Print.IT Reseller - issue 47

30 Q&A 01732 759725 PITR: Are there any apps that really stand out for you? AP: One that I think is pretty amazing is the translator app: you take a document in English, scan it in and get a translated version in another language. I find the idea that you can do that with the push of a button, darn cool, especially as over the past couple of years I've been working on a portal where we spent a significant amount of time translating content into eight different languages. The fact that we have given our partners the opportunity to develop software and apps that address the problems their customers have is pretty unique. Over the next couple of years, when that engine really gets going, we're going to see some amazing solutions come out, because now you're not limited to just a few people but can open it up to many more developers. It's another element of the value proposition for our partners. PITR: What are some of the other strategies or initiatives you're introducing to attract new resellers? AP: One is to let resellers know that Xerox is committed to the channel, and then to connect personally with those that are interested in partnering with us to ensure they understand the value of working with Xerox – to be very proactive about recruiting partners who want to do business with us and not just assume they know who we are. We need to be very clear about the value proposition we offer partners – whether it's financial, whether it's from a products and services standpoint, or whether it's around support for our partners and making ourselves easy to do business with us. The reason I'm here is because we have invested several million dollars in our partner relationship management platform. We have built one place where our partners can find all the tools and resources and information they need – to make it easier to engage with us and do business with us and find information about us. PITR: In the past, what sort of feedback from partners have you had about dealing with Xerox? AP: One of the things we’ve heard is that it can be complex doing business with us. We are a big company, we have lots of very enthusiastic teams and there's a lot that a partner can take advantage of. But we don't always make it easy for them to do that. Because some teams are in different silos, we don't always make it simple for resellers to find information about something. We're trying to make that easier. I tell people it's like going to the mall; there aren’t 20 entrances to the mall; you go in one entrance and there's a directory of places you might want to visit. We want a partner to come to Xerox and easily navigate to where they want to go, with one entryway and one set of ideas, information and credentials they can take with them anywhere. With the coverage strategy for our SMB market, resellers need things to be uncomplicated. We need to make sure we stay foremost in their minds and that they don't have to go through any unnecessary hassle to get to the information they need. It's in our best interests to make it really easy for them to do business with us, so that they come back again and again. We don't want them to have to think hard about doing business with us; we want it to feel simple and easy. PITR: Is this also important for attracting IT resellers that might not have a history of selling print devices? AP: With IT resellers, I think there’s a huge opportunity for us to make sure we understand who they are and how they sell and what they need and to target our offers to suit them. Differentiating a print reseller's needs from an IT reseller's needs and making sure we can deliver on both is absolutely what we need to do to crack that market. PITR: What do you think are the differences between a print reseller and an IT reseller? AP: The major difference is that the print reseller’s revenue has generally been through print, some kind of device related to print, so their existence and their success has been driven through print or print-related products and services. However, for an IT reseller print might just be one part of a bigger solution, wrapped up with other components and not necessarily the primary solution. They look for Xerox to help them with the print component in that overall solution. Print resellers will know a lot more about the print industry and print devices specifically, because that's where their heritage has been. PITR: With the Altalink and Versalink series and other new other products, like the PageConnect Services basic print service, you've expanded your SMB range quite a lot. There’s now more for the IT reseller to offer SMB customers. AP: Absolutely. We've expanded the range and we've expanded our capabilities, and with the new A4 products, we’ve increased our breadth of range too. Both from a price point and from a capability point, we should be able to fill almost any need. www.xerox.co.uk ...continued We have built one place where our partners can find all the tools and resources and information they need