Network News Volume 34 No.4
Welcome to this second on-line edition of the Service Industry Association newsletter. Please let us know what you think of the contents by sending an e-mail to the editor.
Service Industry Association - New Name, New Vision, for the New Millennium by: Claudia J. Betzner
Independent Service Network International (ISNI) has changed its name to Service Industry Association. The name reflects the direction the Board of Directors has mapped out over the last year with the redefining of its vision, mission and value-adding services. Service Industry Association reflects a broader scope to include all servicers of high technology equipment - ISOs, OEMs, end-users, in-house, self servicers - even professional services and vendors who share our vision of a perfect service world where there is access to parts, diagnostics and, training. According to Steve Davies, who chaired the task force charged with renaming the organization, "Our Board recognized that to remain a vital organization, attuned with the evolving service and technology industries and the markets we serve, it was essential that a major metamorphosis occur. Our new mission statement reflects the direction we are moving in and the goals we are striving to achieve." The mission statement is, To enhance the high technology service industry by promoting an open environment of interdependence and cooperation between manufacturers, independent servicers and users by providing value-adding solutions. Continued Mr. Davies, "Paramount to our new mission is the fostering of interdependence via greater communications, networking and ‘partnering’ among all segments of our membership - manufacturers and service providers, service providers and end-users, manufacturers and end-users. We believe that, through enhanced cooperation and dialogue, greater benefits in terms of productivity, profitability and growth will be derived by all." As part of the new agenda, the association will offer various educational and informational forums for its members at the upcoming conference and as stand alone events. There will also be concerted emphasis on encouraging an open environment in end user choice. Contents
SIA bill signed into law
After four years of introducing and reintroducing, holding our breath on the eleventh hour - the first association-sponsored bill has passed both the U. S. House and the U.S. Senate and was signed into law on October 28 just before Congress adjourned. The bill is H.R. 2281, our part H.R. 72 attached, is the Computer Maintenance Assurance Act amended as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The bill creates an exemption of the copyright laws Section 117, title 17 of the U.S. Code and allows the making of a copy of the diagnostics into the random access memory, while performing maintenance or repair, during the activation process. For exact wording on the bill go to the government's website at http://thomas.loc.gov/
While this bill does not address the issue of predatory pricing for
licenses and does not completely fix the diagnostics software issue
it certainly is a step in the right direction and opens the door to
a possible long-term solution. The diagnostic software issue
will be a major legal debate at the upcoming conference on March 16
and will have a Special Interest Group follow-on meeting afterwards
to develop a plan to address this problem. At the last Board meeting
held last week in Washington D.C. the Board representative for the
Business Products Group, Craig Gordon, was charged with the responsibility
of developing a "white paper" which will be premiered
at the annual conference and discussed in detail.
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www.servicenetwork.org
The association’s website has been expanded to include a wealth
of new information you may want to check out - hotlinks to the Sponsors,
the latest legal documents, the newsletter, find a member, the members’
database (available only to members in good standing), the
latest on the conference including registration and the agenda. The
next major project is to hotlink parts sources to the website - we
are exploring companies who would be a good beta test. If you are
a part’s vendor and are interested, contact the Executive Director.
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FDA backs off imposing new regs on Device Servicers and Refurbishers
Based for the most part on the positive patient safety history of device servicers, Refurbishers and remarketers as outlined by this association’s committee and the ACCE, AAMI and IAMER committees, the FDA is unlikely to impose new regulation on Device Servicers and Refurbishers.
OEMs originally pushed hard for federal regulation of ISOs saying
there was a risk of patient safety which could result in serious injuries
or death due to the lack of regulation of ISOs. Various associations
then formed special ANPR Committees to look at the issue and be sure
the FDA had an accurate picture of the historical facts which disputes
the OEMs warnings. It now appears the FDA will participate in continuing
discussions of the working group, which this association is a part
of, and will evaluate the final proposals before taking any other
actions. According to Malcolm Ridgway, Chairman of the SIA Committee,
if the FDA believes the voluntary course is reasonable, that will
probably suffice unless statistics change. Malcolm will provide
a complete report of the proceedings and discuss the next course of
action including the subject of certification at the upcoming conference
in March, which the FDA and AAMI are invited to.
