Nice blog! I wish there were more posts, though...!

On the questions / comments about vertical markets and specific business process focus, Xerox Global Services targets seven industries: Financial Services, Healthcare, High Tech & Communications, Legal, Manufacturing & Energy, Public Sector and Retail & Consumer Goods. This is in addition to Xerox’s extensive support for the Graphic Communication industry. We combine our technology and services, along with third-party elements to help customers improve their business processes. Some examples include:
• Streamlining / shortening the new account opening process for a major brokerage firm. By leveraging the scanning capability of our MFDs in their branch offices to automatically send the documents to our Document Imaging Center, we were able to reduce the time it takes to open a new account down to one day.
• Creating a marketing support program for a manufacturer of building materials. By enabling their distributors and contractors to order customized marketing materials over the Web (printed on Xerox color printers), this customer is able to provide an added benefit to their customers, resulting in higher sales for all parties involved.
• Improving the pre- and post-enrollment processes for health insurance companies. By helping these insurers redesign their enrollment-related documents and go to a personalized / print on demand process, we improved the effectiveness of their communications resulting in higher renewal rates.

These are just a few of the many examples of how Xerox Global Services is helping our customers not only cut cost, but more importantly, grow their revenue and improve their customers’ experience.

Depending on the situation, we may partner with companies like IBM / EDS, or compete. We believe our expertise in the document domain, Lean Six Sigma methodologies, and the utilization of Smarter Document Management technologies sets us apart in the marketplace.

Bill Hard, Vice President, Services Marketing

It is great having so many of you live in New York as well as virtually here on the blog.

John Windle touched on the topic of color in his post, asking how Xerox will continue to speed the growth of color. There’s a range of things we’re doing to make color a growth engine both for Xerox and our customers. Of course, we start with a great, complete, product line, industry-leading workflow software and years of head start on the competition. But beyond that we are adding an increased focus on new color applications like personalized direct mail, photo books, promotional statements ... even greeting cards. These add up to more than 70 billion pages of opportunity. That's a lot of color. It's all enabled by workflow solutions, software and partnerships with companies such as Adobe, XMPie, and Exstream, to name just a few of our more than 140 partners. Color services like design and communications services also play a key role.

I know that the competition also sees this opportunity and is going to raise their game, but we will play aggressively from a strong starting position.

Jim Firestone

President, Xerox North America

We are familiar with the FSC and are currently investigating its certification process. Xerox issued a new set of environmental, health and safety requirements for companies that provide paper to Xerox for resale in 2003. The requirements were in line with our ongoing commitment to environmental protection. As one of the largest brands of cut-sheet paper in the world, Xerox recognizes its obligation to ensure the responsible management of forests that provide raw materials for the production of paper. Advancing the practice of sustainable forest management among Xerox paper suppliers is an important component of Xerox's own commitment to environmental protection.

Details about our efforts can be found in our Environment Health and Safety Report available at www.xerox.com/environment Xerox continues to pursue efforts to expand its environmental leadership including offering multipurpose papers with up to 100 percent post-consumer recycled content. And our transparencies, tabs, colored papers, and several premium products designed for digital color printing applications contain 20-30 percent recycled content.

Steve Simpson

VP/GM Paper & Supplies Business Unit

Joe, thanks for your comment. We do have a blog that covers the graphic communications industry: www.inthebalanceblog.com. We started it prior to IPEX. Feel free to post your thoughts or comments. Thanks! Tom Wetjen, VP Graphic Arts Industry Business, PSG Marketing

The Big Guys - IBM and its competitors - in the IT sysstems aned services business - are subsuming document management into their businesses, partly as Information Management, partly as the move to transform businensses by Business Process Management. How will Xerox respond to this challenge? Will you spedializem partner, or grow up?

At today's Analysts Briefing in NYC, Xerox talked about increased color pages and revenue growth in Q2, but also of competition "heating up" in the second half. What do you see as key success factors for you to continue the increase or even speed up the color growth in the face of this heated up competitive landscape

John Windle, State Street Consultants, at the Analysts' Briefing

On the question about Xerox’s Dealer Channel, Xerox needs to look at the full range of distribution strategies designed to serve the SMB market. There are three main components to this strategy: Expand our agent channel. Expand IT resellers, which includes dealers. And, expand our involvement with independent dealers.

