01732 759725 46 directly with manufacturers like HP, Epson, and Sharp, to enable automatic data transfer from machines without the need for local software installation. We also have the MPS GO Box, a low-cost device that can be deployed in home offices to provide secure connectivity. These kinds of solutions help businesses adapt to hybrid working while maintaining strong security. Q: Looking towards the future, what do you envision as the next big breakthrough or game-changer in the industry, and how is your company preparing for it? A: The next major breakthrough will be predictive maintenance powered by AI. While consumable monitoring is relatively straightforward, tracking usage until supplies run out, predicting machine failures is more complex. AI is definitely going to be used at the manufacturer level, embedding sensors into the devices to anticipate breakdowns before they occur. We’re preparing for this by strengthening integrations with manufacturers and ERP systems. The goal is to enable monitoring software, print management, queue management, user management and predictive maintenance systems to all talk to one another to enable centralised management, delivering significant efficiency gains for customers. Q: What advice would you give a young person starting a career in the industry? A: Passion for the industry is essential. Whether you’re drawn to IT or print, you need genuine interest to thrive. I would say that you have either got to be a generalist or specialise in a particular area. Right now, the most critical areas are security and AI. These are the pain points for businesses today, and they will remain central for the next five to ten years. The more AI we adopt, the greater the need for robust security. Anyone entering the industry should focus on building expertise in these areas, as they will define the future of the sector. www.ekmglobal.com when scaled, deliver real value to customers. Q: With artificial intelligence fast becoming mainstream, how do you see this impacting your go-to-market strategy, product roadmap, and indeed the wider channel? A: AI will have a strong impact on our go-to-market strategy. We will be using AI-driven systems to identify potential new customers across the UK and Europe, and to build sales and marketing profiles that help us target opportunities more effectively. We’re also looking to apply AI to onboarding, support, and training, enabling us to create materials faster and more efficiently. On the product roadmap side, much will depend on how manufacturers integrate AI into their systems. For example, HP’s Smart Device Services generate valuable data that we can feed into our own system. The challenge is that every manufacturer wants resellers to use their proprietary tools. For mixed-manufacturer resellers, this creates complexity. Our role is to collate and unify that data, providing a single, streamlined view. Manufacturers are also moving toward AI-driven service management – predictive and preventative maintenance that reduces failures and extends the time between engineer visits. If resellers can cut down on engineer callouts, the savings are substantial. AI will be central to achieving this. Q: What do you see as the key challenges or pain points businesses are facing in today’s hybrid working model, and how can you help your partners/customers to address these? A: Security is the number one challenge in hybrid working. Remote IT staff must ensure secure VPN connections into core systems, and phishing threats remain ever-present. Moving systems into the cloud, where robust security models can be applied is one solution. Many of our customers already run our software in cloud environments, and we’re integrating Q: What’s currently having the greatest impact on your business? A: There are two main things – firstly the rise of AI and secondly, growth around the globe which means onboarding customers is taking up a lot of time – which is a nice ‘problem’ to have! In terms of AI, manufacturers are increasingly embedding AI into their machines, particularly for predictive maintenance. This raises important questions for us; how do we capture and use that information within our systems? At present, we employ rudimentary AI for tasks such as product identification, but we’re exploring more advanced applications. Our technical teams often debate the fine line between AI and learned behavioural patterns coded into system– it’s a grey area. The surge of AI across the industry is undeniable, and it’s having a profound impact on how we operate and plan for the future. Q: How do you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your company remains at the forefront of innovation? A: We keep up to date with and constantly monitor the latest innovations, not only from manufacturers and devices but also within software solutions and hosting platforms. Security is a major focus and keeping up with evolving security architectures is critical, especially as nation-state actors continue to target portals and software systems. Our teams also attend seminars, webinars, and global events across sales, technical, and development disciplines. Networking with peers and speaking directly to manufacturers helps us anticipate what’s coming and adapt our software accordingly. Importantly, we don’t limit our perspective to the UK; we look across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and beyond to understand global innovation trends. Innovation is often about streamlining processes. For example, integrating seamlessly with ERP systems or reducing the number of clicks needed to process hundreds of consumables each day can save enormous amounts of time. These incremental improvements, Q&A Ian Silvester, General Manager, EKM Insight Industry Insight Ian Silvester
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=