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Does M-P-S Spell H-Y-P-E?

By Ken Stewart on May 4, 2009

hype_only At the recent 2009 Managed Print Services (MPS) conference, Steve Reynolds (LYRA) offered an interesting perspective on the state of the industry. “MPS is a buzzword – A shiny new wrapper for the same old stuff.”

Think back:

  • - In 2003 it was “Office Document Assessment” (it isn’t now?).
  • - In 2005, it was “Security” (didn’t I just read this yesterday?).
  • - In 2006, it was “software development environments” (wait, that’s my key differentiator, right?).
  • - In 2007, it was “Green” (and arguably still might be).
  • - In 2008 and 2009, it is MPS…

… gee, have I been using a bunch of buzzwords?

While many in this industry are angling for a way in which to ride the proverbial wave of awareness, this strategy still remains a solid offering to help customers gain ultimate control of their scattered fleets of output devices – ultimately leading to the holy grail of true content management.

But I just can’t help thinking the term itself has become the hallmark of someone wishing to give away a “complimentary” document assessment to reveal obvious security holes in your output fleet that my custom designed user interface will eliminate, all while saving more trees! I mean why just choose one buzzword, right?

Image courtesy of Matahina.

Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Ken is also the founder of Seeking the Son. He is always interested in connecting; To discover the many ways you may connect with him, visit him at DandyID.


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Ken Stewart

People-focused, business-minded, technology-savvy leader who likes to ask: "Why?"

  • Michael_Josefowicz
    Dear Outsource,
    Hype sort of worked before the internet and information equality.
    But there are 3 problems with hype.
    1. If you believe your own hype, you get dumber and dumber.
    2. When anyone senses that's it's hype, they think you are dumber and dumber.
    3. People's hype detectors are getting more exquisitely discriminating every day.

    Do you ever try to hype a bottom of the pyramid high school kid? I have. It's not pretty.
  • jones78999
    hype is the most valuable business resource we have
  • Michael_Josefowicz
    Henry Frankfort wrote a great book a while ago called On Bullshit. He says that bullshit are words spoken not for communication but to make the speaker seem important. Whether the words spoken are true or false is irrelevant because the purpose of the words is not to point to some part of reality.

    I think most buzzwords are bullshit, in that sense.

    Some printers feel like Rodney Dangerfield when they call themselves printers, so they are "market solution providers." Database publishing sounds prosaic so it's called VDP or TransPromo or Customized Print. I would assume MFP people are looked down upon by everyone else. The natural response is to revert to bullshit.

    The worst offenders are usually the consultants and academics since their business model is " I know more than you do, so give me money and I'll reveal the meaning of the secret words."

    But there is a reality hiding beneath the blabla. Different customers use different words to try to capture it. The example you give is brilliant. Hire me to plug your security holes. or Hire me to save you money on print. Hire me to relieve the frustration of printing. So listen carefully to hear the words your customer uses to describe her pain. Then sell aspirin.
  • Very true, Michael. A friend who writes here from time to time, Max, often likens the "solutional selling" process as a doctor making a house call to a patient who doesn't know he/she is sick. Invariably he/she resists treatment b/c they of course don't feel sick. But the diligent doctor presses on to assure the patient they are indeed sick.

    In some cases, the patient is truly sick, but in some cases the doctor simply wants another patient or is a specialist in back injury - so everything that is wrong with the patient must relate to a sustained back injury (even when they are complaining of a knee injury or head cold, for instance).

    The analogy is a bit long-winded, but I think entirely appropriate to our industry and others. I'm all about selling aspirin to those with headaches so long as we don't begin pushing pills to bolster our margins.
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