Post-ed

  • European Headlines: How to Become a Creature of Habit One Security Setting at a Time
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Your actions can set a great example for your customers. No doubt, we are all creatures of habit. Volumes have been written about how to build a habit and break a habit, and we are pretty good at both. Just remember the most recent New Year’s Eve. It’s a tradition (which, simplified speaking, is a
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  • European Headlines: Help Me to Help You
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    “What’s in your portfolio for me?” asked the customer before moving on to the next dealership. The educated customer is on the rise, and their expectations are higher than ever. The magic word to meet these expectations seems to be “diversification,” followed by “acquisition,” “merger,” “outsourcing,” and “networking.” But how do you know what your
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  • European Headlines: Misty Watercolor Memories of the Way We Were
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Can we make 2022 the year of change? What a ride. Eighteen months of radical change. While putting the words for this end-of-year column together, I’m in Vienna, Austria, and all unvaccinated adults have been put into strict lockdown while the rest of us are trying to safeguard our sanity. Recently I have experienced significantly
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  • IT Tuesdays: I Wouldn’t Use That Password If I Were You!
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Because it’s that time of the year where we spend a lot of time online, I just couldn’t resist sharing another security reminder on password protection. Please don’t be proud if you find your password on the following crazy best-of-list compiled by NordPass, a password management software company. (The number of users below reflect the U.S.
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  • EUROPEAN HEADLINES: TIME FOR CHANGE
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Have we really changed, or is digital transformation still happening in a parallel world? COVID-19 has brought changes to the office world we could have only dreamt of 18 months ago. It has served up quite some new challenges, too. Physical office presence in many companies across the globe has been reduced to a minimum;
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  • European Headlines: How to Become a Production-print Champion
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    You’ve got two options, and one requires a little help from a friend. Selling a printer is one thing. Selling a printer as part of a managed print services program is another thing. However, selling a production printer is a whole different thing. If you have been in the industry for a few years, say
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  • Virtual Panel Series: Certain Women
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The women of The Cannata Report share candid observations about being part of the office imaging industry. Diversity is a huge part of the culture of The Cannata Report. We pride ourselves in a diverse staff within all segments of our organization. In an industry that remains male dominated, nearly half of our team are women. We thought
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  • European Headlines: on the Road Again… a Little Bit
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Time to turn 16 months of screen time into face-to-face time. “On the road againJust can’t wait to get on the road again…” Willie Nelson Oh, this is so exciting. Things are bouncing back. Even here! Ah, you don’t get my excitement. I am on the other side of the pond, over here in Europe—to be precise, in Germany. We are just about to partially lift the lockdown and get a
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  • The Art of Communications and Marketing
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Don’t expect one size to fit all. It is confusing to be confronted by all those marketing communication buzzwords and strategies. Preparing for this article, I made a list of the most common slogans floating around, initially thinking I could scratch the surface of some and maybe lure you into thinking a bit more about
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  • European Headlines | Google Print: Did IT Ever Really Matter?
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The end is near. Come December 31, 2021, it’s “hasta la vista” Google Cloud Print. Actually, it’s more like “auf nimmerwiedersehen”—until we never meet again. Having monitored IT and printing news since I first picked up on this—i.e., paid closer attention to it in early February 2021—I’m still waiting for the big drama reports. Every
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  • European Headlines | Bridging the Gap: when Printing Meets Printing
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    As business changes and new opportunities arise, explore new ways to capture profitable deals. We saw a lot of “bad” things happen in 2020, but there were also some good things that happened for the business-savvy among us, namely in production printing. For the longest time, printing was divided into two teams, office imaging and production/transactional printing.