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Y2K SIA Conference
The Service Industry Association Conference for 2000 will be held February 27 - March 1, 2000 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Palace has just completed a billion-dollar renovation with a complete new tower and new ballroom where this association’s General Session will be conducted. Mark your Calendar now. You can mark February 27 - 29 which will show up on most calendars but my computer expert tells me every 400 years leap year, scheduled for the year 2000, does not occur. Therefore, the 29th would be March 1, 2000. If you have any authoritative information on this, please contact the Executive Director.
NISO meeting: SIA Conference
The semiannual conference of NISO will be held in conjunction with SIAs Conference in March. They have also announced a joint Golf Tournament and a Technical Meeting. The NISO Technical Meeting will be held at the Newport Beach Marriott on March 13. In addition to the educational and information value of the conference, the goal of the NISO Group is to network with the SIA members and establish alliances, one of the primary reasons attendees tell us they get value from the conference.
The Comdisco Dealers Meeting has also been scheduled in conjunction
with this association’s annual meeting.
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Legal Lines
In late September SIA filed legal documents opposing G.E. in two
areas: (1) Their purchase of Innoserv and (2) Their settlement with
the Department of Justice in their case against G.E. on an antitrust
violation in Montana dealing with the licencing of their "Diagnostics
Software." In the papers filed by ISNI during the public comment
period, the association requested permission from the Courts to intervene
and aid the court in its public interest. The Department of Justice
has responded to both documents but no decision has been made. To
review the documents filed by ISNI go to our website and click on
"NEWS." This is a very important issue for all three segments
of SIA and will be discussed in two sessions at the upcoming conference.
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SIA B.O.D. Nominations
Nominations for the next Service Industry Association are now being
accepted by the nominating committee. If you are a Service Company
Member in good standing and are interested in submitting your name
or know of another "industry leader" within the association
please contact the Executive Director. To qualify you must be a top
level executive in a service company and a member in good standing
of SIA. Nominees are first presented to the Board’s Nominating
Committee for approval and then voted on by the membership at large
at the annual conference in March. The nominating committee looks
at business ethics, leadership, and willingness to serve. Articles
within the bylaws also allow write-in candidates at the annual conference.
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Tournament & Grand Finale Premier Events
The SIA annual Golf Tournament will be held at Pelican Hill on the South Course which has two holes on the cliffs with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Pelican Hill is now listed by Golf Digest & Golf Magazine as the "Premier Course in America." It has won first place awards multiple years for Best New Resort Course (South) since 1992. This year we are suggesting you invite your customers to participate in the Tournament and the conference. They will get a special rate to attend the conference. If you have an interest please contact the Executive Director.
The Grand Finale will be held aboard John Wayne’s "The Duke" yacht on Tuesday evening. The yacht was owned by John Wayne for sixteen years and still has the original furniture and fixtures. Why not make this an incentive program within your company and invite your top performers as a thank you. Companies within the Association who plan to do this already include Telos and Comdisco.
Brochures will be distributed the first week of January but you can
sign up on the website today and save
money.
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SIA announces new Corporate Sponsors
CSU, L.L.C. is an Independent Service Organization (ISO) servicing high-volume Xerox and Kodak copiers/duplicators and Xerox laser printers headquartered in Kansas City. It is the largest ISO in North America with branches across the southern and Midwest regions of the United States. CSU maintains high customer satisfaction levels; offering creative pricing with flexible service plans, and shorter response times than its competitors; thereby making it a leader in the high-volume service industry. CSU is also an equitable source for rebuilt equipment at significant savings when compared too new purchased from an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Service locations currently include the following metropolitan areas: Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita, St. Louis, Dallas/Ft Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma City, Atlanta, Denver and Phoenix. Richard L. Watkins is the President and CEO and a nominee for the 1999 - 2001 SIA Board of Directors.
