Print IT Reseller - issue 60

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 43 VOX POP which can be offered on-premise or as a cloud solution and purchased as a subscription model. “Change that delivers positive results is something to be embraced and that is what the shift to on-demand services delivers. It is bringing about new and innovative platforms and delivery methods that the industry must take notice of.” Shaun Wilkinson , Managing Director , UTAX (UK) : “In my opinion it’s not made much of an impact on the print industry yet as this was already an established concept with service contracts etc. Alongside the car and telephony services one could argue that the industry created the concept. The disruption we may face is the way this is expanded upon and how this is further applied to add-on services.” Carlo Longhi , Director and General Manager, Indirect channels UK and Ireland , Xerox : “As businesses can now procure other technologies on a subscription basis, matching the experience they are used to at home, they are now driven to ask why they are unable to procure print in the same manner. In the print industry, many businesses now seek to procure a scalable volume of pages per user per month, rather than having to purchase or lease equipment and then pay for toner or service outright. Suppliers haven’t yet worked out how to achieve this in the most economically viable way, despite the spike in demand for this.” Phil Madders , Managing Director , PAE Business : “I don’t think it has really started yet. It is gaining traction but very slowly. We have had this model available for nearly seven years and it is only now with services such as Office 365 that it is becoming more widely accepted. Our Seat Based Billing Programme is already disrupting the market in North America and we will be launching it here in 2019. So we will be part of the disruption rather than the disrupted.” Tony Milford , Managing Director , Vantage Computing : “As a cloud/ SaaS software provider to the channel, we’re seeing some of our clients really embrace the new models and others who are struggling with the concept. From a dealers’ perspective it needs a complete change of attitude from salespeople in particular and they in turn, quite rightly, need to see their management putting in place the resources and compensation structures that encourage this pivot in attitude and approach. As long as we ourselves continue to deliver the tools necessary to profitably administer all selling and purchasing models then the impact upon Vantage will be nothing but positive.” James Turner , Regional Sales Manager, Y Soft : “With vendors and their partners offering more products and services to customers, they need to be more flexible. Gone are the days where organisations purchase devices, and fixed leasing deals are rigid and don’t really allow for variance in fleet and other services. Customers these days like the fact they can use multiple solutions from a trusted supplier, so it makes perfect sense to allow flexible payments to incorporate change, and for suppliers they can market themselves as a one-stop- shop, and perhaps more importantly, a strategic partner.” Darren Bird , Head of Technology , Xeretec : “Unsurprisingly, these days very few technology purchases are made using cash and most are made on credit, via convenient monthly repayments. The ‘everything-as-a-service’ (XaaS) model doesn’t so much introduce a new method of paying for products, but a better model for procuring new products and services on a more regular and timely basis. “That’s why the XaaS model has generated so much interest from our customers, while the transparent monthly payments make financial forecasting even easier for them. In short, it makes the latest print products and related services – which have been engineered for efficiency - much more accessible for our customers, which boosts their efficiency while lowering their overall print costs. I believe that the XaaS model will become the norm for customers, and those vendors that don’t have a similar offering may find that they are left behind.” continued... Jeremy Spencer Purchasing services by monthly fee is impacting on the way we deliver software particularly as a lot of software can be cloud-based which allows it to be available on a subscription basis Shaun Wilkinson