Document Management in High Tech and Communications

Even though the US refused to sign the Kyoto global pact on greenhouse gas emissions - companies, regions and states are taking actions.  They are setting up emission standards, joining various Associations & Consortiums, and moving toward “cap-and-trade credit” programs. California is targeting 2012 to have this in place.  The challenge for high-tech firms is to focus on energy efficiencies and make manufacturing process changes.  But it may also be in “selling emission credits on an exchange” to meet targets and or increase revenue. 

The Chicago Climate Exchange has 220 members, 1/3 are manufacturers including Motorola, Sony, Schneider Electronics, Freescale Semiconductors, Intel, IBM, STMelectonics.  These companies can “trade” credits for approximately $4 per ton on this exchange.  Some companies trade emission credits privatively or through consultants.  Is there a global business opportunity that high-tech firms should be investigating now, to position themselves as market leaders?

The book, “High Tech Trash“,  exposes the environmental costs for mining-to-landfill life cycle of digital devices.  Google blogs admonish that the electrical costs of its systems will exceed hardware costs.  Forrester’s article, “The Greening of IT” states that Green is an important topic for IT organizations and technology and service providers.  Manufacturing and distribution of High-tech equipment produces 2% of the global carbon dioxide emissions which is equal to airlines.  Areas of opportunity include:

• Product design and manufacturing
  • Design more energy efficient products (i.e. power supplies)
  • Clean Product Manufacturing-New factories and facilities
    • Cut energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions
    • Reduce hazardous waste (RoHS regulation) - lower toxicity of materials
  • Global Supply chains and suppliers
    • Address entire supply chains environmental responsibility
    • Reduce packaging and transport (packing and shipping their products)
  • Services Delivery
    • Vehicle fleets
    • Automation
• Operation
  • Change how IT systems are purchased, implemented, operated and deployed—reduce the environmental foot print of  IT operations (Outsourcing, SaaS, hosting)
  • Energy efficiency of Data centers, CO’s,  PC’s, Printers, Copiers, Fax, Scanners, etc
  • Reduction of paper and process automation
  • Optimize Virtual workforce
• Disposal
  • Recycle and reuse, remanufacture products, componentry,  parts, consumables
  • Disposal- WEEE (Waste electrical and electronic equipment) directives for cell phones, printer cartridges, consumables to avoid poisoning landfills

High-tech and Communications firms have large CO’s and datacenters, global mobile employees have many devices from PC’s to printers.   Operations, corporate infrastructures are opportunities to make a significant impact to conservation of energy and environment while reducing cost.    “When I think about Green, I think about Data Centers”…resonates from many IT clients.  Optimization of Server utilization, Server consolidation, automation, and environmental procurement and disposal strategies go along way to contributing to lower energy consumption.  This should be expanded to all the devices in the office, from PC’s to printers, fax, and scanners.  Apply the same logic to printers, copiers and fax as you do to Servers.

 IT  and Print Service providers should be well positioned to attack energy efficiency and Green iniatitives by outsourcing Services, leveraging Software as a Services and hosting strategies.  By definition these strategies consolidate assets, maximize utilization, leverage shared technology and services, and automate processes.  Choosing Service Providers with a long-term commitment to social responsibility, as well as expertise in processes and metrics that “manage environmental progress” is important.   EDS is an ITO, BPO, and “Managed Output Services (MOS)” provider.  MOS is a strategy for clients to reduce their ecological footprint through Print Services. Xerox also demonstrates leadership and process expertise in executing Environmental strategies.  Take advantage of this opportunity to increase your Environmental and Social responsibility.

Many high-tech and communications companies are leaders in their commitment to green initiatives and corporate social responsibility. The Fortune article, “The New Social Steward”, November 12, 2007 highlights companies that see corporate responsibility as a long-term strategy vs. a short-term opportunity.  A strategic approach necessitates alignment of organizational structure, investment, and program commitment.  It also requires integration with the business from product design, to product and services delivery through disposal.  Fortune provides details around several manufacturers that have a long-term commitment: Microsoft, Xerox, Volkswagen, and Subaru. Their key areas of focus include:

• Environment & energy conservation in design, manufacturing and distribution of technology, consumables, and services
• Clean product manufacturing
• Waste reduction & recycling: design for re-use, remanufacturing, and recycle
• Development and use of  technologies and services for digital collaboration and communications

Leading Communications companies are reporting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, centralizing electric and fuel purchases, reducing vehicle fleets and using low emission vehicles.  They are focused on energy efficient buildings, infrastructure, CO’s and data centers. There are programs for re-use and recycling of wireless phones.  E-Bill options to reduce paper consumption and use of recycled paper for yellow page directories reduces waste.  In general, the technology and infrastructure offered by communications companies enables digital collaboration and communications, i.e. teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and e-Commerce which results in environmental improvements.

Just take a look at some of the blogs and sites of the leaders in our space.  AT&T’s environmental strategies and programs and Verizon’s Energy and Environment principles.  Sun Microsystems blog highlights their leadership in Servers that lower costs and improve energy consumption.  Intel’s Corporate Social Responsibility blog reports on all their advances, initiatives and corporate commitment.  Xerox‘ site demonstrates a long history and continued leadership in environmental and social responsibility.

The High-Tech sector seems to be migrating from product to services with speed.  Forrester’s article on “The Emerging IT EcoSystem” is about the market shift to Services.  There are many Services options and the terminology is confusing. There is a need for consistency by providers and consumers of services.  So I thought I would share the Wikipedia definitions just as a baseline. 