Xerox Corporation will continue with its interest in the Dealer Channel, which represents BTA or Independent Dealers and Xerox Agent/Dealers. We look forward to the continued expansion of the Dealer program and the selection of key products for the Dealer Channel in the near term and future.

Edmund Guerrero, Vice President, Xerox North American Dealer Channel

Xerox/Xerox Global Services has obvious extensive "T" knowledge and skilles as it relates to documents and document services, but buyers increasinly need help with document services as it relates to specific business processes (e.g., pharma R&D, energy support services, complex manufacturing). What are the additional business specific markets and/or industry segments that XGS/XBS is targeting and how will it translate its document knowledge into business knowledge and innovation to solve specific business problems. Litigation is an obvious example of this, what's next? Also, how will Xerox compete in this space against, for example, IBM with its combined business and IT services and document/imaging software offerings.

The Big Guys - IBM and its competitors - in the IT sysstems aned services business - are subsuming document management into their businesses, partly as Information Management, partly as the move to transform businensses by Business Process Management. How will Xerox respond to this challenge? Will you spedializem partner, or grow up?

Joe, thanks for your comment. We do have a blog that covers the graphic communications industry: www.inthebalanceblog.com. We started it prior to IPEX. Feel free to post your thoughts or comments. Thanks! Tom Wetjen, VP Graphic Arts Industry Business, PSG Marketing

How is globalization impacting your business as you head into 2007?

In a business environment of globalization we are seeing organizations expanding their services with both prepackaged, off the shelf offerings as well as custom services. What is Xerox doing to capitalize on the growing demand for services. How scalable is this business for Xerox. Does it offer a sustainable competitive advantage for Xerox?

Being services-led sounds attractive when hardware is commoditized or showing flat growth, but now even IBM, the gold standard in services, seems to have shifted its focus elsewhere (software), a hint that services too has its challenges. So, what then are the key goals of hardcopy vendors like Xerox, IKON, HP, Ricoh, Pitney Bowes, Standard Register, etc. who are striving to be services-led? What measurable financial gains are being achieved? What specific structure is in place to ensure employees do not have 2 masters - hardware/toner/break-fix versus value-add services? It would be great to hear from Xerox if/how they are leading the pack in vision, execution and results as it relates to value-add services.

Most successful services led initiatives are built upon close relationships with clients and deep vertical market knowledge. Can you provide some examples of how Xerox is deploying a services led sales model and how it relates to customer and vertical market knowledge?

On the question about search engine marketing, Xerox has indeed seen that our customers and prospects are relying more and more on search engines to find what they’re looking for. In response, we are putting more emphasis on Search Marketing – both organic and paid – in our marketing mix worldwide. In fact, we’re increasing our reliance on online marketing pretty much across the firm. We manage this in several places within Xerox, but the primary activity is within our Global Accounts and Marketing Operations (GAMO) group. As we’re developing these practices we’re seeing better and better results, but unfortunately aren’t in a position to share specific ROI measures or operational details. If you’d be interested in delving into this topic more, we would be happy to arrange a follow-up conversation at or after our Industry Analysts Briefing in New York this week. Thanks for bringing attention to what we agree is an important part of innovation on the marketing front.

Duane Schulz

Vice President, Xerox Internet Marketing

It’s great to see the conversation getting started. Tom Dolan and I will try to touch on as many of these topics as we can on Thursday in New York. The format will change for the “Live Forum” during our kick-off presentation – which you’ll be able to link to from this main page. We’re going to beg for forgiveness if we goof up on some terminology - "blog vs. forum" or "post vs. comment." So hang in there and keep posting, commenting, communicating and whatever else it is that we’re doing.

