ISSUE 92 · 2022 www.printitreseller.uk PRINT, MFP, SOFTWARE, SERVICES, DOCUMENT & CLOUD NEWS & INFORMATION FOR VARS, CONVERGED RESELLERS & MFP DEALERS VOX POP PRINTIT AWARDS Sustainability: part two PAGE 22 PAGE 40 PAGE 50 60 SECONDS WITH... Patrick Winterbotham, Data Direct 2022 categories announced We’re EGG-CITED to tell you about our latest HP Toner Promotion Turn to page 29 for full details. Authorised Distributor Print & IT Distribution
Our award winning sustainable technology is here to stay At Epson, we are 100% committed to our Heat-Free business inkjet technology and to supporting our resellers in providing their customers with printing solutions to reduce their environmental impact. We’ve developed PrecisionCore Heat-Free technology, a uniquely sustainable alternative to thermal inkjet and laser printers. To start printing sustainably, visit www.epson.co.uk/heat-free Up to 96% fewer used consumables than laser printers* Up to 50% faster from ready compared to laser printers* Up to 83% less energy than laser technology* *www.epson.co.uk/heat-free
Quocirca’s report – The Future Immersive Workplace reveals that adoption of metaverseenabling immersive technology in the workplace is gathering pace. More than twothirds of ITDMs expect VR/AR headsets will be mainstream in the workplace for virtual immersive meetings in the next two years and 61 per cent are already using at least one application of VR/AR. Interestingly, the study found a generation gap in VR/AR perceptions, with almost three quarters of ITDMs aged 18-34 believing AR/VR will be used for virtual workplace meetings within the next two years, compared to only just over half of ITDMs aged 45+ (page 20). This month’s VOX POP continues the sustainability debate. On page 40, a number of the print industry’s leading vendors discuss the need to cut GHG emissions and why strong environmental performance matters to both customers and employees alike. Planning for the PrintIT Awards 2022 is going full steam ahead. We’ve made some changes this year, updated the entry criteria for some awards and created a couple of new categories. The awards will officially launch on May 3, and to be in with a chance of winning an award, you must submit your entries by 5pm July 22. You can find out more about this year’s categories and key dates to put in your diary on page 22. In this issue, Roger Stocker, CEO, Intuitive, picks the work tools he uses every day and couldn’t do his job without (page 18). This month’s Q&A is with Greg Tuohy, CEO, Cantec Group, and PITR spent 60 seconds with Patrick Winterbotham, Managing Director, Data Direct. If you’ve got any news about your business to share, would like to be included on our monthly VOX POP panel, have a compelling business success story or simply wish to comment on any industry issues, please get in touch with us at: [email protected] Michelle Ryder, Editor PRINT.IT Reseller is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 10 Amherst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT • Tel: 01732 759725 Email: [email protected] www.printitreseller.uk No part of PRINT.IT Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2022 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk 04 Bulletin What’s new in printers and printing 16 People A round-up of new hires 18 I couldn’t do my job without... Roger Stocker picks his favourite work tools 20 Research The metaverse office gains momentum 22 PrintIT Awards The 2022 event will take place on December 6 26 Focus on: What’s New A round-up of recent product launches 30 Business Intelligence MPS Monitor enhances BI capabilities 33 Distribution Tech Data extends as-aservice offering 34 Dealer Profile AR Digital expands into IT 39 IT Services EBM looks to acquire for growth 40 VOX POP Committed to a sustainable future: part two 48 View from the Channel Greg Tuohy, CEO, Cantec Group 50 60 seconds with... Patrick Winterbotham, Managing Director, Data Direct ISSUE 92 · 2022 printitreseller.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of PrintIT Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.printitreseller.uk/register If you no longer wish to receive PrintIT Reseller magazine please email your details to [email protected] Read PrintIT Reseller online at: www.printitreseller.uk Join us : Follow us @PrintITReseller Issue 92 ISSN 2055-3110 (Print) ISSN 2055-3129 (Online) Group Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 · [email protected] Editor: Michelle Ryder 01732 759725 · [email protected] Publishing Director, Social Media and Web Editor: Neil Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 · [email protected] Group Sales: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 · [email protected] Art Director: Nick Pledge 07767 615983 · [email protected] Advertising Executive: James Trim 01732 759725 · [email protected] COMMENT PRINTITRESELLER.UK 3 VOX POP Committed to a sustainable future: part two - Page 40 How are you engaging your employees in your sustainability efforts? Now, for the first time, every HP employee is encouraged to set a sustainable impact goal...
