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PRINTING FOR SMES
Xerox is looking to small and
medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
for further growth in managed print
services (MPS) and has launched
a number of new products to help
channel partners meet the needs
of this sector.
Using the definition of 5 to 1,000
employees, it has calculated that
there are 8 million SMEs in Europe
and the US with a combined spend
on document technology products
and services of $40 billion. This
includes printers, supplies, software
solutions and managed print
services.
To reach this market, Xerox
relies on a network of local dealers
and resellers, retailers and online
merchants. It estimates that 75%
of the worldwide office market is
served by the indirect channel. In
Europe alone, it has 22,000 channel
partners in 18 countries, generating
$3 billion of annual revenue for the
company.
This year, Xerox expects the
channel to account for 50% of its
technology business revenue.
By early 2017, it forecasts that the
proportion will have increased to two
thirds of revenue as more channel
partners deliver workflow services
and solutions.
Next generation
Xerox is the world leader in MPS with
a market share of 27.8%, according
to IDC, well ahead of its nearest
competitors, such as Ricoh (14%), HP
(12.4%) and Lexmark (9.2%).
In order to maintain its dominant
share, Xerox aims to develop new
markets and in particular to grow
its share of the SME market, which
remains largely untapped and has four
times the growth potential of the large
enterprise sector.
Between 2014 and 2018, Xerox
expects the SME market for MPS
to grow from $14.3 billion to $20.1
billion, with the Large Enterprise MPS
market growing much more slowly,
from $13.1 billion to $14.2 billion.
The challenge Xerox faces is
how to adapt its three-stage MPS
model for the channel and their SME
customers. This includes Assess &
Optimise (printer auditing and fleet
right-sizing); Secure & Integrate (the
introduction of security and mobility
solutions); and Automate & Simplify
(workflow digitisation and business
process optimisation).
To this end, it has just introduced
four new tools that will enable
channel partners to deliver more
sophisticated MPS programmes. Two
(i and ii) will help resellers meet the
needs of the two thirds of SMEs that
don’t yet have MPS, and two (iii and
iv) address the requirements of SMEs
that want to take an existing MPS
to a higher level through workflow
optimisation.
i) NewField IT Assessment Tool.
Partners enrolled in the Xerox Print
Partner Services Programme are
being offered a Pro version of the
NewField IT Assessment Tool at a
significant discount from the open
market price. This tool helps a partner
create a baseline of an SME’s existing
printer estate and document spend
and create a roadmap showing how
savings of up to 30% can be achieved.
Elizabeth Fox, Xerox vice
president, Managed Print Services
for SMB, said: “The credibility of a
document assessment can double
or triple the win rate and it captures
new pages – pages that might not
actually have ever been a part of
what the customer originally asked
for help on. For a partner, manually
collecting data, merging it into
a spreadsheet and making that
meaningful for clients is challenging
if they are not a specialist. The
NewField IT assessment tools turn an
Excel spreadsheet of data into a high
end presentation that a management
consultant would be proud to deliver.”
ii) Xerox Enhanced Managed
Supplies Service.
Even well
managed fleets may include devices
that are not on a cost per page or
click contract. For customers that
are uncomfortable with a click
contract or don’t have access to a
click plan, Xerox is introducing the
Xerox Enhanced Managed Supplies
Service, which Fox describes as “like
MPS but with a transactional model”.
The just-in-time toner replenishment
service enables partners to see when
a printer needs new consumables
and place an order with a distributor
for delivery directly to the customer’s
premises. The service doesn’t just
cover Xerox devices, but supports all
major printer brands.
Mike Feldman said: “One of
the things we’ve seen from our
competitors is that they focus solely
on their products and one of the nice
things about our MPS is we recognise
it’s a multi-vendor world and our tools
will help our partners work in that
world and allow them to manage Xerox
and non-Xerox devices.”
iii) MPS Application Programming
Interface (API).
This new Xerox API
has a dual function; it improves the
integration of Xerox MPS tools into
the partner’s systems, and it lets
partners integrate their systems with
a client’s infrastructure. For example,
meter readings could be integrated
into a standard billing application or
into one that’s developed in-house.
iv) Xerox Digital Alternatives
(DA).
DA helps SMEs take MPS to
the next level by converting everyday
processes into digital actions. Xerox
analysis shows that there are five
main reasons why people print – to
read, share, store, sign and annotate.
Digital Alternatives provides digital
processes for these actions reducing
the need to print and improving
collaboration.
Xerox is targeting SMEs with an enhanced channel MPS programme
Xerox targets SMEs
Xerox has
developed
a number
of tools
designed to
aid individual
worker
productivity