“A managed service provider (MSP) is a company that manages IT services for other companies via the Internet. An MSP is a “company that offers continuous outsourcing of an IT function - it monitors and fixes things proactively; and it does all this over the Internet, rather than having to work hands-on at a client’s office.”

“Outsourcing involves the transfer of the management and/or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider. The supplier acquires the production of people, assets and other resources from the client.” Business functions typically outsourced include IT, HR, facilities, call centers, accounting, manufacturing, engineering, document management and print services outsourcing.

“Offshoring is the transfer of an organizational function to another country, regardless of whether the work is outsourced or stays within the same corporation. With the globalization of outsourcing companies the distinction between outsourcing and offshoring will become less clear over-time.”

Finally, “Software as a service (SaaS) is a software application delivery model where a software vendor develops a web-native software application and hosts and operates the application for use by its customers over the Internet.  The term SaaS has become the industry preferred term, generally replacing ASP, On-Demand, and “Utility Computing”.  According to IDC,   SaaS is “network-based access to, and management of, commercially available (i.e., not custom) software managed via the web”.

As a Service provider or consumer do you define these services consistently and does it align to the definitions above?  The term “managed services” is the gray area.  It seems to mean different things to providers and consumers.  Service Providers of IT, document management and print services need to talk the same language. It has implications to services delivery, pricing, contracts, and your infrastructure.

A common question I get from clients is: “What are the trends in the Document Services and Print Services Market ? How do these impact High-tech and Communications firms?” Here is how I begin to answer the question:

• Document Services and Managed Print Services is an emerging growth market that compliments ITO, BPO, EPO (High-tech firms source these Services to address cost targets and improve Business/IT alignment)
• Selective Outsourcing is a trend for Document Services
  • Enables optimized cost savings, better delivery, better access to specialized skill set (Document and IT skills)
• Standardization of Print/Image technology, Services and Service Delivery Models
  • Enables improved level of service and cost reduction
• Innovation and Automation of Service Delivery (order, provision, deliver, monitor, metrics)
  • Provides consistent level of service and cost management
• Demand Management Strategies, Processes & Technologies are leveraged
  • Cost, resource and portfolio management, client satisfaction
• Enterprise Change Management for Print Services is prioritized
  • Optimizes time to implementation
• IT/Print metrics and dashboards for cost, service quality, performance, capacity planning & forecasting provided
• Optimization of Print Infrastructure (Managed Print Services) is typically the first step but Innovation and Business transformation is ultimate strategy
• Integration of Legacy Systems and with Partners/Alliances
  • Document Service Providers must support Multivendor Framework
  • Document Service Providers must Partner with other Service Providers
• Environmental and Sustainability growing in importance
  • Technology based Services provide less damaging alternatives
• Contract Flexibility, pay as you use, contractual productivity & guarantees are preferred
• New Business Models for Services evolving- SaaS and hosting used to lower investment in hardware, software, implementation, refresh etc

Good IT governance requires implementation of best practices in IT and Print Services Demand Management.  Print Services Providers must “shape the demand” by aligning Print Services that deliver business value, influence & modify end-user behavior, and provide a complete understanding of costs and trade-offs associated with Print Service consumption.

Some best practices to keep in mind include:

• Engage business stakeholders, aggregate and communicate their Services requests
• Provide a Print Catalogue of Services
• Provide transparency to print service costs and define a chargeback systems for end-users
• Automate workflow to manage the resources and print infrastructure capacity from ordering the service through the delivery of the service
• Provide information and a scorecard regarding level of service quality, costs, etc.  Define a template for the business case that evolves from current state to implementation, delivery, adoption, and retirement/replacement.  Very important to track the entire cycle.

Service Providers of Print Services like Xerox Global Services leverage their expertise in Print Services methodologies, processes, automation tools, and experience in this area of excellence to optimize business value for High-Tech and Communications clients.  Print Services are an opportunity to impact the enterprise, reduce costs, standardize service delivery models, standardize processes & technology, and deliver business value.

The High-tech and Communications sector for the most part have successfully optimized their IT infrastructure, yet continue to refine and expand their outsourcing strategy by sorting through appropriate applications to outsource.

Beyond BPO, EPO, they are now putting more emphasis on Document and Print Outsourcing.  Frequently lead by Workplace Services & IT, these companies are evaluating office print management services as well as internal/external print production management from creative services to multichannel electronic presentment and fulfillment.  These application outsourcing areas offer substantial business value by rationalizing the IT budget, continuing to support senior management direction to outsource, and optimizing service delivery to the dynamically changing employee workplace.

There is an increased preference in selective outsourcing to gain excellence in delivery, optimize cost & process improvements, and acquire specific skills.  Service providers should be Specialists in this domain.  Experts that understand the global, mobile employees document services requirements.  Providers should demonstrate knowledge in technology (print, copy, fax, scan), break fix services, document workflow, asset optimization & management, governance, and services delivery automation.  There must be increased attention to technologies that manage and measure service delivery. A multi-vendor environment must be supported.

Office print management services deals in High-tech and Communications sectors are asset intensive deals – it is not unusual to have 30,000 global print devices, but remote management will only take you so far, feet on the street is still needed.  The people, the skill set and specific knowledge to optimize service delivery and manage cost is critical to success.