Hardware, New Services, Stock pricing, Work from Anywhere

This week we examine hardware, new services, stock pricing, the Work from Anywhere Movement, and how office technology has impacted and been changed by more people working physically away from a centralized location.

Everything from the mundane: HP Inc. And Xerox stock prices.  

To the adjacent: Nissan offering low-mileage leases. 

To the abstract: Microsoft partners with Meta but doesn’t have a business model.

“O Brother, where art thou?”

Brother is the latest to get involved with a subscription-based ‘print management' service.  The flat rate model has been around for almost a decade but shouldn’t be considered managed print services when it only manages hardware and supplies. Kudos to Brother, but as Pat once said, “…little too little, little too late…”

HP Inc. and Xerox are making waves on the street and HP Enterprise is flexing its pricing muscles.

The Office “isn’t what it used to be…” –

Some of us know that working from anywhere is more productive. Much more.  Others are finding working from home is also less expensive and still, some say that working out of the house will fight inflation.  Not sure where that is coming from but about not commuting, one auto company is proposing different leases on ‘select models’ all because of the work-from-home movement.  Another gift of Covid.

Well, employees aren’t the only ones figuring out the financial implications of working off-site, employers are starting to kick around the idea of compensating differently for in-office versus remote.  Watch out.

Indeed, a new phenomenon called “Productivity theater” is permeating the work-from-home world.  Uncertainty is forcing workers to show that they are working – which is not the same as doing actual work.  The theatrics of frequently updating Slack or moving the mouse are just two actions that ‘show’ engagement.  This is just another game committed to a process instead of outcomes.  This too shall pass.

Securing the remote worker is a big issue and one that will keep growing.  Now IT assets are flung to all corners of the globe and under the protection of run-of-the-mill end-users; truly an IT nightmare.  Can Cloud Access Security Brokers be the answer?

“Meta This” -

For all the talk about the pseudo world of a Meta-Verse, Mark’s promises are outrunning reality. Regardless, Microsoft and Accenture are partnering with Meta to bring something to market – they just haven’t come up with a business model yet.

This week the Internet Relay Chat includes HP and Xerox stock performance, software behaving badly, some of the myths surrounding workflow, artificial intelligence, the importance of the Office, on the stock, and whether ET starts a War among us humans.

Another week, another five rotations.