What’s New with the CompTIA MPS Community?
As sleet and snow covered the ground in St. Louis, a list of industry who’s who trickled in to break bread by a warm fire. CompTIA’s call to action last year was answered, and continued progress is a telltale sign of both the aggressive focus of those involved but also of the thirst within this industry for advancement of managed print services.
A common cause?
Yes, as history has demonstrated, a common cause unites all interested parties. With topics like training, certification for individuals and credentialing for organizations topping the list CompTIA is the latest organization to make a show of force in MPS.
As hundreds of flights were cancelled in severe snow advisory, a cadre of names from OEM, supplies, software, education and information providers hunkered down and pressed hard to answer two over-arching questions:
- How can this industry best serve MPS providers?
- How can this industry raise customer awareness about MPS and ensure end-user customers are educated about how to match expectations to provider expertise?
Given CompTIA’s IT centric background and focus around promoting best practices and certifications within the IT community, it would be easy to make lump CompTIA in a certain bucket, but I have been interested in seeing this community listen to lessons learned from other, more mature communities within CompTIA while ensuring the essence and soul of our own industry is well represented.
What does it all mean?
From where I sit, working within a firm centered around the analysis of MPS, having sat on the board of the Managed Print Servies Association (MPSA), currently serving on the MPSA Standards & Best Practices Committee and having lived in most positions in the MPS value chain over the last decade I am honestly still trying to wrap my head around both implications and especially long term outcomes of all of this movement.
Experience tells me this is good. Having so many forces beginning to really engage in a much more directed evolution of this industry is a sure sign of a market that will be around for years to come. But as the MPSA works hard to shift into second gear, my question had been how quickly can CompTIA move to meet the industry demands while not sacrificing quality?
While I remain encouraged in general, yesterday’s session demonstrated that progress will come by conquering milestones and not mountains. This may disappoint some, and others will be hesitant to invest their own energy and resources without knowing exactly what they can receive in return.
With the snow storm abating here in St. Louis, travelers feel confident they will arrive at their destination. As I watch the last bit of snow falling outside, perhaps a meaningful parallel can be drawn where thoughtful and willing leaders are willing to sacrifice time and energy for a longer term return on investment.
Ken Stewart offers observations from the field of managed print services in his weekly column on MPS Insights every Wednesday. As a client advisor with the Photizo Group, he comes from and works directly with channel providers in the managed services space, developing educational tools and resources to promote lasting business transformation.
Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Get the latest industry news, and follow ChangeForge on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
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