The PrintIT and Technology Reseller Golf Society has announced four dates for 2022. n May 12: Belton Woods Golf Resort n June 9: The Welcombe Golf Resort n July 14: Wyboston Lakes Resort n September 22: The Warwickshire on the Kings Course The Print IT and Technology Reseller Golf Society is open to everyone – resellers, dealers, VARs, MSPs, system integrators and vendors – up to a maximum of 72 players. At each event there will be prizes for Overall Highest Score of the Day, Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin. The top two players from each of the first three events will compete to become the overall Golfing Champion 2022 at the final event, taking place at the Warwickshire. Other players will be able to play for Overall Highest Score for the Day, Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin. To find out more or to book a place or places, please email Paul Johnson on [email protected] or call 07887 944433. BULLETIN Diary dates The biggest challenge for CTOs Research from STX Next has found that 41% of CTOs report hiring to be their biggest challenge at present. This comes as unemployment rates fall in the UK, Europe and USA after peaking earlier in the pandemic, meaning fewer candidates to fill roles, despite increasing demand for digital technology. The survey also suggests that the majority of tech leaders value soft skills highly when looking to address staffing shortages. 83% of CTOs stressed the importance of feedback from peers on soft skills when evaluating employee performance. In addition, 81% highlighted a good culture fit as an important hiring criterion, second only to proficiency of technical skills (83%). The findings were taken from STX Next’s 2021 Global CTO Survey, which gathered insights from 500 global CTOs. Other key findings included: 68% of respondents reported that the increase in remote working hadn’t had a negative effect on relationships with team members – soft skills can still be demonstrated whether working in the office or from home. 77% of CTOs reported a preference for hiring new employees from outside of their organisation. When sourcing new talent, 72% of CTOs said the most efficient way to identify prospective team members is through employee referrals. www.stxnext.com Technology vacancies up 105% The number of tech jobs in England and Wales reached record levels in 2021, with tech firms publishing more IT vacancies in the last year than all British businesses combined did in 2020, a new labour market report says. According to global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters and data analytics firm Vacancysoft, there were over 12,800 new vacancies for tech professionals in 2021, a rise of 105% year-on-year, and 57.3% more compared to the previous annual high set in 2018. Tom Chambers, Associate Director at Robert Walters, said: “More money than ever is flowing into UK tech. The sector raised £29.4 billion in 2021, up from £11.5 billion in 2020. The combined value of UK tech companies founded since 2000 is now £540 billion, after the biggest year-on-year increase since 2013/14. “More money means more job opportunities – and not just in London. Although it’s the capital where most investment activity is focused, nearly £9 billion went to start ups and scale ups outside London and the South East.” Technology companies accounted for 53.8% of all new IT vacancies in England & Wales, up 3.5 percentage points year-on-year and nearly 10 points higher than 2018. www.robertwalters.co.uk You’re fired and now rehired Randstad UK asked 500 managers working within the tech sector if they would rehire an employee they’d let go and nine in 20 (45%) said they would. Randstad UK said the results reflect the pressure on employers suffering from COVID-driven labour shortages and the brutal employee churn brought about by the Great Resignation. Adrian Smith, Senior Director of Operations said: “This shows just how severe the labour shortage is at present – and how desperate employers are getting in the face of such a dearth of skills. One of the unwritten rules of taking a new job is keeping it for at least a year – even if you hate it. People used to be worried about what future employers would think as an employee who stays at least a year is a better investment than one who doesn’t. Well, I can tell you tech professionals aren’t worried about that in the slightest now. If a job isn’t to their satisfaction, they know they can walk straight into another one.” www.randstad.co.uk Two in five organisations hit by ransomware Quantum has released new survey data that reveals the most common challenges organisations struggle with around effective data management, storage and analysis. Two out of five respondents reported that their organisation had been a victim of a successful ransomware attack in the last two years, with 82% of organisations defaulting to paying the ransom. In addition to the cost of the ransom itself, attacks can have an impact on organisation productivity – the survey found that the median cost for ransoms was reported as $375K – which equates to the cost of approximately 2.1 hours of downtime for a mission-critical workload. Out of those surveyed, 87% of respondents say their executives are concerned about future ransomware attacks and on the other hand, just 6% of organisations impacted could restore from an air-gapped backup solution. www.quantum.com 01732 759725 4 2 0 2 2 Belton Woods Wyboston Lakes Welcombe The Warwickshire
