PRINTITRESELLER.UK 43 VOX POP continued... An important area for growth for us has been in data security products and services that we can integrate across the entire range of services we provide to our customers John Green: We have seen an increase in the number of our customers wanting to bring all their business systems together in one convenient package. So, for the past three years we have been diversifying into IT services and telecoms, to such an extent that now these fields are as significant to our business and our customers, as managed print and we are being recognised, by our customers and peers, as a leading IT service provider in the region. By expanding into these alternative sectors, we’ve positioned ourselves as a comprehensive business solutions provider in our own right. Diversifying has meant that we now connect all our customers systems under a single contract and it gives them peace of mind and a reliable service partner for the future. Jon Palin: We have two divisions to our business, one for managed print and the other for IT, networking and telecoms. The opportunities to integrate our managed print solutions seamlessly with our IT business, are on the rise and we know we have the skill and experience, within both of our operations to provide added value to our customers. In fact, we have been covering a project together, over the past few weeks, to install a full array of managed print and complete IT services, into one large customer, enabling both well-established sides of the group to work together, seamlessly, as one team. We see an important area for growth for us has been in data security products and services that we can integrate across the entire range of services we provide to our customers. Data security has never been so important, with cybercrime now more sophisticated than ever. We have been working with companies to establish their cyber score. Most companies think they are safe but, the system we use to audit their system security, has identified some very interesting – and unexpected – results. At the end of the day, we work with the very best solutions to provide the strongest protection for the products we manage in the field, not just for the good of the customer but to maintain our excellent reputation for trust and reliability. Daniel Gilbert: We have found additional revenues in new areas, but they tend to leverage off our existing skillset rather than be a diversification necessarily. Our plan is to build on our revenues rather than replace them. The core of our business is still print, then we diversify our product/service set within a customer, identifying where our other services would fit. So, keeping our core strong while identifying growth areas gives us longevity as a business and with our customer relationships too. I see new opportunities coming from our partner network; we’ve built some really strong relationships in the last couple of years that are proving to be fruitful. But for us, new opportunities will come from having open conversations with our customers and leaning into the trends that they are facing, whether that’s cost management or investment in sustainability. Daniel Maddox: Yes. Diversification is part of our strategy at Evolve. We believe that expanding into new sectors is crucial for sustaining growth and long-term success. We’ve developed a cloud-first proposition Agility. This means we can now offer cloud print management, document storage, and collaborative platforms to meet the increasing demand for cloud services. But we also believe we must be careful not to lose our identity. We can’t be everything to everybody. For example, we’ve resisted the temptation to supply office furniture, paper, and stationery. We know that trust in the Evolve brand makes a compelling case for diversifying into more areas. But we know what we’re good at and would never want to dilute any of our offerings. Rachel Pollard: Diversification is very important to us because we realise our customers now need more than just print to run their business and that MPS and other networkable business process are inextricably connected. We appreciate that changes are inevitable, and we have been proactively adapting for the future. For a while now we have been building on a strategic plan to diversify our offerings to include IT services and telecoms. More recently we have set up an audio branding arm to the business, which we feel is an evolving field. For instance, we create audio advertising messages for phones and radio and also for one of our customers, in the sport industry, who broadcasts messages over the public address system on match days. It’s very effective. Simon Riley: Yes indeed. All the manufacturers have diversified and are providing a vast range of products for the office which is hard to keep up with. All our suppliers though have experts in the field who are there to help should we require help. Ryan Green: Our partners have been instrumental in our rapid growth and development, providing invaluable support. However, there is always room for improvement. We believe that they could further enhance their support by tailoring training programs to address our specific needs and challenges. Additionally, increasing knowledge sharing and offering deeper insights PrintIT Reseller: How are your OEM/distribution partners helping you to upskill and expand into new areas and could they do more? Daniel Maddox Ryan Green
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