Managed.IT - issue 51

14 MANAGED.IT COVER STORY 01732 759725 Since the adoption of PCs in the 1980s, the copier industry has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of customers. Print devices have changed – from analogue to digital, from standalone to connected, from single-function to multi-function, from mono to colour – and so have the software and services provided with them. Today, MFP vendors offer a host of solutions, on-site and in the cloud, with which customers can further their digital transformation, drive business efficiencies and improve security and compliance. These cover not just printed output, content management and document workflow, but broader IT services. Toshiba TEC is a case in point. In addition to an ever-changing line-up of MFPs and label printers, it supplies a growing range of services, including managed print services (MPS), data capture services and document workflow design. Twelve months ago, it extended the service offering available through its direct sales channel to include managed IT services. As well as expanding its portfolio organically, through the creation of its IT service offering, Toshiba has gained additional capabilities through acquisition, notably that of IBM’s point of sale (PoS) business, now known as Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions (TGCS). Toshiba TEC Marketing Director Jeremy Spencer, who is responsible for Toshiba printing solutions and the company’s market-leading retail business, says that as well as extending Toshiba’s reach into new product areas, the acquisition has provided significant opportunities for Toshiba and its channel partners to cross-sell. “We are the Number One player by volume in PoS and all our retail customers have a requirement for print – front of house or back of house – so there are opportunities for us to introduce PoS customers to our print solutions as well,” he said. “Having a diverse offering makes sense because it allows us to support customers we already have in other areas of their business, like talking to a print or retail customer about IT services or visual communications. Having a broad portfolio also makes us more attractive to new customers, as they can outsource non-primary activities to a single company and not have to deal with multiple suppliers, which is beneficial both financially and in terms of efficiency.” Diversified business Toshiba TEC is not the only MFP vendor to diversify in this way – they are all doing it – but unlike some competitors it benefits from its parent company’s strong heritage in IT (Toshiba invented the portable computer and solid state NAND storage) and its expertise in many other technologies. In EMEA alone there are 79 different Toshiba companies and as many as 400 across the globe. This gives Toshiba TEC access to a broad range of solutions and technologies that it can draw on when developing its own products, one example being the inclusion of ultra-secure self-encrypting Toshiba hard disks in its MFPs. As Spencer explains, it also allows Toshiba to create complete solutions for customers that could, for example, include Toshiba MFPs, barcode printers, PoS equipment and large format displays, all integrated and optimised to work together. “The breadth of Toshiba gives us a holistic view of business processes and how information is shared, instead of being blinkered and focusing solely on trying to sell a copier,” he said. Sharing information According to Spencer, the expansion of Toshiba’s offering also reflects developments in the way information today is created, distributed and shared. “In 2014/2015, we changed our go-to-market strategy with the ‘Together Information’ message,” he said. “This reflects our belief that the most successful businesses of the future will be those that share information in the most efficient way. Because that information can be physical, virtual, printed or digital, our offering now includes hardware to put marks on paper, solutions to get information into business processes, digital signage to display that information and IT services to support all the elements involved.” Spencer added: “The primary function of our customers could be legal or education or logistics. It is not printing, information sharing, There’s a lot more to Toshiba TEC than putting marks on the page. Today, it still sells MFPs – in greater numbers than ever – but it also provides an ever wider range of supporting services, including, for the last year, managed IT services. James Goulding finds out more from Marketing Director Jeremy Spencer More than meets the eye Having a diverse offering makes sense because it allows us to support customers we already have in other areas of their business