Innovation: No Guarantee of Success

When Lexmark released its first multifunction printers, it was aiming to elevate the role of the workplace printer to document-management hub. It seemed like a great idea; why have two machines side by side that perform many of the same functions? Consolidating copiers and printers would save space and money.

That was the message delivered by Paul Rooke, executive vice president at Lexmark and president of the Printing Solutions and Services Division, as he announced a new managed-service initiative at the VARBusiness XChange Technology Innovator conference last month in Huntington Beach, Calif. As the first MFPs worked their way into office settings, they would sit next to conventional copiers. But people continued to use the copiers for copying and the printers for computer output. Why? Because the MFP didn't have the traditional green start button that most photocopiers do.

"People didn't want to take the time to use technology that's unfamiliar to them," Rooke told the audience.

Lexmark's experience was no surprise to Marc Baker of CompuPro, a Mountain View, Ark.-based solution provider that serves rural local governments. CompuPro had been serving a small police department that was still using dial-up and telnet connections. Despite the availability of Windows-based applications and high-speed Internet connections, department employees didn't want to give up systems that they were familiar and comfortable with.

Innovation had nothing to do with changing the mind-set of Baker's client; obsolescence did. The DOS-based systems finally broke down beyond repair, and the police department was forced to update its technology. Now the entire township is embracing modernization.

Everyone clamors for innovation as a driver of new opportunities, better solutions and differentiation from competitors. But innovation for innovation's sake does no good for anyone. And innovative solutions, no matter how good they are, take time to gain acceptance among users.

The federal government continues to get better at asking for solutions rather than point products. States are rapidly evolving their IT infrastructures to reap the benefits of new technology. And while cash-strapped local governments may take longer to adopt new technologies, they'll have to follow their federal and state counterparts to maintain the lines of communication.

VARs need to do more than deliver innovative solutions. They also need to educate customers on the value of those solutions. Changing users' habits takes time, but the door to opportunity will open once they get the message.