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BULLETIN Capita sells Trustmarque Capita has agreed to sell Trustmarque, an IT services and solutions provider and toptier partner for global technology vendors, to One Equity Partners for £111m on a cash free, debt free basis. Capita previously announced its intention to sell a number of non-core businesses, including Trustmarque, to strengthen the balance sheet and focus on its two core divisions, Capita Public Service and Capita Experience. The sale of Trustmarque follows recently completed sales of software businesses AMT Sybex, and Secure Solutions and Services. www.capita.com Integra celebrates 25 years 2022 marks the 25th Anniversary of industry leading dealer group, Integra Business Solutions Ltd. CEO, Aidan McDonough, said: “It’s fair to say that we have faced many adversities over the last 25 years with 2020 and 2021 being exceptionally challenging. However, as our ethos ‘Strength Through Unity’ reflects, we have come together as a group to support each other – from our member community and our key partners to the team at Integra. We have maintained our strong position within the industry and, through prudent financial management, a robust balance sheet to ensure we can continue to support dealers through 2022 and beyond.” Further details of Integra’s 25 Year celebrations will be announced throughout the coming months. www.integra-business.co.uk Office Evolution goes carbon neutral Office Evolution has achieved Carbon Neutral Status and is fully accredited by Carbon Neutral Britain. The Melksham-based firm already has an established relationship with The Woodland Trust and offsets all customers’ paper purchases through the establishment of new English woodlands. General Manager Natasha Reid, said: “Working with Carbon Neutral Britain has allowed us to carry out a full assessment of our company’s impact and get us to a point where we are now Carbon Neutral. It has never been more important for businesses to step up and take account of the environmental impact associated with their operations, the next step is to work towards being Carbon Negative, and we have plans in place to achieve this.” The company is currently in talks to install solar panels at its offices and hopes to install EV Points as the vehicle fleet transitions away from fossil fuels to enhance its efforts. www.officeevo.co.uk Precision Proco Group acquires Precision Proco Group continues to strengthen its offering with the news that it has brought Cliftons Bookbinders into the group. Cliftons, which has been in operation for more than 20 years, made the tough decision to close its doors in 2021, due to the effects of the pandemic and a number of other contributory factors. But now the company has been given a new lease of life, after moving its trade finishing arm to Precision Proco Group’s Dagenham base, which will also benefit the group’s digital print platform, WTTB, which is planning to unveil its book super centre in the near future. Gary Peeling, Chief Executive of Precision Proco Group, believes that bringing Cliftons’ expertise into the Dagenham plant aligns perfectly with the company’s plans to grow the book printing offering. Clifton Bookbinders’ Managing Director, Tim Clifton, said the company had a long relationship with Precision Proco Group so it was a good move for everyone. www.precisionprocogroup.co.uk (l-r) Gary Peeling, CEO of Precision Proco Group and Tim Clifton, MD of Clifton Bookbinders 01732 759725 6 SEE THE 2022 CATEGORIES SEE PAGE 22
BULLETIN Tailored box making service Antalis Packaging has introduced a new box making service in response to growing demand from customers for smaller order quantities of boxes or wraps to ensure they can fulfil orders when, for example, demand spikes or to respond quickly to client-specific requests. The new service guarantees customers time-crucial, tailormade corrugated wrap or box orders delivered within three days. The service operates from Antalis Packaging’s facilities in Leicester and currently offers a wide range of styles of corrugated wrap and different styles of corrugated box, available in order quantities as low as 100. Customers can also choose from single or double-walled corrugate. Customers who require a unique packaging design, can also take advantage of Antalis Packaging’s design service. The company is looking to further develop packaging products and services, with additional box styles and options, including printing, planned for 2022. www.antalis.co.uk Strategic cooperation Tech Data has announced a new strategic cooperation with Simplanova, a provider of Dynamics 365 Business Central Upgrade and NAV Development services. Tech Data and Simplanova are working together to deliver enterprise-grade IT services for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 portfolio and provide premium expertise to empower Dynamics partners and end customers. Through this agreement, Tech Data partners can access Simplanova’s automated, fixed price professional services to support their customers in accelerating and streamlining migrations from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Business Central. Partners can also leverage other services, such as Business Central custom development, add-on migration to AppSource and technical team training, enabling them to support end customers in upgrading their Dynamics environments and gain access to new functionality, improved agility and support for their instance of the Dynamics NAV system. https://eu.techdata.com Midwich acquires Nimans Midwich has entered a binding agreement to acquire Nimans and its subsidiaries from Nycomm Holdings Limited. The specialist distributor of unified communications, telecoms, collaboration and audio visual technologies has key brand relationships including Yealink, Jabra, and BT. The company trades with over 2,500 telephony, IT and retail customers and employs over 200 staff. Stephen Fenby, Midwich Group Managing Director, said: “Nimans is a long-established business with a great reputation for technical excellence, customer service and logistics competence. I believe that the combined skill-sets and capabilities of Midwich and Nimans bring a unique offering into the market in terms of providing complex solutions involving multiple technologies.” www.midwich.com SYNAXON UK adds to list of distributor partners SYNAXON UK has announced a new partnership with leading independent distributor, VIP UK. The full portfolio of products stocked by VIP will be available through SYNAXON’s EGIS stock availability and pricing platform with immediate effect. VIP offers a wide range of IT systems, components, software and peripherals from vendors, including