01732 759725 48 Q&A View from the channel Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? A: The changing competitor landscape. Acquisitions and mergers have resulted in many channel businesses diversifying out of their core business and moving into new areas. As a result, competition for new business has ramped up. In addition, buyers seem to have more time to research and shop around – which means that for every new business opportunity, they are engaging with a wider pool of suppliers. Of course, this means that cost comes under more scrutiny and there is a real risk that it becomes a race to the bottom. Our focus is firmly on ensuring we showcase how we differentiate, rather than simply undercutting the competition. Q: Which OEMs do you partner with and why? A: Print is a relatively new addition to our offering, although ironically, I started my career with Xerox! We offer Sharp as our main line, and we also provide Konica Minolta print devices. We partner with ISL, who support us on service delivery. We embraced print in July 2022 and our focus is firmly on growing in this space. To date we’ve enjoyed success and the partnership with ISL is working well for both parties. Q: What are your customers most interested in currently? A: There are two main areas of focus currently. Cost, as mentioned earlier in particular managing costs and sweating current assets. And ease of use, print and scan volumes are coming back to preCOVID levels, and customers are looking for MFPs that combine a small footprint with ease of use. In addition, we’re finding more and more that customers are looking for a supplier that ‘gives back’. As a business we champion a charity called HAD that supports adults with disabilities, we sponsor their events and are actively involved in fundraising on their behalf. Ian Rudder, Managing Director, Vir2ue For the past three years I’ve also been a trustee. Q: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? A: Our heritage lies in the telecoms sector and as I mentioned earlier, we have expanded our offering into managed print, the main driver for that diversification was to capture a greater share of existing clients’ business as well as support our growth strategy. We are also actively exploring managed IT services. Q: When selling MFPs, what are the most popular software solutions you provide and why? A: Primarily PaperCut Hive, we’ve added it to our offering as it complements the partnership we have with ISL who support us on the service side. Cloud print management, the sustainability piece and ability to control print costs are popular topics with customers right now. Q: If you could change one aspect of your job what would it be and why? A: I’d like a superpower to be able to pick good salespeople! When I started out in sales, I had a month-long sales training programme to complete before I was let loose, it just seems like the focus on training has lessened over time. Q: How do you spend your week – time on phone, face to face meetings with customers etc.? A: Each week is different. I’d much prefer to be out and about face-to-face with customers, partners and prospects, but in the current climate, it’s not always possible. Teams calls tend to dominate now, which is good in one way not so much in others. I have to wear a lot of hats in the business and it’s all about balance and compromise to ensure I get the best outcomes. Q: What would make your job easier? A: Having more time! I’m very lucky to have a great team of people around me – so actually maybe more good people would make my job easier. https://vir2ue.com Ian Rudder
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