Print.IT Reseller - issue 86

PRINTITRESELLER.UK VOX POP 43 Cloud-based services will undoubtedly help the print channel secure some lost revenue streams but also help to access more technologies that can assist in the new normal David Warrington, Client Services Director, Office Fox : “The pandemic obviously hit a lot of MPS providers whose revenues were solely focused on printed output. Across the board, printing volumes in the office steeply dropped. However, in most instances print just migrated to outside of the office. The flow and need to access information increased as agile working took hold. This did however offer more challenges as businesses needed a way to monitor, track, budget and obviously make that information secure. “Cloud-based services will undoubtedly help the print channel secure some lost revenue streams but also help to access more technologies that can assist in the new normal. One of the biggest assets to MPS providers is their ability to adapt and capitalise on emerging opportunity, I believe we will be seeing a lot more cloud offerings and true consultancy-led sales to help organisations really benefit from the technology available.” Steve Holmes, EMEA Regional Director, PaperCut: “MSPs who don’t offer cloud print services will not survive the digital transformation of business over the coming years. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility that we’ll be working remotely or in a hybrid work model through 2021 and beyond. This means we’ll see teams bouncing between working in their office and working remotely, which in turn means businesses will continue to think about reducing their office footprint on a more permanent basis or even transition to shared office spaces. The reality for MSPs, is that they need to provide a flexible portfolio of offerings. “Print IT infrastructure will be redesigned, office environments will be re-imagined, and while the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation in many businesses, not everyone is ready to make the leap. MSPs play a key role in supporting the breadth of needs and the period of change that will continue to be out there for the foreseeable future. “Print management in the cloud has been on the upward swing for a few years now, and hybrid working is expediting this transition process for many businesses. The timing of the pandemic has created an opportunity for cloud-native products to rapidly mature, which is certainly the case for our cloud-native solutions PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket. “For industries like legal and healthcare, however, hybrid working introduces the risk of cybersecurity vulnerability for some workplaces. This, in turn, expands the opportunities Kerry Rush, Product Manager, Sharp UK : “This is a difficult one. Many of the MFP providers – including Sharp – already offer access to cloud print, but I do feel that going forward it will be a necessary feature instead of a ‘nice to have’ or an add-on. It’s definitely a key consideration for MFP development to be able to offer access to cloud print and scanning with ease across all platforms. It is important for MPS providers to stay relevant and ensure they have a range of products and solutions that will support the way their customers want to work moving forward. We need to provide a value proposition that clients want to invest in.” continued... Hybrid working is here to stay with most eligible employees likely working from places other than a corporate office three to five days a week Steve Holmes Kerry Rush Christop Hammer David Warrington