ASUS, AMD, Microsoft, Razer, Corsair, Gigabyte, Nvidia, BenQ, Intel, AOC, Philips, Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital, BullGuard, Tenda, MSI and many more. The firm is the latest addition to a growing list of distributors and supplier partners that SYNAXON UK works with to provide its partners with access to the widest range choice of products available in the channel – along with full stock availability and pricing information – through its EGIS portal. Mike Barron, Managing Director of SYNAXON UK, said: “VIP UK is a well-known and trusted name in the channel and its portfolio is a really significant addition to EGIS.” Elliott Hodgeon, Sales Director, VIP added: “VIP are delighted to be working with SYNAXON and look forward to collaborating with their team. The agreement serves as a win for all parties, as current EGIS partners get access to VIP’s excellent service and product portfolio, SYNAXON can add another reputable distributor to its offering, and it gives VIP access to SYNAXON’s loyal EGIS users.” www.synaxon-services.com PRINTITRESELLER.UK 7 Mike Barron
BULLETIN SYNAXON UK partners with UFP SYNAXON UK has partnered with UFP. The specialist provider of print and IT products portfolio is available to resellers through SYNAXON’s online procurement platform, EGIS. UFP has a pan-European presence and annual sales of over €1.26 billion (£108 million). In employs 750 people, 125 of them at its UK base in Bradford. UFP is an authorised distributor for Apple, Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, HP, IBM, Kyocera, Lenovo, Lexmark, Logitech, NETGEAR, OKI, Samsung, Xerox, and other leading vendors. As well as print devices, it offers networking, peripherals, data storage, mobile accessories, and other tech products for delivery throughout the UK. The addition of UFP brings the total number of distributors on EGIS to 40 and makes the platform even more useful for reseller, retailers, and office products suppliers. Adam Collier, General Manager at UFP, said: “Our partnership with SYNAXON UK will help us to reach out to even more resellers and dealers and allow them to take advantage of UFP’s services. Our business is built on hard work, honesty, and relationships – a partner you can rely on. We’re keen to show SYNAXON UK partners how that translates into excellence in choice, value, and service for their business.” www.synaxon-services.com Arrow Electronics signs deal with VAST Data Arrow Electronics has announced a new distribution agreement with VAST Data, a fast-growing next-generation storage software infrastructure company. Arrow will help accelerate adoption of VAST Data’s high performance Universal Storage platform by broadening reach with key channel partners and markets across Europe. ”As more businesses explore new ways to address the growing needs of AI and big data analytics or to rethink their data protection strategies, it is important that their storage infrastructure can deliver the intensive performance needed to extract value from their data. With VAST Data, customers can realise the benefits of an all-flash data centre without the usual cost barriers,” said Alexis Brabant, Vice President of Sales for Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business in Europe. “VAST Data has brought something new to the market, and we’re pleased to be working with them in Europe to help them to further scale their business.” www.arrow.com 01732 759725 8 Exclusive distribution agreement SurgeX, a leader in power protection, power conditioning, diagnostic intelligence and remote monitoring, has appointed Midwich Group as its exclusive partner in the UK and Ireland. The group, including Midwich, Invision, PSCo and Square One will carry the entire surge elimination and UPS product range whilst its channel partners can also access an experienced product support team with a wealth of technical knowledge to assist with product specification, system infrastructure design and training to optimise performance. Justin Peyton, Director of Sales EMEA at SurgeX, said: “This strategic distribution agreement is great news for the SurgeX brand and for Midwich Group channel partners. Midwich sets a high standard for professional supply, service and support across its businesses in the commercial and residential markets and we are looking forward to working with them to build our brand and grow sales for our extensive range of power management solutions.” www.midwich.com Nuvias Group joins GTDC consortium The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) has announced the addition of the Nuvias Group to its membership, furthering its mission to drive channel success and strengthen the value of technology distribution. GTDC members including Arrow Electronics, CMS Distribution, Exclusive Networks, Exertis, Infinigate, Ingram Micro, TD Synnex and Westcon-Comstor, drive an estimated $150 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services and solutions through diverse business channels. “Nuvias Group is a model for what successful technology distribution will look like today and into the future,” said GTDC CEO Frank Vitagliano. “Their ability to flex and adapt to the changing needs of the channel will also help our organisation to better meet the evolving requirements of today’s technology vendors, resellers and solution providers – as the world continues to shapeshift around us every day.” www.nuvias.com 6 December 2022 Royal Lancaster Hotel, London SEE PAGE 22
