Print.IT Reseller - issue 105

01732 759725 48 Q&A View from the channel Q: How’s business; better or worse than 12 months ago? And how confident are you about the future? A: Business is better than 12 months ago. We are very confident about the future, we have a great team and a great focus on our product portfolio. If you can survive during COVID times and the current worldwide issues, it makes you appreciate what you have and know that you can deal with almost every eventuality and be positive for the future. Q: In what areas are you experiencing strongest demand? A: We have experienced huge growth in IT support which often leads to discussing clients’ pain points around business processes. During COVID times paper heavy processes caused issues as we couldn’t all touch the same piece of paper. Almost overnight, companies had to find a short-term electronic alternative. Now, post-COVID, paper processes are creeping back in, but companies are looking at ways to automate these permanently. Q: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? A: As a business we have always been early adopters of print management, document management and IT solutions. The pandemic created vulnerabilities for companies in terms of IT support, security and the service level they were receiving. Working from home or hybrid working can mean accessing documents using personal apps and Wi-Fi connections, that in itself is a security threat. What’s more, companies expect an issue to be resolved promptly. We are gaining business against our competitors by offering an exceptional level of same day service. David Forsyth, Founder and Director, Document Data Group Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? A: Rising costs and supply change issues due to Brexit, the war in Ukraine and coming out of COVID. Q: Could vendors and distributors do more to help you overcome them? And if so, what? A: We understand there are complexities for all parties during these worldwide challenges, however we utilised our cash positive status by working with our partners to purchase large amounts of stock in advance to negate any supply chain issues. A more favourable approach to payment terms from our vendor was also helpful in these circumstances. Q: If you could change one aspect of your job what would it be and why? A: I wouldn’t change anything. I have managed to get a really good work life balance that I didn’t think was possible a few years ago, and that’s down to having a great team around me that I trust and can delegate to. https://documentdatagroup.com Ben Burridge David Forsyth

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