PRINTITRESELLER.UK 39 INTERVIEW PrintIT Reseller (PITR): Print management seems to be migrating to the cloud at pace. Why do you think there's been a huge uptick in demand? Tim Muckart (TM): Print management in the cloud in some form or other has been around for many years. But I think the channel and the industry as a whole weren't really ready for it. I think there was a natural inclination to stick to what you know, which has tended to be on-premise print management solutions. Both during and post the pandemic, organisations wanted thinner infrastructures and didn’t want to have to rely on as many on-premise services. And cloud is perfect for that. So, it was more customer demand actually, that forced everyone's arm to start supplying cloud-based print management solutions, like PrinterLogic. PITR: You often make the point that as an industry we’re too focused on multifunction printers within MPS engagements, and that standalone printers which fall outside standard MPS contracts and are largely unmanaged, are a missed opportunity for resellers. TM: Yes, that is a missed opportunity in many ways. If you’re selling a managed print service, you need to manage print across the board – including single function devices or label printers for example, which often get completely ignored. If an MPS only supports MFPs, that might only make up a small element of the total print infrastructure, it might only be say 30-40% of devices sold into that customer, meaning the remaining 60-70% are standalone. But they still need managed in terms of driver deployment and management for example. A missed opportunity Cloud print management products like PrinterLogic, are ideal for that scenario because it gives the channel the opportunity to extend their service beyond MFPs to also manage the rest of the installed devices and importantly, gain insight into the customer’s entire organisation and become stickier. PITR: What are the key advantages of migrating print infrastructure to the cloud for the end customer and indeed for channel partners? TM: Cloud is key to modernising infrastructure for organisations. Getting rid of legacy infrastructure like print servers and application servers that are often related to print management is ultimately going to save a lot of money. Organisations want cloud solutions for print management and that’s an opportunity for channel partners to also talk about managing those standalone single function devices we mentioned earlier too – that increases stickiness and gives resellers a bigger footprint In an exclusive interview with PrintIT Reseller, Tim Muckart, Director of Channel Sales at Vasion, explores some of the key advantages of migrating print to the cloud for both channel partners and their end customers within an organisation, which I think ultimately makes them more relevant. There’s also the SaaS purchasing model – that recurring revenue stream can go on for as long as the customer is still printing, which hopefully will be for a very long time. PITR: Are there any plans to add more functionality to the PrinterLogic platform in the next 12 months? TM: Yes, there are. Vasion has an ethos of making digital transformation available to everyone. So, over the next 12 to 24 months, you’re going to see a big change – the Vasion platform will be extended – PrinterLogic will actually sit on the Vasion platform. And within that platform, which will be a multitenanted cloud solution, you’ll see content management, digital workflow, capture form signatures, everything you need for a complete digital transformation platform. https://printerlogic.com/ To watch the full interview please scan the QR Code
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