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Pax8 partners with Printix Pax8 has partnered with Printix, a Kofax company, providing managed service providers access to cloud print management technology. Through the agreement, Pax8 partners now have access to flexible, scalable, and easy-to-use solutions to manage and maintain their clients’ complex print environments. “Our partnership with Pax8 and their global partner ecosystem empowers us to modernise workplace printing for small-midsized businesses,” said Jesper Christiansen, General Manager and Co-Founder at Printix. “Our advanced technology removes the need for on-premises hardware and reduces IT burden, enabling MSPs to reduce their clients’ operating costs significantly. We are excited to work with Pax8 and democratise enterprise-grade print technology for companies worldwide.” www.pax8.com 01732 759725 BULLETIN 10 Xerox revisits Glasgow Xerox is working with Glasgow City Council and Procurement Scotland to donate print devices used at the COP26 conference, as part of its continued commitment to tackle climate change. The majority of the devices have already been donated to local charities, having been remanufactured just three miles away from Glasgow at Concept, a Xerox company’s Clydebank plant. The devices themselves carry Blue Angel, Energy Star and EPEAT eco-label certifications and have been fully validated by The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for their robust security and functionality. Xerox also announced its plans to reach net zero by 2040, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Darren Cassidy, Managing Director, Xerox UK&I said: “Given the urgency surrounding climate change, we felt that it was an imperative to fast-track our net zero goal by ten years. To do so we have adapted our roadmap to cover all aspects of the value chain and have expanded our GHG emissions reduction goal to cover scopes 1 and 2, as part of the GHG Corporate Protocol, as well as scope 3 emissions which isn’t required.” Xerox has already been able to eliminate 320,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, offset 1.5 billion pages of paper through its reforestation program and plant 200,000 trees. www.xerox.com Konica Minolta included on the Climate A List 2021 Konica Minolta has achieved a global leadership position on the Climate A List by CDP, an international not-for-profit organisation engaged in activities to realise a sustainable economy, for the sixth time. The Climate A List is composed of companies that have been recognised as global leaders in terms of goals set and actions taken to combat climate change and disclosure of information. Of some 12,000 companies around the world that were covered by CDP’s survey, 204 companies (including 56 Japanese companies) were included on the Climate A List 2021 in recognition of their efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, mitigate climate change and contribute to a low carbon economy. www.konicaminolta.co.uk MPSA helps members win more business The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) has launched a new eBook: Managed Print RFP Template, available for members to download now at the MPSA website. The goal of the book is to help providers get ahead of the RFP process, providing industry best practices to help set MPSA members apart from their competition to win more business. The book was created by the MPSA Standards and Best Practices Committee (SBPC), who identified that for MPS providers to be more successful, they should actively provide prospects with a list of RFP requirements to guide the buying criteria to be aligned with the best interests of the customer as well as favour the strengths of the MPS provider. The committee collaborated with RFP software providers to ensure the content can be easily integrated into a prospect’s RFP software platform. www.yourmpsa.org Canon earns place on CCS framework Canon has been awarded supplier status in Lot 2 and 3 of Crown Commercial Service’s Multifunctional Devices, Print and Digital Workflow Software Services and Managed Print Service Provision framework. Canon’s inclusion on the new framework will run for four years until 2025, and its offering responds to the wider shift towards digitalisation across the sector. Canon’s place on the framework will cover the supply of products, software and services across its document solutions, wide format print, production print and Canon Business Services business units – delivering a full end to end solution for customers. Through Canon’s offering, the framework will be able to support organisations with delivering digital transformation as well as providing bespoke solutions to support wider strategic objectives. CCS supports the public sector in achieving maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020 to 2021, it helped the public sector achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04 billion – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. www.canon.co.uk The Convergent Technology Event for IT Resellers & Providers 22 13 September 2022 Business Design Centre, London tech-live.co.uk
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01732 759725 12 BULLETIN Kodak Alaris expands global alliance with ABBYY Kodak Alaris has announced a global strategic alliance with digital intelligence company ABBYY. The agreement expands the long-time partnership to now include the integration of Kodak Alaris’ information capture solutions with ABBYY’s low-code/ no-code, cloud-based intelligent document processing (IDP) platform, Vantage, to help organisations successfully transform documents into actionable data. As part of the expanded alliance, Kodak Alaris and ABBYY will offer a technical integration of the Kodak INfuse Smart Connected Scanning Solution and Vantage. Together, Kodak Alaris and ABBYY will drive automation initiatives on a global level and create opportunities for both companies and their partners to solve a variety of document processing challenges for customers. Kodak Alaris will also offer a connector to Vantage and have access to a library of document skills available from the ABBYY Marketplace this year. “We are delighted to partner with ABBYY and look forward to working together to help our joint customers accelerate their automation strategies and increase productivity,” said Don Lofstrom, President & General Manager at Kodak Alaris. “Our global partnerships provide customers and channel partners with access to best-inclass solutions to capture, extract, and process data from a variety of document formats and channels. The combination of Kodak Alaris’ expertise in information capture with ABBYY’s digital intelligence platforms will