I like Andy Tribute’s observation about Big I, little t in the printing industry and graphic communications. And I totally disagree, at least as far as the importance of Big I is concerned. All the technology in the world doesn’t mean a thing unless it adds value to the information it produces. Printers can profit more by focusing on Information that is more customized and colorful. Sure, technology enables that, but it’s the Information that needs to be made more valuable. Information trumps technology every time. I do agree, however, with the point that Xerox needs to be a technology provider that enables our customers to focus on the Big I. And our whole corporate strategy is to do just that.

We’ll pull out some of the juicier topics and open new "threads" (or "themes" ?) of discussion. Whatever they’re called, it should be interesting...

If you’re having any trouble using this blog, or want to make a suggestion on how to make it more useful, send an email to info@bigilittletblog.com, and we’ll try to fix it. Looking forward to seeing many of you later this week in New York, as well as reading and responding to your questions and thoughts here.

Jim Firestone

President, Xerox North America

I want to add my welcome to Jim Firestone's and look forward to the briefing in NYC. This blog thing is new to me, and we don't have it all figured out yet, but we're going to give it a shot. Thought I'd take a crack at one of Brian Bissett's easier questions right now (saving the tougher ones for on site). Regarding the growing consolidation and acquisition in software and services, we have been actively looking for appropriate acquisition targets around the globe. Amici LLC is the most recent example, allowing us to expand our offerings in litigation services. We believe that companies that specialize in certain areas of document management, particularly those with a vertical market focus, could be attractive candidates. A number of the competitive acquisitions that have taken place are quite large and we are being cautious about pursuing the right size company that can truly complement our strategy.

Tom Dolan
President, Xerox Global Services

Copier manufacturers are stepping up their dealer acquisition efforts to protect their MIF as well as hedge against their local dealer being acquired by another manufacturer. The results are more manufacturer's influence in the market. What is Xerox's strategy to combat Ricoh's, Canon's, Toshiba's, now Sharp"s and Konica Minolta's influence with Xerox customers?

I appreciate the emphasis on Big I and little T, which in the information technology and document production areas may be the correct approach. Within the graphic arts market however I still believe that it is more Big T and little I. Because of the very low level of margins and significant over capacity which forces prices down, technology is very important. Technology allows printers to reduce staffing levels for very lean manufacturing. It allows work to be turned around very quickly to satisfy the customer's demands. It allows for cost reduction while maintaining margins, and it allows for advanced communications solutions to enhance client relations. Technology also allows printers to open up new areas of business to differentiate themselves from other printers that are competing more on cost for the available work. Within the printing industry the eventual aim is to move towards "lights out" production, where advanced workflow and color technology allows for deskilling and totally automating operations.

Putting the I in front of T in terms of importance is ideal where I is the lifeblood of the business. In service industries however the T is more important than the I if that service industry is to provide the best service for those organizations where I is the most significant factor.

Today if one does not keep ahead with the technology, then information will not be the key factor for many organizations. Xerox is not an information company, it is a technology company that services the information industry. It is being challenged in technology from the Far East and has to maintain its leading position if it is not to be overtaken. For Xerox's customers I may be more important than T, but if Xerox is to have a positive future it must realize that for its well being T is more important than I.

This seems to be a website with something like a guest book feature and not a real blog. Could you provide us with a real interactive plattform?

XEROX are innovative in a number of strategic areas but we note that XEROX use SEM as a part of the markeing mix and advertise with Google, Yahoo etc as part of Paid Search Marketing campaigns.

Who is responsible in XEROX for Global management of this form of advertising, what are the XEROX experiences of this form of advertising and the ROI indicators?

Here are some questions I have heading into the briefing:

1. What does Xerox have to show for its services push after three years, espeically in the office? What is the growth trajectory for Global Services?

2. How does a recent and growing stream of consolidation and acquisitions in software and services by companies like HP, IBM and others affect Xerox's market?

3. How will Xerox finally increase its distribution in order to reach new markets, particularly SMB?

4. How does Xerox intend to keep up the progress of the past 1-3 years in color when others are making strong headway?

5. What is the “big picture” in terms of strategy and messaging for 2007?

What new FSC certified paper products will Xerox be offering to customers?

Will there be a Xerox blog for the printing industry?