Print.IT Reseller - issue 55

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 45 ...continued and manage devices like PCs, mobiles, tablets as well as related software and apps, with the convenience of a monthly subscription fee. “From a production device perspective, we’re very excited to be talking to customers about the new Xerox Iridesse Press, which offers an exciting new gamut of gold, silver and metallic inks, in addition to the conventional CMYK offering. In terms of solutions, Xeretec’s in-house developed business analytics platform Vision – which provides a detailed print assessment that reveals how and what your company prints – is winning new customers who see the value of combining analytics with powerful ‘what if’ scenarios. This provides customers with the print and document facts they need to confidently deploy solutions that will optimise their print environment. The information is displayed in a graphic and interactive dashboard for easy analysis and interpretation.” Simon Hollister: “We are seeing three areas of the market which are growing areas of interest for our customers across the UK. The storage backup market is beginning to see traditional leaders being challenged by users actively moving away from expensive and inflexible proprietary systems. The focus is now on newer, more agile vendors that offer greater flexibility and have a greater understanding of what users actually want to achieve. “The DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) market is also maturing with suppliers such as Infrascale which provide organisations with the confidence to handle the unexpected to ensure less downtime, greater security and always-on availability. “We are also seeing the start of the next generation of Wi-Fi adopters who recognise it as an enabler utility and for what it can do for their organisations.” Scott Walker: “We’ve seen a big rise in our clients engaging us to provide hybrid mail solutions. It costs less than a 2nd class stamp with no set up charges…and this includes paper, envelope, printing and posting.” Mark Smyth: “Our products and solutions that help clients with improving their security process and policy and digitisation are proving to be the most compelling and where we can add value and differentiate from the normal managed print service offering. “MPS is widely known and accepted and it’s unusual to find a medium enterprise or corporate organisation that doesn’t have a MPS, whilst there are some, they are few and far between and some public sector entities have yet to embrace MPS. Therefore, clients are looking for the next wave in technology that will help drive and improve efficiency with MPS as the foundation to build on.” David Lees: “At the beginning of 2018 we completed the acquisition of a local IT firm. This means we are now able to provide a variety of IT support services to our customers and prospects. Print and IT are both vital process in office environments and being able to provide a full business solution and support both of these key functions is a positive thing for our customers and one which will set us apart from our competitors.” Richard Blundell: “Our work with IT Schools Africa has proved to be very appealing. Following a systems upgrade, redundant equipment is collected free- of-charge, then wiped, reconditioned and uploaded with educational software, before being shipped to Africa for use by schoolchildren. Disadvantaged young people at our social enterprise Commercial Foundation are involved in the process, as are inmates of HM Prisons. So, equipment that would have been destined for landfill instead gets used by thousands of children, while disadvantaged young people and prisoners have the opportunity to build valuable skills. “One of the first customers to take part in this initiative was Wellington School in Somerset. Around 240 PCs and monitors were donated following our upgrade of the school’s IT infrastructure. We visited the school in person to collect the equipment, and spent time introducing pupils to the concept of sustainable development. Since then, several other schools have asked to take part, and we’ve also had requests from regional NHS teams and a mid-size law firm.” Toni Gibiino: “The answer is pretty similar to the scenario mentioned in Q1. We’re finding real traction in the fact we can have multiple conversations about real business challenges. When you’re about to have a ‘business’ conversation rather than just a copier contract conversation, you’re inviting engagement for a wider set of issues. When you’re about to have a ‘business’ conversation rather than just a copier contract conversation, you’re inviting engagement for a wider set of issues VOX POP continued... PrintIT Reseller: Which of the products/services you offer are gaining most traction with your customers and prospects and why? Richard Blundell Scott Walker