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 really good. We set-up Nuvem Solutions in September 2020, after a short delay as a result of the pandemic and from a standing start we’ve built a MIF of nearly 1,000 devices, relocated office four times, and recorded a £1.25m turnover. I am cautiously optimistic about the future, we partnered with Toshiba and from day one the support we have received has been incredible, that’s been pivotal to our success and long may it continue! Our focus is firmly on continuing to do what we have done to date in terms of delivering service excellence. It’s key that we keep our eye on the ball, it’s not enough to rely on managed print and hardware sales alone, we have to look at the bigger picture and ensure that we strike a balance in term of delivering value-add and enabling customers to improve their workflow and business processes with complementary software solutions. Q: In what areas are you experiencing strongest demand? A: Demand for paper-less workflows and sustainable solutions are at an all-time high, as is the requirement to remove reliance on print servers and migrate print to the cloud. We have enjoyed significant growth in this area, with the majority of large contracts won as a result of us leading with a cloud-based print management solution. Operating in a market which has seen ongoing acquisition and consolidation also plays to our strengths. There are fewer smaller channel resellers now, as after acquisition they tend to be integrated into the wider operation and as a result, some become less responsive in terms of customer service levels. We’ve seen more and more customers open to looking elsewhere to ensure they continue to benefit from the agility and flexibility that a local supplier can provide – and that’s been good for us. Q: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? A: We have capitalised on the increased demand for cloud, and we’ve aligned our approach to address pain points in this area – focusing on helping IT to simplify infrastructure, improve security and better monitor, manage and control their print environment. The majority of conversations we have with customers and prospects are centred around reducing print volumes which might seem strange for a print provider! But if we’re not having those conversations, we’re leaving the door open for others to step in. Ultimately, we want to be the customer’s preferred and trusted provider of solutions that will help them streamline and improve any paperbased process. Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? A: The biggest challenge for channel businesses today is how to combat Michael Woodcock, Co-founder, Nuvem Solutions the decline in print. As a young entity, every piece of business we win is new business, so in real terms we haven’t been impacted by the steady decline in print volumes the market has seen. We have (to date) been immune from the effects of the pandemic in terms of lost click volume and customer churn. But we’re aware of the challenge and won’t ignore it. The cost of living challenge is also impacting businesses in all sectors. We’ve turned that around and instead view it as an opportunity – if people are looking to cut costs, that’s where we can help. What we have seen is the drive to realise savings has led to more and more firms open to talking to new suppliers – which creates new opportunity for us. Q: Could vendors and distributors do more to help you overcome them? And if so, what? A: We have all been impacted by the supply chain challenges and lack of stock availability and whilst we now seem to have ridden the storm, I think that vendors and distributors have to keep a close eye on this and pre-empt any future disruption. It would also be good to see some stability in terms of pricing and even cost reductions now the volatility in the supply chain is settling down. Continued innovation in terms of the product feature-set to give us an edge when selling would also be good! Q: If you could change one aspect of your job what would it be and why? A: The ability to have all my meetings on the golf course! https://nuvemsolutions.co.uk Michael Woodcock
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