maybe two) lower-end, and easy to implement, file cabinet replacement. The professional services engagements are minimal, so they will typically train the connected technician or “IT Manager” to handle the installations. This allows them to maintain gross profit generally and many customers are quite fine with this presentation. All in all, it is not a predatory relationship, but it is definitely not a strategic relationship either.

The second is a provider who invests in an infrastructure of more highly trained engineers and sales staff. This is much more costly, runs the risk of side-tracking the current sales, and overall has the greatest risk of flopping. So why even risk this? Well, the profit margins can be substantially higher, the deals much larger, and the customers tend to be arguably longer-term. While this has the greatest potential for overall revenue generation, if serving your customer is not the focus, customers can begin to view their long-time provider of copiers, printers, and faxes as just another software company trying to turn a buck. Be cautious of this slippery slope.

Some dealers have found a hybrid model works, much like the territory and major/named account divisions in mid-sized to larger dealers. This is an equitable model so long as your staff is competent to understand the differences between the types of clients and their respective needs. In other word, it can be disastrous to attempt to force a lower-end solution into a more enterprise environment; conversely, it can leave a bad taste in the small business owner’s mouth if you leave them with an over-powered (and over-priced) solution.

In general, it should be expected to see a fair amount of professional services revenue as a result of a document solutions sale, and generally can equal or exceed the revenue of the software itself. But do not expect to see a run on the bank for phase two engagements at the outset. Most clients are content to renew their maintenance and call in for helpdesk support as needed (another key component to a successful document solutions program, by the way). This is understandable and to be expected as a business grows its base, and the base will most likely be a smaller percentage of total revenue if a company is to maintain stability of profit.

Outside of this, my contention would be that clients aren’t really pressing for phase two engagements because they were looking for a very specific solution, which was met (thinking tactically again). It should be expected that most companies will begin to ask questions about expanding between years 2-4 of a current solution if they are on-track with proper growth strategies. If not, then why not bring these questions up in your account reviews?

Interestingly, both customer and solutions provider have a choice to make: The former must choose whether to invest in a tactical solution to meet today’s needs or invest in a partner to help them achieve their goals today and tomorrow. The latter must choose which professional services model they will follow given their goals for revenue generation, customer retention, customer acquisition, and growth.

Everyone has an opinion about what is right and what is wrong. Only you know your business (customer or provider). So sit down, take a deep breath, and think about what’s important to you. After all, it is your business isn’t it?

Tonight we discuss “the renaissance of capture.” In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 5 influencer in the DMS space this year:

5. The renaissance of capture.  As the market expands into mid-sized organizations, there is untold untapped opportunity in organizations still reliant on paper processes. The expanding use of multi-function devices as access points to document systems creates all sorts of opportunities for solution providers.  But solution providers need to get out of the mindset that this is still a hardware business or a hardware sale.  It ain’t.

Indeed their is a renaissance afoot. However, it is not just within the small realm of capturing documents. Paper-based documents are still a very cost-effective way to transport information from one place to another. The printed page is increasing at an estimated 11% per year with 2006 volumes at somewhere close to 3500 billion pages (courtesy of Gartner via Jim Salzer over at DocuAudit International). However, I have seen no supporting data to further determine if these are simply reproductions of documents already available online or original documents to process and capture (although I have my suspicions).

DMS was originally intended to help structure the mess of file rooms, desktop clutter, and bloated file servers where otherwise structured data might be used (e.g. databases). A logical person might think DMS would be a strong contender to help structure the data with the rampant production of documents abound in today’s business. However, with increased potency of line of business (LOB) systems and the ever rising availability of digital originals, one can’t help wonder if the need for paper-based capture may be waning. On the flip side of the coin, dealers selling DMS are wondering whether providing a repository for the documents will allow people to let loose the purse strings and encourage generous volumes of reprints.

No doubt there are companies with rampant paper processes, and every dealer is anxious to know whether the pain is enough for them to buy one of their solutions, whereas business owners who have not adopted a DMS are asking why they would buy something when they don’t see a problem…

If the dealer is attempting to position a piece of hardware as the solution rather than taking into account a customer’s need for an over-arching strategy, I disagree with the opinion that the expanding use of multi-function devices as access points provides an opportunity to the dealer. However, I do see that DMS will provide an opportunity for dealers to reap the rewards of tying their hardware to a compay’s DMS or LOB system using middleware packages.

My only caution would be that dealers don’t become tunnel visioned in the process. John is clear to state “it ain’t” a typical hardware sale. True enough… so why even go in talking about the hardware at all?

In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 4 influencer in the DMS space this year:

4. Trend #1, #2, and #3 add up to a dramatic decline in a collapsing price point for core document functionality at the desktop.  As a result, the market is exploding in two directions – across large organizations and into the mid-sized market.  From a cost vs. functionality perspective, this is the golden age of end users.  But we need to remember that the part of the industry focused on large organizations that need to integrate and standardize on an ECM infrastructure is vastly different than the part of the industry typical at the low end that simply is looking for a better solution to paper and/or a mess of network drives.

With the advent of great new focus on the end-user experience, John is absolutely correct in stating “… this is the golden age of end users.” Technology continues to increase its useful applications and simultaneously drop in price. Can I get an “amen” to that!

However, what is, and should be, compelling to the dealer is not only the decrease in the cost of acquiring the technology and the increase in usability, but a distinct divide that is forming between enterprise and SMB opportunities. This gives pause to many a sales manager.

Let’s face it, dealers are still talking about connecting copiers for crying out loud, and if you are in this category - well, you’ve still got a fighting chance. I’m not saying go out and start slinging software just to say you are. However, I am saying that you need to realize the network is what’s important, and PC’s and printers are simply devices hanging off the edges to render information.

That’s an interesting concept, I know, but the whole point of having a network is to exchange information and with the increased usefulness of software solutions, IT is being dispersed into the business units and being forced to use those long-overdue soft skills. This means the old saying, “there’s money where there’s mystery” just got taken out with your recycled paper… executives are smarter and more savvy than ever.

With this division of small and large business, the dealer community as a whole is ill-prepared to take the next step… let alone attempt to compete with the likes of IBM’s FileNet, Westbrook’s Fortis, or EMC’s D5… forget it. You aren’t prepared for the long sales cycles nor are you prepared for the gut wrenching decisions you will be forced to make. Let me tell you that just because you understand how to manage a large MPS client, this does not qualify you to take on IBM. Stick to what you know best.

If you typically sell to the SMB’s, and have a loyal base, you are in prime shape to help your valued customers step into the digital age - all over again (can I get another ‘amen’ to that!). At the very least you can help them reclaim file storage space and find documents more quickly. At best, you can become the new hero that made everyone in the company happier they know you. That’s a novel feeling for a copier jockey, isnt’ it?

Take advantage of the fact that the large players just don’t get the SMB market; EMC for instance thinks any business less than $500 million in annual sales is an SMB… Do you think they understand your $20 million dollar customers better than you do? Guard yourself against the declining margins of hardware, and show your customers you do more than try to sell them what’s in the warehouse that month. 

Show your customer you want to understand their business, their challenges, and their goals. Show them you actually care about their needs, and you may just find yourself in the unique position of being asked for advice. Quit talking about connecting copiers, and start talking about solving a business owner’s problems!

Tommorrow: We discuss “the renaissance of capture.”