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popularity of cloud-based and managed
solutions, we are also seeing much higher
levels of interest in Print-as-a-Service and
managed print.
“There will be a big opportunity over
the next 12 month to help customers
reduce their costs by providing managed
and as-as-service options and this in
turn will help resellers to get closer to
customers and drive their businesses
towards more sustainable models based on
recurring revenue streams.
“Tech Data already offers enablement
services for managed print and we will
be increasing our activity in this area
significantly and working with our key
vendor partners, such as HP Inc, to provide
resellers with the programmes, resources
and support they need to develop the
managed print services business.”
“2016 was expected to be the year of
consolidation among brands as market
conditions tightened, although I doubt
anyone foresaw HP’s acquisition of Samsung.
I do, however, see the conditions that drive
the need for consolidation continuing
into 2017, especially as print moves more
toward a service model and lower end unit
shipments continue to be highly pressured.
“Equally I can see the emergence of
more closed channel propositions. As
customers demand greater value from their
print solutions, the requirement for wrap
around service and support of a technology
or brand will determine to a large degree
which channel partners are able to invest
in this area and are equipped to provide
the necessary level of service and customer
experience.
“Consequently, and this is one thing we
see at Exertis, the convergence of the MPS
and IT marketplaces will gather pace. More
print brands will bring MPS propositions to
the IT space as the mid-market and above
customers have clear expectations around
factors such as cost per print, contractual
options and longer term cost-of-ownership.
This area of the market will grow in value
and whilst volume may decrease overall,
the outlook for the market as a whole is
one to be optimistic about.”
“General market trends are seeing an
increasing use of A3 colour printing and
HP’s acquisition of Samsung’s printer
business demonstrates the potential
growth opportunities offered by this area.
Purchasing trends are migrating across
to newer, faster, more economical and
effective inkjet ranges as consumers are
seeing benefits of newer inkjet printers
compared to their laser counterparts.
“The new genre of PageWide also
offers additional growth opportunities.
PageWide printers offer all the efficiency
benefits associated with inkjet printers
while using environmentally friendly
technology similar to that of laser printers.
They also deliver print quality that is on par
with laser printed documents.
“The trend of calculating upfront
costs when purchasing printers has seen
a steady incline over the last year and
will continue to feature for years to come.
Products such as those in Epson’s new
EcoTank range offer end-user savings with
the ink to print output ratio.
“Instead of a completely paperless
office, we are seeing a ‘less paper office’.
Mobile technology has resulted in several
documents not being printed as frequently
as they used to be. For instance, emails
are not being printed for meetings as they
can be accessed on tablets and mobile
phones, but printed reference documents
still have their rightful place in most offices.
The ‘touch and feel element’ of a printed
document cannot be underestimated. At
the same time, mobile printing is here
to stay and is becoming more and more
widely used.
“Mobile working and home office trends
are also here to stay and in fact grow in
years to come as businesses aim to adopt
is also very much towards services, but
here too, there is still a need for good,
dependable, local IT resellers and retailers
who can provide and support simple
solutions for SMBs. In most small firms,
the core IT function revolves around email,
web access, general productivity and
accounting systems.
“Cloud-based services have to be
part of the overall proposition now and
with faster broadband speeds available,
businesses can do more online and make
use of cloud-based voice and other
services. It’s also becoming the norm to
put simple IT functions like back-up and
print into the hands of a managed services
provider and for most SMBs, ideally, that
MSP will be their local reseller. Increasingly,
it’s expected that resellers will offer these
services as part of their normal value
proposition, so in 2017, we’d expect our
members to add to and enhance the
managed services they offer and print
should certainly be amongst that portfolio
of offerings.
“As noted earlier, our members are
moving in this direction and with the
relationships and support Synaxon UK
has with key suppliers, we can make it
easier for them to engage with the right
partners and learn about and transition to
new offerings and ways of doing business.
I expect us to get closer to our members
and to see more and more three-way
collaborations between us, our members
and our supplier partners.”
“In 2017, we will be doing our best to
ensure that resellers can provide reliable,
renewable and rewarding print solutions
to their customers. For SMBs print remains
vitally important and with the growth in
Purchasing
trends are
migrating
across to
newer,
faster, more
economical
and effective
inkjet ranges
as consumers
are seeing
benefits
Instead of a completely
paperless office, we are
seeing a 'less paper office'
Tech Data already offers
enablement services for
managed print
Steve Martin,
Print
Business Manager,
Tech Data
Steve Martin
Print Business Manager
Tech Data
Stuart Bleese
Category Manager Technology
VOW
Jamie Brothwell
Print General Manager
Exertis
continued...