help customers accelerate their digital transformation and optimise their business processes.” www.alarisworld.com PaperCut inspires the channel to go for growth With 2022 set to be the year the economy rebuilds and the channel community maximises emerging opportunities, PaperCut is empowering the channel with a brand new annual event – Partner Summit 2022 – that outlines its initiatives and solutions designed to accelerate its partners’ path to success. The program kicked off with the virtual Partner Summit on February 17. Exclusively for PaperCut’s ASCs, resellers and OEMs, the event brings together its channel ecosystem to hear motivational presentations from external speakers – including global market intelligence firm IDC, and investor, advisor, adventurer, and alternative futurist Gus Balbontin – as well as learning more about PaperCut’s 2022 strategic vision and its channel-friendly solutions. Steve Holmes, EMEA Regional Director, said: “At PaperCut, we’re really enthused about 2022 and we’re determined to make this a great year for our valued channel partners. They are fundamental to helping us achieve our goals this year. That’s why we are laser-focused on giving the channel the knowledge, tools and power it needs to succeed.” www.papercut.com Kaspersky celebrates fourfold growth In the first three years of its MSP Foundation project, Kaspersky has achieved fourfold growth in sales among its managed service providers. Between 2019 – 2021, Kaspersky increased MSP sales to four times their starting point – with 75% year-on-year growth shown in 2021. In addition, the number of active partners has increased three and a half times since 2018, with significant growth in countries within Europe, North America and South Africa. The introduction of a flexible pay-as-you-go monthly subscription payment plan, user-friendly License Management Portal for partners, and multi-layer cybersecurity product stack has made the Kaspersky MSP program attractive and beneficial for service providers. Kaspersky will continue investing in MSP businesses following the success of the MSP Foundation three-year project. The company plans to introduce more products and services specifically for security service providers (MSSPs), as well as continue to support a cloud-first approach and automation of many routine operations and integrate more products into a unified MSP-ready single management platform. www.kaspersky.com MPSA announces managed print certified program The Managed Print Services Association (MPSA) has announced a new MPSA Managed Print Certified accreditation, formerly known as the CompTIA Managed Print Trustmark program. This will allow organisations that have already obtained a CompTIA Managed Print Trustmark certification to leverage that assessment in obtaining accreditation for MPSA Managed Print Certified. The status of organisations that are currently accredited by CompTIA will not be affected by this change. To earn the accreditation, organisations are evaluated on the internal practices and procedures used to run their managed print business and the external activities and operations they engage in with customers and prospects. This process validates the organisation’s commitment to meet or exceed the best business practices the MPS industry has to offer for end-user organisations. “Customers looking for true managed print services that can streamline their business processes and give them the peace of mind that they made the right decision deserve a standard that lets them know they’re getting the best,” said MPSA President West McDonald. “Managed Print Certified will ensure they get exactly that. It was built on CompTIA’s exacting standards and we are proud to take over its stewardship for a new generation.” www.yourmpsa.org Don Lofstrom The PrintIT Reseller and Technology Reseller Golf Society is open to everyone with events in May, June, July and September: www.binfo.co.uk/golf-society.php 2 0 2 2 Steve Holmes
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01732 759725 14 BULLETIN Most sustainable corporations Konica Minolta has been listed among the 2022 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (2022 Global 100). The 2022 Global 100 corporations that excel in sustainability were selected based on a rigorous assessment of 6,914 companies with more than US$1 billion in revenues around the globe based on an evaluation of environmental, social and governance indicators as well as the ability to promote diversity and innovation and the percentage of sales of eco-friendly products. Konica Minolta is integrating the strengths developed in its businesses over the decades with the latest digital technologies to provide high value-added products and services, thereby helping to achieve the SDGs. www.konicaminolta.co.uk Barracuda strengthens MSP security offerings Barracuda Networks is strengthening its MSP security offering to help MSPs build advanced, security-centric services for customers. The firm has announced the integration of Barracuda Email Protection with SKOUT Managed XDR, as part of its commitment to innovation and expanding security capabilities across its MSP offerings, as well as a new alliance with SentinelOne, which enables MSPs to extend endpoint protection capabilities when they acquire and leverage SentinelOne through Barracuda SKOUT Managed XDR. “In today’s ever-evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, MSPs must deliver solutions and services that can be used to mitigate any amount of risk,” said Neal Bradbury, SVP, Barracuda MSP. “These types of security services enable MSPs to remain well-informed and well-equipped to take immediate action to protect their customers.” https://barracudamsp.com/ Canon opens new facility In response to the growing demand from the users of its high volume inkjet production presses, Canon has opened a new state-of-the-art production facility for water-based, polymer inks at its site in Venlo, The Netherlands. With a focus on operational efficiency, the 1500 m2 factory has been created from the shell of an existing building and fitted with