HPE Tells Us to Increase Prices and Xerox Expectations Rise

This week we examine hardware, new services, stock pricing, the Work from Anywhere Movement, and how office technology has impacted and changed as we work 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 subscription-based ‘print management’.  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.  Frequently updating Slack, or moving the mouse, 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 will ET start a War among us humans?

Another week, another five rotations.

It’s a great week, go sell something!

Remote work boosts productivity and helps fight inflation 

Remote working reduces wage growth, which influences inflation and increases productivity.

“…after evaluating over 105 million data points from 30,000 U.S.-based Prodoscore users, we discovered a five percent increase in productivity during the pandemic work-from-home period.” More evidence that office technology is not strictly in an ‘office’

Remote workers are wasting their time proving they’re actually working

In a new study by Microsoft, nearly 90 percent of office workers reported being productive at work, and objective measures — increased hours worked, meetings taken, and amount and quality of work completed — prove them out. Meanwhile, 85 percent of bosses say hybrid work makes it hard to be confident that employees are being productive.

Brother Value Subscription Program – 

Jumping on the flat rate bandwagon, Brother is rolling out a subscription program.  The program is a bundled hardware and supplies agreement with built-in flexibility.  Calling this an “easy print-managed solution” is more marketing than reality, but it is an effort to recognize the shift in demand.

HPE CEO: Why ‘We Are The Market Leader Of Raising Prices’

HPE tells the channel it is time to raise prices as inflation and demand continue to climb. No surprises here the price of everything is going up, why should IT services be any different?

Rethinking Your Pay Model in a New Era of Remote and Hybrid Work

About 77 percent of the estimated 60 million remote-capable jobs in the U.S. are expected to be performed remotely, but how or should you implement different compensation based on location?  

This is a sticky question with social and legal implications still developing.

Working From Home? Nissan Launches Low-Mileage Leases

Most car leases have mileage limits. Nissan’s new SignatureFLEX lease program has an exceptionally low mileage limit – just 5,000 miles per year. Customers can add more for a rate lower than the typical penalty they pay for going over their mileage.

Securing a Mobile Workforce in a Hyper-Connected World

Because of the gap in security between cloud providers and cloud users, many organizations are turning to Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) for solutions.

Could this be another offer waiting in the wings?

The Internet Relay Chat – News & Fun to Go

• JPMorgan Raises Price Target for Xerox – from $14.00 to $16.00.
• HP Inc. stock outperforms competitors – it really does, but the competition isn’t that much
• Is The Office More Important Now Than Ever Before? Watch this, it is worth the 4:34.
• A new malware called Chaos is spreading – new and rampant, just another day

Workflow Automation: Facts vs. Myths – good stuff with real-world applications