Print.IT Reseller - issue 80

01732 759725 42 VOX POP Coronavirus looks set to have a lasting impact on office use and it’s very likely that home working is here to stay. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Directors, 74 per cent of close to 1,000 company directors said they would be keeping increased home working after coronavirus. Furthermore, more than half of those polled said their organisation intended to reduce their long-term use of workplaces. What opportunities does this present for the print and IT channel and how can vendors help customers meet the needs of the new normal? Home working here to stay Clive Hamilton, Managing Director, Pinnacle Group: “Yes, absolutely! We think that supporting all our customers with all their agile workers, whether it be at home, on the road or in hot stop offices, is vitally important in driving collaboration, innovation and new services that the customers may need. The new services Pinnacle offers to cover these customer requirements include: IT Services, Cyber Security Services, Device-as-a-Service, Print-as-a-Service, Document Digitisation, Cloud Content Management Solutions and Supplies for Service at Home.” Michael Field, Managing Director, Workflo Solutions : “I think we all accept that rush decisions can lead to long-term difficulties. However, the pandemic left little room for manoeuvre when it came to transitioning staff to home working. Workflo Solutions were able to pivot quickly and align our services to meet the demand for print, communication, and IT services for home users. We see no reason that existing technology specifically that with a cloud platform, cannot be tailored to meet remote working practices.” Colin Blumenthal, Managing Director, Complete I.T., part of Sharp: “Businesses need to review their overall IT strategy and ensure it is fit for their new ways of working. Traditional working methods, like nine-to-five in the office five days per week, will permanently change due to the pandemic. As an IT partner we need to make sure that our clients have the correct technologies to thrive in our collective new normal. “Some of the key areas to consider here include: an agile cloud telephony system, the right endpoint devices and screens, and a great video conferencing experience – one that is aligned to the appropriate office productivity and data sharing cloud software and platform. These will help guarantee the right data and applications are delivered to the right people, with the right security, and with the right speed of access.” David Warrington, Client Services Director, Office Fox: “Absolutely, we saw an increase in A4 MFDs by over 250% YOY. Initially a lot of work from home employees simply used what they had, after a month or two clearly the ‘who pays for this?’ question came up. “With a lot of ‘normal’ office equipment contracts’ minimum charges coupled with having to expense employee consumables, costs quickly spiralled. The landscape has changed and we need to change with it – businesses still need to be able to control costs in or out of the office. Rather than single point failure and cost control this has now been decentralised, which as a service provider is absolutely a challenge, but with that gives us more opportunity to redesign our offering and make it fit for purpose in the new normal.” PrintIT Reseller: The pandemic saw individuals and businesses making distress purchases of products to support enforced home working. With home working likely here to stay, is there now an opportunity to provide customers with technology that is fit for purpose in the longer-term? Clive Hamilton Colin Blumenthal