01732 759725 48 VIEW FROM THE CHANNEL View from the channel Q: How’s business; better or worse than 12 months ago? And how confident are you about the future? A: Business is better than 12 months ago. We have transformed the business in every possible way. We’ve gone through a year of transformation and growth. We have applied so many changes to the extent that the business is unrecognisable. If you came in and saw Logixal 12 months ago and compared it to what this business is now, it would seem like a completely different company. I made the decision to transform Logixal last year as the pandemic allowed me to step back and take stock. I looked at where we were going, how we can improve the business, and how we could best support our clients during the pandemic. 12 months later, we have evolved as a company. We invested in an innovative new website and branding, a complete fresh overhaul, a new colour, feel and energy. We diversified and evolved our services to our customers. We poured energy into our accreditations and levels of excellence, gaining ISO 9001, ISO 1400, Cyber Essentials, Investors in People (IIP) Platinum, to name but a few. We also upgraded all our software and policies internally, took on new partners and employed new staff to give us a chance to grow and get ahead for 2022. The future looks very positive. Q: In what areas are you experiencing strongest demand? A: To be brutally honest we are experiencing a huge demand in all four key parts of our business. We are seeing a huge growth in demand in our managed services solutions, IT support, remote monitoring, connectivity solutions as well as backup and storage security. We are seeing an increase in demand for our communication focused technology solutions as our clients recognise how important they are in managing a hybrid workforce and customer experience. Companies are also looking for different printing solutions to digitise their workflows with the ECM architectural solutions we provide. So, all in all, we are seeing a high demand in the wide range of nextlevel software and solutions we uniquely provide our customers, so they can create a smarter workplace. Q: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? A: As I mentioned above, we have made so many changes to the business. Through diversifying and evolving our services we have and will continue to support our customers with their digital transformation, to make them as efficient, productive, connected, and collaborative as possible – which in turn enables them to best manage a hybrid workforce and to adapt to the new way of working. Daniel Hoile, Founder and CEO, Logixal Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? A: The biggest challenges are keeping in contact with key business development managers – BDMs, key decision-makers that are working from home, as there are huge delays with responses to key queries that need answering, and then having to struggle with the manufacturers’ availability on stock, they do not have any stock available, we are waiting months for hardware. Q: Could vendors and distributors do more to help you overcome them? And if so, what? A: It would be ideal if larger stock levels were held in the UK, so we have machines and stock here immediately, so we can get orders delivered, to fully satisfy our customers and get deliveries within 24 - 48 hours. We must catch up on all the business lost in the last 18 months through COVID-19. Q: If you could change one aspect of your job what would it be and why? A: I have made some big changes in my life recently. I have started getting up at 4.30am every working day, heading to the gym, and then attacking the working day with a clear head and feeling incredible. I am also rewarding myself every three months by taking a few days off, this gives me space to properly step back for three to four days, to recharge, to recoup, and to re-energise. These mini breaks with the family balance out the ridiculous crazy starts, the crazy pumped gym sessions and the high demands from the business. It’s all with the aim of achieving a good balanced life. www.logixal.co.uk Daniel Hoile
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=