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  • European Headlines: the Workflow Challenge
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    You can’t fix what’s broken if you don’t fully understand your customers’ processes. These days, you don’t have to hunt for interesting, industry-challenging topics; it’s more like you must pick and choose. One dominating issue of the past year, and most likely in 2021, is how work gets done—moreover, how a modern workplace works for the
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  • European Headlines: a Lesson of Culture, Leadership, and Change
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Japan’s government makes a digital move. I’ve always looked to Japan as a country of culture, tradition, and technology. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ricoh in Holland and Germany. The lessons of culture and leadership I’ve learned during these days—priceless. Recently, I stumbled upon the news that in Japan, the government is phasing out fax
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  • European Headlines: the Future of Tech Support
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Despite automated alternatives, there still ain’t nothing like the real thing. Hello, Tech Support speaking, how can I help? And from this point forward, we expect a conversation with a human being, and, depending on the issue, an appointment with a person. Or so we thought up to now. A few things have changed over the past decade
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  • European Headlines: Screen Grab
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    How good are your virtual relationship skills? No doubt, the past six months have drastically challenged the way we establish, build, and maintain business relationships. For many of us, WFO (work-from-home) and online meetings have been the norm for many years, but for the majority of knowledge workers, it became the new normal overnight. All of us, however, had to
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  • European Headlines: Together Forever for the Future
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Shouldn’t we be doing more to promote the possibilities of print and the printing industry to the next generation? Back in the old days—more than six, seven hundred years ago—when the average person needed to read a document (usually something very official, say from the government to a merchant), they didn’t have the education to read, so they turned to a scribe. If you lived
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  • Business As Unusual: What Happens to Managed Print Services when Printing Goes Home?
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Over the past few weeks, more and more articles have found their way into my inbox talking about increased home office printer sales, fax machines being the bottleneck in the healthcare industry, and cybersecurity posing a significant threat to the work-from-home teams. As you can imagine, my alarm bells are ringing 24/7, and a catalog
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  • European Headlines | Production Printing: an Industry Excelling Through Innovation
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The pandemic has underscored the true potential of production print. The printing industry has transformed itself into a hotbed of innovation. If that sounds like a joke, you haven’t paid much attention to the past three months (and most likely even longer). What caused significant disruption to our lives, has “forced” others to speed up
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  • European Headlines: Learning Curves
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The current crisis is bringing to light disparities that will impact tomorrow’s workforce. Things were going reasonably well for the next generation(s), at least until a few weeks ago, when the coronavirus pandemic caused significant disruptions to education worldwide. Physical classrooms were suspended, and home-schooling became the new normal. If you had asked me what’s
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  • European Headlines: No Time for Digital Novices
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Embrace survival strategies beyond coronavirus. The first time I heard the coronavirus alarm bells go off was around mid-January while spending a couple of days in Munich to celebrate my dad’s 91st birthday. We talked about how fast it seemed to be spreading and what to do to protect ourselves. A couple of days later, I headed back to London,
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  • European Headlines: Mad About Diversification
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    There are many good reasons to diversify and less not to. When I hear the word diversification, I think finance, portfolio, spreading money across a variety of investment opportunities to make, well, more money. If diversification works for money, why not make it work for something like the office imaging industry? Spread your offerings across
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  • European Headlines: You Say Secure Printing, I Say Secure Printing
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Understanding the two meanings to “secure printing.” Not only am I living on each side of the pond for a couple of months at a time every year, I also work on both sides of the printing industry: office imaging and digital (transactional/production) printing. This means, naturally, I’m used to how Brits use certain words, and how
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  • European Headlines: Sustainability – a Modern-day Myth
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    It’s possible and necessary, but somewhat complicated. Let’s start this column the very German “Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen” way, coming to the point without any further ado: You say your office, printing, document, workflow processes are sustainable; I say no, they are not. There you have it. Very rude, I know. So, let’s
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  • European Headlines: Reflections, Readiness, Retirement
