01732 759725 54 VOX POP continued... Mark Ash, Chief Revenue Officer, Konica Minolta: “Undoubtedly 2022 has seen an impressive upswing in business activity after the challenges of the pandemic, but 2023 equally promises big opportunities for those in the IT and print industries who recognise what customers want and need and are prepared to evolve and grow to meet these demands. “We have seen the world of data, IT, and print converge at an unprecedented rate to accommodate hybrid ways of working and there are great opportunities across the channel to expand business through cross-sell and upselling to existing customers as well as winning new business. This means an increased share of wallet, new revenues, and new recurring margins. “The convergence of technologies means that customers need all parts of their IT, operations, and data flow to keep their business running, but many are struggling to achieve this in-house and are looking for expert partners to fill the gap. Figures show that 70 per cent of SMEs have tested outsourcing and 30 per cent want to increase this. At Konica Minolta for example, managed IT services and solutions now make up 20 per cent of our total business, with clear signs that 2023 will see this continue to grow rapidly as our IT partner network continues to expand and evolve to meet demand. “Print providers are also in a great position to ‘add on’ IT services to their existing sales to bring new value to their customers. Print solutions need bring transformational opportunities to resellers as they shift their value-added offerings from more traditional services, to cloud-friendly ones. It is important they make this transition if they are to remain relevant, while it also opens up growth opportunities for them. “I’m also encouraged to see that there is already a much more focused drive for sustainable solutions, especially as the eco-conscious next-generation, starts to enter the workforce. Resellers need to reflect on this now as they consider their future offerings and services. Equally, tech hardware, software manufacturers and service providers, must redouble their efforts to engineer or deliver solutions that have efficiency and sustainability at their core. The channel must also dance to the beat of the same drum and ensure that it is laser-focused on the cost, efficiency and sustainability benefits of solutions in discussions with their clients. “There is no doubt that the start to 2023 will be stormy, but the print and IT industry is recognised for being ingenious in its ability to provide the right solutions at the right time; if we can all club together with a shared focus, vision and a sense of optimism, I think the industry and the customers it serves will come through the first half of 2023 stronger and more efficient. That bodes as well for businesses as it does the environment.” www.papercut.com to be hosted and many customers (and indeed some IT providers) don’t want to deal with the intricacies of managing print and capture solutions. This puts print providers in an ideal position of delivering these services and the opportunity to cross-sell further IT services to already loyal customers. “We will continue to see strong growth in professional print in 2023. Packaging, embellishment, personalisation, and labelling will continue to be vital, as customers look to transform their operations and to differentiate their offerings and communications through the digital noise. “Whilst office print has been impacted in some sectors (largely through remote working), others have remained resilient and look set to continue growing in 2023 (such as education, where print is still heavily used alongside digital tools). There are big opportunities here to help customers rebalance their print fleets, to sell managed solutions that enable safe/ secure and reliable remote printing, and home office solutions that are well suited to support hybrid working needs. “At Konica Minolta we are currently revamping and updating our partner programme to offer even more support to our partners at every stage of the customer journey, helping them to capitalise on the considerable opportunities on offer. We have invested in a new revised framework that provides additional support where required, a new portal and increased headcount to enable The global chip supply issues will still need time to be resolved and the broader economic and cost of living challenges will continue to affect us all, in both our business and personal lives 10 years · I00 issues Steve Holmes Mark Ash
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