D. F. Blumberg Associates, Inc. (BAI) Is the oldest, largest and leading management consulting firm to the High-Technology Services Industry. The firm provides client Services in the area of strategic planning, market research, productivity improvement, expert witness, and mergers and acquisitions. Serving clients worldwide since 1969, BAI has pioneered in viewing service strategically and has played a major role in the development of the High Tech Service Industry, in general and the promotion of Independent service specifically. The firm continues to create advanced strategies and tactics for improving the profitability, quality, and productivity of service organizations.
New Member - The association also welcomes D & R Products, Inc.
Of Fort Collins, CO as a new member. D&R Products is a Parts Supplier
of Xerox Parts. For Info, contact Bob Mantle at 970 493 6223.
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Corporate Sponsors
| Alpha Microsystems
Services Operation Douglas J. Tullio, President and CEO Randy Parks, Vice President 714 957-8500 |
Beckman Coulter Bruce Breeden, Srv Mktg Mgr Vic Hasbrouck, Manager 714 773-6675 |
COHR Sandy Morford, C.O.O Malcolm Ridgway, V. P. 818 734-8376 |
| D. F. Blumberg Associates, Inc. Don Blumberg, President 215 643-9060 |
Comdisco Healthcare
Group Dave Johnson, Dir Tech Resrs 847 518-5411 |
CSU Richard L Watkins, Pres. & CEO 913 541 0960 |
| DecisionOne Corporation Ken Draeger, Chairman Steve Felice President & CEO 610 725-2500 |
Healthtech Publications Jack Spears, Publisher 401 434-1050 |
Maintech Frank D’Alessio, C.O.O. Carole Greene, V.P. Marketing & Sales 973 614-1700 |
| Northrop Grumman Joe Mulderig, Pres. GSS Div 516 563-6907 |
Telos Systems Solutions Mark Hester, C.O.O. & Corp Vice President, Telos Corp 801 298 8000 |
The Thomas Group
Ltd. Paul Thomas Hunt, Partner Dale Hunt, Partner 714 279-1000 |
Greetings from the President
This issue of the newsletter is about much that is new for this association, the most significant being a new name. From a slate of five suggested names, the board deliberated at meetings in June and September, the pros and cons of each and finally agreed to keep it simple. As the headline says, we are now the Service Industry Association, a name in keeping with our more inclusive approach to membership which have been articulated in this newsletter during the last 18 months. We now are directing our energies to representing the many facets of the High Tech Service industry and as the service industry approaches the new millennium, we are anticipating significant growth from the many sectors in the industry that provide computer services of any kind.
It gives me pleasure to welcome the NISO group into the association. NISO is an association representing the companies that provide service to larger copiers. While they continue to maintain their own organization, they have recognized the past accomplishments of the ISNI and are now associating themselves with the SIA as a group. This is representative of the growth that we look forward to and we welcome inquiries from other associations seeking strength in numbers.
This issue of the newsletter provides a detailed agenda of our annual conference. Note that we have scheduled sessions on topics of interest in the new millennium including e-commerce and the Y2K issues, presented by the new leaders in the service industry. We also believe that sessions on professional services will be of interest to our traditional members whose sales have been strongly oriented to the hardware maintenance side of the business.
On a note of general interest, I had occasion recently to read the inaugural issue of a new publication for Service Industry Execs. This publication being offered by Bill Bleuel and George Harmon, both of who are well known in the industry and have made many contributions to the Computer Service Arts elevates timely topics to the level of the Service Executive and an outstanding summary of service news on the National Level. I would encourage you to subscribe to this well written and gap-filling publication.
Happy Networking and I look forward to seeing you in Newport Beach.
Rich Heimann, SIA President.
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