I’ve been hearing about managed print services since before I left my post at CRN back in the middle of 2007, but I think the next 12 months will bring a breakthrough for this sector of the IT infrastructure.

Since I like to look ahead of me rather than behind me (the view is better), I thought I would update this blog from now until the end of the year with observations about things that are likely to dominate dialogues during the next 12 months. I have no particular order for these random bursts of opinion, other than the fact that it may have risen to the top of my notes and (therefore) my writing list.

First up is managed print services (MPS), not to be confused with managed service providers (MSPs).

I know many journalists like to make fun of the printer market, because for the longest time it was so decidely unsexy. But this is one of those topics that will seduce everyone next year.

The fact is, printers are sort of like the last mile in your IT infrastructure. IT departments and managers have been focused on driving costs out of their data centers or their desktop maintenance line items. But printers have kind of escaped this same scrutiny, partly because the procurement of them has been so decentralized in the past. Admit it, it’s a status symbol to have your OWN printer snugged away in your office.

Actually, not anymore.

What with the corporate sustainability movement and widespread corporate cost-cutting, printer contracts and all the related workflow applications associated with them — think archiving, collaboration applications, enterprise content management — these is an area RIPE for services.

If you’re in the printer business, you already know this of course. But if you are not, maybe it’s time to start considering how your own product might fit into the managed print mix. Or, whether or not there’s a managed service opportunity that could be built around your technology.

Here’s more information on managed print services strategy from an article I posted on TechTarget’s ChannelMarker blog.

I imbibe pretty much every research report that I can get my hands on these days, especially those pertaining to strategy in social media.

There’s a great piece from Forrester Research, from about one year ago actually, that I find really useful in helping think through the potential impact that a social media strategy could have when it comes to business-to-business relationships. The report is called “Making Social Media Work in B2B marketing,” and I suggest that channel managers consider this information not just from the point of view of the ultimate end-user customer but in how you should use social media to engage channel partners more meaningfully than may be possible through existing partner portals or partner relationship management systems.

From Forrester’s point of view, these are the objectives that should guide any B2B social media marketing plan:

• Listening: Sort of like live market research in which you can generate new ideas, prioritize programs that are already in place (or that you’re planning), send up trial balloons about new concepts you are considering or ask out-right for feedback.
• Talking: Create buzz for events, get in front of market influencers.
• Energizing: Share successes or encourage people to attend events.
• Spreading: Share best practices, gather contributions for customization or workflow, figure out appropriate service levels.
• Supporting: Create ways to help teach partners and other constituents; alternatively, create peer-to-peer discussion forums where questions and issues can be addressed quickly.
• Embracing: More formal outreach, such as online training or co-development that will help build skills around your products or services and make people feel good about wanting to use them or represent them.

Of course, you may choose to focus on just one of these elements, depending on your priorities. But rather than getting all hung up on whether to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or whatever other tool springs to mind, think first of where you need the most help when it comes to the things listed above and then make your decision.