EXPO
PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
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Beyond MFP
Mr Jeff Ashida, President of Sharp
Information Systems Europe, describes
this approach as ‘Beyond MFP’ and says
it is driving broader, closer and deeper
relationships with customers and channel
partners.
Central to this concept is the
development of solutions that bring
together MFPs, software, digital signage,
touchscreens, cloud storage etc. so that
organisations do not have to shop around
multiple suppliers but can buy a complete,
fully integrated solution from one trusted
partner.
An example of this is Sharp’s new
Optimised Managed Services (OMS)
proposition that extends the scope
of managed print services to include
print, cloud storage, display screens and
workflow software, and links all the
different elements under the umbrella of a
single service provider.
Sharp developed OMS for its direct
business, and it is now encouraging
channel partners to follow its lead
and make the most of its portfolio of
integrated, inter-connected solutions.
“We're really excited about what’s
happening at Inspire because we are
offering our dealers the opportunity to
tap into quite a bandwidth of different
products and take something different to
their customers,” said McCarney.
“Dealers need to try to create a USP.
With many of them it’s their service, but
if we can now introduce a cloud offering,
together with visual solutions, together
with a fantastic new range of colour A3
products, with one engine which offers the
dealer reduced costs that they can pass on
to their customer and more efficiency from
a servicing and stocking point of view, it
puts the dealer and Sharp as a partnership
in a very good place,” he said.
Backup and Support
McCarney added that Sharp will support
channel partners to ensure they made the
most of this opportunity.
“Some of our dealers, especially the
bigger ones, are already selling leading
edge solutions to their customers. They
have invested in infrastructure and people
to ensure they deliver the right solutions to
the customer. In addition, we are very keen
to work with some of our smaller dealers
who show ambition in that area,” he said.
“They can tap into Sharp’s back-up
infrastructure, where we can support them
on the technical side, the solutions side and
with training and pre-sales support. When
we see new dealers that are hungry to grow,
we put a lot of resources into them, because
they are tomorrow’s bigger dealers.”
He added: “As a manufacturer, we have
a lot of experience in the UK. Between the
direct and the indirect teams we employ
nearly 400 people. We’ve got a lot of
positive experience we share with our
dealers. Some of this experience comes
from the direct side and we are happy to
share that and supplement our support
where a dealer may feel a little weak.”
New products
Much was made of this capability in
the accompanying exhibition of new
print, storage, display and collaboration
solutions. These include:
n
MX Colour MFP platform.
Sharp
unveiled a new generation of colour A3
MFPs boasting a radical new design and a
stripped down user interface that requires
just two button presses to copy. Due to be
launched in January, the range includes 13
products with print speeds ranging from
30 to 60 pages per minute. The MFPs are
offered in dual lines: a basic version for
organisations with simple needs and an
advanced version for organisations with
more complex solutions-based requirements.
Sharp says it has designed the new
platform with resellers in mind. For example,
it has locked down the cartridges so users
can't replace them when they still contain
toner, which carries a cost for resellers;
and it has used just one engine across
the whole range, whereas before it had
three. This reduces training
requirements and the need for
dealers to carry so many spares.
Consumables are the same
across all devices except the fastest models.
Useful features include duplex scanners
that scan both sides of the page in a single
pass at speeds of 100 pages/200 images
per minute; direct connections to cloud
services, such as Microsoft 365 and Google
Drive; a direct USB print capability for
Microsoft Office files; a built-in server that
provides free pull printing across up to five
devices; and a motion sensor that detects
when someone walks up to the device and
automatically lights up the display.
n
Sharp Optimised Solutions.
Another
way in which Sharp is simplifying matters
for the channel is through the supply of
pre-packaged print solutions created in
partnership with leading software suppliers
like Ysoft and drivve. The range already
includes Sharp-branded solutions for
scan capture, output management and
mobile print. In the pipeline are workflow,
document management and content
management solutions.
n
Light Production MFP.
One of Sharp’s
successes since 2012 has been its move
into corporate print rooms with colour
production devices. Its new models combine
the flexibility and user interface of Sharp’s
office range with the productivity benefits
of production devices such as air-fed
feeding, in-line finishing and support for a
wide range of paper stocks. A new option
is a time- and space-saving in-built Fiery
workflow operated through the devices’
large touchscreen.
n
Cloud Portal Office 2.0.
The new
version of Sharp's cloud-based document
storage and collaboration solution has
been enhanced with light document
management capabilities, including manual
indexing and syncing with mobile devices.
In the first quarter of 2016, Sharp plans to
bring out Cloud Portal Office 2.1, which
will include automatic indexing through
OCR and an API that enables partners to
integrate third party software and develop
solutions for specific vertical industries,
such as legal, finance, healthcare and
education, as well as business functions
like HR.
n
Big Pad.
Sharp’s flagship interactive
whiteboard is designed to support better
decision-making and more engaging
meetings, lessons and training sessions.
It has an 80 inch 10-point capacitive
touchscreen, delivering a familiar iPad-
like experience whether using a finger or
pressure-sensitive stylus to write with.
Up to four people can work on the same
document on-screen at any one time and
two or more Big Pads can be placed next
to each other and documents moved from
one to another with a simple swipe. An
added attraction for business customers is
certification for Microsoft Skype for Business
and Crestron automated control systems.
...continued
We are
offering our
dealers the
opportunity to
tap into quite
a bandwidth
of different
products
and take
something
different
to their
customers.
Sharp :
MX Series MFPs