the most up-to-date ink manufacturing equipment and levels of automation optimised to consistently deliver high quality water-based, polymer CMYK inks and to minimise waste. At the same time, the plant has created new jobs, with its 30 employees being a mix of redeployed staff and new hires. www.canon.co.uk Premier initiative supports schools Following the recent launch of the Explorer range of copier papers, Premier is running a campaign called Young Explorers throughout February, March and April 2022. Companies that order a specific quantity of Explorer paper from Premier throughout the month will be given the opportunity to nominate a local primary school of their choice to receive a set of ten pairs of wellies and ten sets of waterproofs, as part of The Outdoor Guide’s Waterproofs & Wellies Project; the aim of which is to help make outdoor learning available, fun and inclusive for all children, irrespective of their background. The project is supported by CBeebies television presenter Gemma Hunt. Matthew Fisher, Premier’s Sales Director – Office Papers said: “Introducing Explorer from the Navigator Company is an exciting development and extends the choice of products from Premier’s office papers portfolio. The launch of the Young Explorers Promotion will also give us the opportunity to support the Outdoor Guide Foundation with their waterproof and wellies campaign to provide sets of outdoor clothing to every primary school in the UK and make exploring the outdoors accessible to all.” https://theoutdoorguide.co.uk/foundation/ Ricoh named a leader Ricoh has been named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Cloud MPS Hardcopy 2022 Vendor Assessment for its cloud-based managed print services and other cloud-based contractual print services The IDC MarketScape notes: “Ricoh’s global services infrastructure combined with its worldwide geographic coverage is a key differentiator for the firm.” Robert Palmer, Research Vice President, Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions at IDC said: “Ricoh’s cloud-based MPS platform is uniquely positioned to provide customers with a comprehensive path toward digital transformation, offering a technology-agnostic approach that allows customers to pick and choose from a full menu of services that can scale to meet the evolving needs of their organisation.” www.ricoh.co.uk LogMeIn rebrands as GoTo LogMeIn has rebranded as GoTo to reflect its dedication to making IT easy, everywhere. The company is also launching a simplified product portfolio with a single application and two flagship products: the all-new IT management & support product, GoTo Resolve, and a new experience for the unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) product, GoTo Connect. These products are united by a single application, administrative system, and converging user experience. GoTo has also launched a new partner programme to further enable its growing ecosystem of partners around the globe. The announcement follows a year-long internal company transformation with significant investment in innovation, unification and global go to market efforts. “While many providers in the space only solve for one point solution, GoTo is bringing together IT management and support and communications in one application in a completely new and unique way,” said Mike Kohlsdorf, GoTo President and CEO. “GoTo and the new portfolio better represent the company and our commitment to SMBs. We understand their particular challenges and have the focus and resources needed to address these pain points to better serve their dynamic working environments.” www.goto.com
Benefits of linking to our systems via our API: > Greater levels of automation – Let our APIs do the heavy lifting for you to create the proposal, along with the relevant customer and asset information directly from within your own system > Increase your efficiency – There is now no need to enter proposal details twice as our flexible platform aligns with yours to deliver fast credit decisions right back to your CRM > Platform agnostic – Whatever CRM system you use our modern technology ensures connectivity > Adaptation and personalisation – The architecture of our APIs allows us to keep pace with changes and can be adapted as required Please visit our Privacy Notice at siemens.co.uk/privacy-notice to understand how SFS will use your data API: Seamless CRM integration to manage your deals Our API allows you to streamline the proposal creating process by integrating your own CRM with our system for rapid pricing and credit decisions. Your digital solutions need a digital finance partner – siemens.co.uk/vendor-finance
01732 759725 16 BULLETIN : PEOPLE HP announces new channel head Neil MacDonald has been appointed HP’s new UK & Ireland Channel Director with responsibility for the go-to market strategy and sales performance of HP’s print, personal systems, services and solutions in the UK & Ireland markets. MacDonald has held various sales-focused roles across the UK & Ireland, including PS and Print Consumer Director, and most recently the Director of E-Commerce and Omni Channel in EMEA. In his new role, he will be leading the commercial, consumer and distribution sales teams as well as the relationships of HP’s channel partners. Dave Prezzano, HP’s Managing Director of UK & Ireland, said: “As we’ve continued to grow our retail and commercial offerings at HP, Neil has been a key factor in our growth and success. His 12 years of experience at HP and unique skillset will continue to be a tremendous asset as he takes up this new position.” MacDonald added: “We have seen a tremendous amount of change in the past 18 months, for obvious reasons, however now more than ever we feel optimistic for the future. We’re delivering the experiences needed to thrive in a hybrid world with our product developments, portfolio and services. This, coupled with the new Amplify Partner Program and the underlying robust growth in the market, fuels our ambitions for a successful 2022. I am delighted to be working closely and collaborating with many of HP’s