PrintIT Reseller - issue 49

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 43 VOX POP growth. It takes time to develop real value out of the synergies that potentially exist through mergers and acquisitions. Often these larger dealers will become more inward focussed and lose touch with their customers. The challenge is to balance all the advantages that growth can deliver and turn them into real benefits for your customers, employees and shareholders.” Jason Cort: “We are starting to see the super dealer trend emerge across Europe, which means the market is getting smaller. However this doesn’t necessarily translate into a negative impact on business growth. Ultimately, super dealers will only remain meaningful to the market if they choose to evolve their value propositions to keep up with customer expectations.” Steve Hawkins: “As the OEMs consolidate, there will be an inevitable period of disruption due to their businesses being internally focussed to make the mergers/acquisitions – and all this entails – happen. Most channel partners have experienced this in the past from the OEMs, and know the challenges this creates. “Those channel partners that can work through this period and can focus on enhancing their value to the end point customer – whether that be through consolidating or through other means – in my opinion, have endless opportunities to thrive and grow.” Sharon McNee: “Growth will come from selling print related services and solutions but the question is whether this will return enough sustainable business long-term to make up for the ever- shrinking consumables revenues. Vendors and channel partners must finely balance managing their bread and butter print business while simultaneously developing new near adjacent markets.” Louella Fernandes: “I think the market will see more consolidation and be dominated by fewer brands. OEMs will need to develop stronger partnerships outside of print with ICT players and drive more innovation in both their core and adjacent businesses. “Some vendors are better positioned for change than others, and ultimately it requires more than new products and services, it needs major changes to corporate culture away from the traditional product-centric business models.” Phil Jones: “Anything related to solutions or services continue to attract attention demand side as people look for efficiency, productivity or OPEX based benefits. Challenge will present itself if you have not built capability to address those requirements in terms of billing platforms, operational or sales resources. Chunks of revenue can either be secured for years or lost in a single event.” Michael Burke: “Dealers wanting to compete in this new environment will need to deploy integrated, multi-capable and agile systems that support diversification into new business channels and accommodate the added complexity that this will bring. “For smaller dealers wanting to take advantage of these new markets, they must decide whether they want slightly updated versions of what they already have, with the same integration, accessibility and support issues or deploy a single integrated ERP solution that is scalable, delivers a lower cost of ownership and frees up resources to be deployed more productively.” Nigel Allen: “The challenge is how quickly OEMs and channel partners can re-educate their teams and incorporate the new value added services on offer. Security and compliance with regulations such as GDPR is becoming top of customers’ agendas, therefore vendors need to review their portfolios and sales and marketing approach to ensure they are not left behind.” Clive Hamilton: “The biggest challenge in the future is for our channel to be more integrated in an IT environment with all-inclusive IT type procurement methods, such as SaaS or DaaS style agreements (subscription contracts)... This maybe a challenge, however as in so many other industries the challenge also is the Some vendors are better positioned for change than others, and ultimately it requires more than new products and services, it needs major changes to corporate culture ...continued PITR: Where do you see challenge and opportunity in the future? opportunity. We have the infrastructure, customer base and experience and expertise in delivering products and services into the market place. It is crucial to build relationships with innovative suppliers that can help us on that journey.” Jason Cort: “In any rapidly evolving landscape there are always challenges. However these are often intertwined with future opportunities. The consumerisation of IT and the development of emerging technologies are moving at breakneck speed, throwing up a host of associated issues. The increasing number of connected devices, for example, means security is now a major challenge. But this also creates an opportunity for vendors and resellers to differentiate themselves. “In November, Sharp’s digital colour MFPs with an embedded data security option were the first to be certified for Common Criteria, a set of guidelines used to evaluate information technology equipment. This type of certification not only puts end-users at ease, it also underscores the importance of factoring key industry issues like security into product designs. “Because we are now part of the Foxconn family this is something we’re able to do more of. Our improved financial position also means we’re able to invest in future technology areas like AIoT and 8K, which we believe will form the basis for many new exciting business applications.” www.idc.com www.xeretec.co.uk www.quocirca.com www.brother.co.uk www.purposesoftware.co.uk www.kyoceradocumentsolutions. co.uk www.pinnaclecos.co.uk www.sharp.eu Clive Hamilton Jason Cort