PrintIT Reseller - issue 67

01732 759725 CONFERENCE 34 80 partners attended Kyocera’s dealer conference which took place in September at the Grand Hotel, Brighton. PITR caught up with Marketing Director Joe Doyle, to find out more about what was announced Kyocera Partner Conference has increased by eight per cent over the past year. “Our financial year ends in March and we’re targeting £160 million. When you consider that the indirect channel will make up the majority of that – around £90 million – it’s clear to see why our partners are so important to us,” he said. New opportunities One of the biggest announcements made on the day was the news that Kyocera is launching a production print device. “This is a first for Kyocera and it’s been a gap in our portfolio,” Doyle explained. “With the addition of this new 150 ppm production print system, our partners will, for the first time be able to offer customers a complete end-to- end solution, from the smallest desktop device right through to production print. And that's going to be a key advantage.” He added: “Many customers such as a university or hospital or a large enterprise organisation, are looking for a partner who can deliver a single brand across the entire print estate. Up until now, we haven’t been able to support our partners to do that.” Interestingly, Kyocera’s new TASKalfa production printer is inkjet as opposed to laser. Inkjet technology has been rapidly advancing in recent years and the impact is now being felt across the industry. The global inkjet market is predicted to rise at 9.4 per cent across the next five years and Kyocera believes that the production print sector will increasingly rely upon inkjet technology as demand grows and the benefits become even clearer to see. Doyle said that the company is looking to expand the production print range further and quite significantly, revealing that in Japan, R&D is currently looking at devices capable of printing up to 200 ppm. The new launch, says Doyle was extremely well received by partners. “It’s very exciting, for the first time they can now offer customers a complete Kyocera solution. We took a number of dealers over to our production print showroom in Amsterdam, they were able to get hands-on with the device and feedback was really positive. I would say this new launch is going to be quite disruptive in the marketplace.” ICT services One of Kyocera’s key objectives is to ensure that it supports its channel partners in delivering a wider range of services. Its offer extends far beyond the print environment, the company has expanded into unified communications, via a collaboration with Mitel; connectivity solutions delivered with HPE Aruba; as well as infrastructure solutions. “The market is changing radically. One of the things that we really want to help our partners with is helping them transition their customers to the cloud and start to offer them a wider range With 80 partners gathered in one room, it was logical that Kyocera would address how successful it had been in addressing the challenges posed by its acquisition of Annodata in 2016. Whilst Kyocera is not the only OEM to acquire within its channel base, Doyle admits that at the time, the deal did cause some ripples amongst its partner base. “There were certainly concerns from the channel, but it didn’t take long for partners to understand that it wouldn’t negatively impact their businesses. The opposite in fact, they very quickly realised that bringing Annodata into the fold presented a host of new opportunities.” He continued: “Of course, there have been occasions where both a partner and we have engaged with the same prospect. But we always resolve these instances with transparency, very equitably and very quickly as well. The number one priority is to make sure that the end customer gets the best result.” Kyocera’s focus has been on reaffirming its commitment to an indirect sales model and strengthening relationships with channel partners, providing them with additional support and it’s paid off, Doyle said that revenue One of the biggest announcements made on the day was the news that Kyocera is launching a production print device continued... Joe Doyle