longstanding partners in pursuit of unlocking opportunities for sales growth in 2022.” www.hp.com Workflo Solutions promotes Weir Workflo Solutions has promoted Jonathan Weir to become its first Sales Director in recognition of his ten years’ service with the business. Weir has extensive experience and knowledge of the managed print services business and will now assume responsibility for the strategic leadership of the field sales and telesales departments in both Livingston and at the company’s north-west hub in Accrington, East Lancashire, contributing to the overall growth strategy and helping the business to scale up for further success across the UK. Managing Director Michael Field, said: “Jonathan’s promotion is richly deserved. He has built a highly successful track record and is a steadfast backbone to our day-to-day operations. This will be an exciting time to lead our sales function, as our brand significantly broadens its reach and scope.” workflo-solutions.co.uk Exertis Group creates new position Exertis has announced the appointment of Kim Lonas as Global Diversity & Inclusion Programme Lead. Lonas will report directly into Tim Griffin, DCC Technology & Exertis Group Managing Director. Lonas’ most recent role was HR Director, Exertis North America. In this newly created position, she will drive the development of Exertis’ Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) strategy. This involves evangelising and project managing the strategy implementation across the division, whilst ensuring ownership and accountability is embedded within each business through the leadership teams and the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council. www.exertis.co.uk TigerGraph appoints Harry Powell to lead industry solutions TigerGraph has announced the appointment of industry veteran Harry Powell as Head of Industry Solutions to build and lead the industry solutions team. The team will comprise both industry subject matter experts and senior analytics professionals focused on key business drivers impacting forwardthinking companies as they operate in a digital and connected world. “We are thrilled to welcome Harry to the team,” said Todd Blaschka, Chief Operating Officer of TigerGraph. “Harry brings a wealth of experience in the application of graph technology to data analytics in manufacturing and banking, two strategic areas of growth for TigerGraph. We look forward to working with him to develop the industry solutions team to support our growing list of blue chip companies worldwide that are gaining a competitive edge through the implementation of graphpowered data analytics.” tigergraph.com Former Google exec to lead Rubrik’s partner strategy Zero trust data security company Rubrik, has named Ghazal Asif as Vice President of Global Partners and Alliances. Asif is responsible for leading Rubrik’s global channel and partner strategy to drive continued growth and engagement with current and future partners. Asif is a recognised industry leader and channel executive, and advocate for diversity and inclusion. She joins Rubrik from Google where she was the Head of Channel Partners in EMEA for Google Customer Solutions, leading channel goto-market strategy and execution for the region. “Ransomware impacts every company in every industry which is driving record customer demand for Rubrik’s data security solutions,” said Asif. “The company is laser focused on the ongoing success of its partner ecosystem and I’m excited to build on this momentum and deliver even greater value to our partners and customers.” www.rubrik.com Neil MacDonald Kim Lonas Ghazal Asif Jonathan Weir
01732 759725 18 WORKPLACE Roger Stocker, CEO, Intuitive, picks the tools he uses every day and couldn’t do his job without I couldn’t do my job without... 5 Refereeing In my first business, I was 24st 7lbs, and worked every day including bank holidays and I came close to burning out. I had always enjoyed rugby and found a passion in refereeing. Now I referee nearly every weekend, I have to take time out and this gives me a chance to clear my head and take a step back from running the business. 6 The board Having the board members within our team, I find, is beneficial. Having them not involved in the day-to-day running of the business, but having critical eyes at a strategic level, is very advantageous. They always challenge us and make us think through things properly. www. weareintuitive.com 1 Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams has transformed our business. In an average week I am talking to our partners globally, and I would struggle to get around all the different areas we do business in due to COVID restrictions. Teams has been a great way to overcome this. However, I strongly believe that Teams will never be a replacement for face-to-face contact, and this year I plan to travel and see our partners. It’s been a while. 2 My management team Over the last two years, I have been working closely with my management team and now we are in a stronger position. The company has gone from me completely running everything to passing on responsibility to my team with a clear and concise plan. We carry out more robust testing of planning, and the team is more empowered because of it. I try and encourage my team to try things and learn from their mistakes. 3 Our fantastic partners One of the most important things that you can do with your partners is listen to them. In fact, I spend more time listening to our partners instead of selling to them. By doing this, it adds more value, as over time, you begin to understand your partners better. We have a great relationship with our partners, and we are grateful to them. 4 My mobile phone When I first started Intuitive, a mobile was actually just a phone. Now, it is so much more. I can check things such as my reservations, train tickets and directions to visit partners. I can keep on top of meetings, access our CRM, emails and calendar. Everything is in one place, and it makes keeping on track of everything a lot easier. Roger Stocker
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