PrintIT Reseller - issue 69

01732 759725 44 VOX POP ...continued The changes, including removing hardware costs, removing lock-in contracts, replacing complexity requiring service and support with automation and providing customer insight and transparency, threaten traditional revenue generating activities of many managed print service providers. Understandably, managed print service providers and vendors have not been the first to adopt to the change, perhaps seeing the development more as disruption rather than opportunity. We invite you to rethink delivery of managed print services and your business model, to embrace the cloud and benefit from both new and renewed market opportunities. One of our most interesting findings has been uncovering an untapped SMB market. Smaller companies and schools have not typically been a target market for MPS as the cost often outweighs the classic benefits. In this market, the main driver has been for cloud-based print infrastructure offered as a low-cost subscription-based service. This is a new opportunity to include SMB customers in your managed services portfolio and introduce an attractive recurring revenue business model, while keeping good print customers. For SME and enterprise customers you will see the motivation for adopting cloud or hybrid cloud print solutions to be security, simplicity and cost in supporting multiple locations, global deployments and a mobile workforce. Often led by the desire to remove hardware as with email and file sharing, larger companies will also want to maintain and seek better ways to ensure secure printing, mobile printing, tracking print usage and reducing waste. Data insight is key for any customer, to not only monitor usage but show actual total cost of ownership, even if print is not business critical. Customers will want access to live data, greater control and greater transparency in contracts. They are tired of buying new machines, oversized and underused for the job and inconvenient for staff to use those devices. Printix can help harness the power of the cloud to amplify the value of print management. As a low touch, low risk product, there is no need for extensive technical training and certification to sell it. Proof of concepts (POC) are active, and in the cloud, they don’t require a lot of investment. You can quickly light up a trial for a customer and let them loose to play. Very little pre-sales technical help is required compared to an on-premise demonstration or POC. The ease of doing business, combined with partner discounts, will allow you to maintain attractive profit margins with Printix. www.printix.net Pete Lunn, Sales Director, Kyocera Document Solutions UK The move towards cloud-based printing continues to gain momentum and, as we move into 2020, we expect to see an increasingly diverse range of print and document propositions become available. This will include the growth of consumption-based managed services and contracts that utilise the latest cloud platforms. Adapting to this pace of change will be vital for the channel over the next few years. As revealed in Quocirca’s Print 2025 study (second edition) 76% of organisations believe that the digitisation of paper-based processes will be important by 2025, highlighting the significant shift to digital document management and a reduced reliance on paper. These statistics show most respondents are aware of the need to transition to more sustainable, secure and cost-effective document management processes. The environment is clearly a priority, as 83 per cent expect sustainability to be important to their business by 2025, up from 73 per cent in 2019. Cloud printing and document management services will make print cheaper, more efficient and reduce its environmental impact. This will gather momentum as both the public and private sectors look to remove legacy technology, consolidate their existing print estates and streamline supplier contracts. The potential of cloud technology to provide unprecedented flexibility and agility will be vital. Fully managed print services and document management in the cloud will also help to drive down CapEx, reducing overall costs while freeing up internal resources that can then be redistributed into more important areas. This presents a fantastic opportunity for channel partners involved in the sector. Manufacturers and suppliers will need to re-evaluate their traditional sales processes and embrace change across their partner networks. As digital transformation increases, new solutions and services will become available, but these can be a cause of confusion and anxiety for businesses. Key decision- makers and staff may be reluctant to Craig Parrish , Senior Marketing Manager, Printix Print may not be the leading driver as organisations digitalise and transition to the cloud, but rather an afterthought on the journey. Nonetheless, print is most relevant, when cloud first, mobile first companies realise that they still have print servers and in fact print less. Customers are looking for a path to transition print infrastructure to a cloud-based solution and simplify print management. Likewise, they are also looking for business models that better reflect actual usage and consumption, rather than excessive license fees and maintenance costs. Craig Parrish David Abiani