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    These trends will shape the worldwide imaging industry in 2020. It’s getting dark earlier these days, and this means it’s time to reflect on another year of managed print services and ponder what will be next for the office imaging industry. This is, roughly guessing, the fifth attempt to get this column written. All thanks
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  • European Headlines: MPS Visionary Armin Alt
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The perform IT Expert on the Future of Managed Print Services I still remember when I met Armin Alt for the first time a couple of years ago during a Photizo Transform conference in London. I got a quick product demo of MySalesDrive and then filed his product away under “Managed Print Services,” tagged “Assessment
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  • European Headlines | Workflow Demystified
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    A practical example of how to better understand office workflow. Everybody talks about workflow. You have to have one; you have to document it; you have to improve it continuously; no workflow, no profit; and so on. Let’s step back for a moment and ponder a bit on the term “workflow” so we can fully
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  • European Headlines: You Bet Your Assessment
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Staying Relevant in a Changing Production Print World “Change is the new constant,” is probably the best phrase to describe our fast-paced personal and business lives. Experts keep telling us print is dead, and in a traditional sense, they certainly have a point, especially regarding office printing. Other branches of the printing industry, namely production
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  • European Headlines: Channeling Thought Leadership
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    In an exclusive interview, European office printing visionary Edwin Jongsma advises dealers on positioning themselves for future success. There’s no better way to get a clear picture of a distant country’s managed print services landscape than to talk to someone who helped shape that industry. A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of
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  • European Headlines: Not Without a Trace
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    True Crime: Inside Information from the Imaging Industry In 1934, forensic scientist Dr. Edmond Locard wrote, “Toute action de l’homme, et a fortiori, l’action violente qu’est un crime, ne peut pas se derouler sans laisser quelque marque,” or translated from the French to good, old English, “Any action of an individual, and obviously the violent
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  • European Headlines: the Next Phase of Imaging
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    My future home is a personalized print come true. Above: Textile printing in home furnishings and accessories as showcased at EFI Connect I am not too fond of off-the-shelf, mass-produced things. I love the individual touch. For many day-to-day objects, this isn’t possible, and in many cases, I understand why. However, with technology advancing, more opportunities
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  • European Headlines: Print 4.0 – Don’t Let Our Culture Die
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Print may be on the decline in some segments, but the future is bright in others. Let me start this column with an anecdote. Officially, the culture of printing dates back to at least 3,500 BCE. Being bold, you may even go back to the days when our ancestors colored their palms to leave hand-prints
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  • European Headlines: Tomorrow’s Dealer
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The impact of existing and emerging technologies on the next generation of dealers. Let me start this column with an anecdote. As we all do, I recently downloaded a report from a dealership’s website. Of course, to download this report, I had to leave my contact details. As expected, a follow-up email from a sales
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  • European Headlines: Keeping Up with the Data
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Europe’s GDPR Impacts All Businesses Conducting Business in Europe No Matter Where They Call Home May 25, 2018″”D-Day for data protection. Or so it felt. In reality, this day only marked the start of the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation, better known as GDPR. Twenty-eight European countries had agreed many years ago to
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  • European Headlines: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    The Impact of 2018 Trends, from Mega Deals to the Generation Shift in 2019 Is it really the time of the year again to look back at the year that was? Let’s start with a brief recap of 2018, and then consider what 2019 may bring to the imaging industry. Mega deals. A big one
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  • European Headlines: Security Sensitivity
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    That Mysterious Connection Between Everything, Your Personal Data, and Security Earlier this year Europe was hit by a massive panic wave. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was going live and was about to be enforced. Predictably, companies, individuals, and governments alike overreacted as if they were hit by this legislation overnight, had no time to
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  • European Headlines: Cartridge Confusion
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Shopping the aftermarket for something remanufactured, something compatible, something original, or something fake. Pretty much all customers want to strike a bargain when it comes to spending money on their printing. They ask for the best possible device price, only want to agree to the lowest possible extended warranty fee, and services will only be
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  • European Headlines | the Other Dimension of Print: Production Imaging
