Print.IT Reseller - issue 79

01732 759725 42 VOX POP As 2020, the year that will be best remembered for the global pandemic, draws to a close, PrintIT Reseller invited a number of leading channel vendors and distributors to share their thoughts on what 2021 will hold for the print and IT sectors Print predictions: part two Simon Chapman, Managing Director, Temple Knight At Temple Knight, it’s been quite a year of change and not just for the obvious reasons. We have celebrated our 35th year trading in what is a very competitive arena, we have grown both our sales team and changed our business focus to adapt to how the world has changed in the last 12 months. To continue our transition and in order to gain a larger marketplace, we will be offering our thousands of valued customers both hosted telecoms and mobile solutions. It is clear that the working world has changed and we plan on being a big part of that, whilst still keeping our commitment to an unbiased consultative approach to all the services we offer. Looking ahead to next year, the business world will evolve at great pace with many sectors wanting to keep workers at home as they can obtain the same level of work but without the costs of a large central office. With others championing the return to the office, the challenge will be to find products and services to assist both types of customers. With our dedicated staff and strong relationships we have forged with our partners, we are hopeful that 2021 has every chance of being our biggest and best yet. The biggest concern we have is if there is a continued lockdown and what this will do for overall business confidence. There is also a clear challenge with Brexit, and assisting customers who are in Europe and Ireland. www.templeknight.co.uk Paul Wheatley, Sales Manager, Pinnacle, part of the Ethos Group With the pandemic being at the forefront of most people’s minds, particularly at the start of the year, cost savings and tighter control of budgets will be the main driving force for change in 2021. Remote working and digital transformation will be key drivers as the industry carries on the transition throughout the year, with technology playing a large part of the strategy for evolvement. We are helping our clients to focus on keeping their business running in the most efficient manner possible, by delivering a transformation roadmap for the essentials; supporting people, safety, cyber and security, cost control and asset management, taking care of employees and customers. As businesses rethink how and where they conduct operations, our industry continues to move forward. There are four strategic areas to focus on: recovering revenue, rebuilding operations, rethinking the organisation and accelerating the adoption of digital solutions. The way people now work has changed and has significantly impacted print and document managed services. Remote working – which stood at five per cent of the working population in January 2020 – has now soared to 60 per cent and is now recognised as an accepted and flexible way of reducing costs and managing work life balance. During lockdown there has been an unprecedented acceleration of cloud- based technologies and the digitisation of capabilities. Companies need to consider key investments across remote collaboration tools, mobile cybersecurity tech, accessible HR tools, wellness and workforce training programs for professional development and upskilling. Opportunities are abound in areas such as work from home devices, managed print services and app-based workflows, there’s a new way to work, and we're accelerating that now. We are confident in our ability to join the dotted lines, not only across print, but from other business segments like comms, cyber security and document workflows, securing a market advantage with a one stop approach to our clients’ requirements by delivering end-to-end solutions, all from one suppler. www.ethos.co.uk Michael Field, Managing Director, Workflo Solutions I consider it naïve to think that any of us can predict what 2021 will bring for managed print and IT service providers. COVID-19 has driven digital transformation at great pace, overnight a WFH model was forced upon businesses throughout the UK. The infrastructure of managed service providers was tested, Simon Chapman