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    Challenges within European Production Print Market Remain Despite Imaging Industry Evolution When I dipped my toes into the vast sea of printing more than two decades ago, names such as Nipson, Siemens Nixdorf, Xerox, Scitex, and HP dominated the production print market. We traveled to their sites in Namur, Poing, and Dusseldorf, as if to
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  • European Headlines: How to Become a Production-print Champion
    by PD via The Cannata Report
    You’ve got two options, and one requires a little help from a friend. Selling a printer is one thing. Selling a printer as part of a managed print services program is another thing. However, selling a production printer is a whole different thing. If you have been in the industry for a few years, say
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  • The artificial friendship that was not meant to be – Alexa & me
    by PD
    I was ready for a new friend. There was this “void”, this empty space on the shelves and I had the feeling it was time to get a new friend in. Maybe an artificial one for a change? Can I have an artificial friend, please? And then she arrived. In this modest, neutral brown box. But
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  • Mobile printing – The other way round
    by PD
    Don’t you love these moments of your day when the latest newsletters come into your inbox? You’re totally excited about a headline, Like “XYZ to set another milestone in mobile printing”. Overly excited you click on the link and what do you see? A BOX. Admittedly in a new color, a new design, and with
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  • True or false: OEMs and Managed Print Innovation
    by PD
    via Print Audit / West McDonald, Vice President of Business Development, Print Audit & Owner, FocusMP and Petra Diener, CEO 3 Across The Sea Print Audit has brought together 7 of the leading women in the office equipment and Managed Print industry to bring insight and expertise to a channel undergoing great change.  We call them
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  • Confessions of a digital immigrant
    by PD
    or why Millennials are only same same but different. I got confused with all that GenX, Y, Z, Millennial talk. Emotions and thoughts are all over the place, with the who is who, who is what and why and why not. So I did some research, and now it’s clear: I’m born in the wrong
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  • LinkedIn doesn’t work for me.
    by PD
    I can’t recall how often I have heard this sentence over the past couple of months, maybe even years: “LinkedIn doesn’t work for me. I have created a profile; I’m following and liking stuff; but nothing.” Sure it doesn’t work for you. It’s just a XaaS, something as a service, or as some might call
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  • The Things Fairy Tales Are Made of: Customer Relationship Management
    by PD
    Once upon a time, there was a young business woman travelling the world in search of customer relationship management… Oh, let’s cut that and get straight into it. What is customer relationship management? So what’s this thing, called customer relationship management? And I don’t mean the software package many companies have installed these days. I
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  • Itchy feet, hiking on the digital path, and no paperless life
    by PD
    How many times is it now you are moving house, and country? Why are you joining the digital transformation movement? What’s the motivation for your going paperless? Are you concerned about your carbon footprint? Are you one of those super eco-heroes? I could continue the list of questions you can ask why someone is taking
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  • Data Protection, Data Privacy and the art of thinking before sharing
    by PD
    Your data’s best enemy: a sleeping consciousness. Data Protection, Data Privacy and the art of thinking before sharing. It’s part of my job to scan publications online and offline on a daily basis. One of the keywords on my radar: Data protection, and very often the connected one Data Privacy. Some of the articles are
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  • Marketing, Communication, Market Research, and Events
    by PD
    3 Across The Sea® offers marketing, communication, market research services, and event management no matter where you are. Whether you are looking to build and grow your online community, or for a new marketing strategy, a new website, a business gateway, we at 3 Across The Sea are here for you. Some of the services
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  • Talent Development & Coaching
    by PD
    One of the core offerings at 3 Across The Sea® is Talent Development & Coaching. Talent Development: Based on the business, its culture, defined objectives and strategy finding the right talent can be a real challenge. Developing and retaining talent will drive business and reduce costs, however, the “attractive” bonus package doesn’t cut it anymore. We specialize in: Talent Sourcing
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  • Strategy, Business and Financial Development
    by PD
    The Business and Financial Development team offers our customers strategic, financial development, and management advice, working with established and startup businesses including the following core services: Evaluation of ventures and (startup) businesses.Using our wealth of experience in international business we can make fast assessments of your business plans and models. We can both inform and advise
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  • The Artist’s Corner
    by PD
    The Artist’s Corner at 3 Across The Sea® – live the talent you are. A major part of our history is rooted in drama, film, music, and the fine arts: Talent management, drama training, acting, directing, unit management, production management – we’ve done it all, we’ve been there ourselves. And because we’ve been there, and still are
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