In the ENX magazine January feature, “Document Imaging Trends and Predictions for 2017 and What They Mean,” industry leaders expressed their expectations and concerns for the coming year. There were far more than we could print, so we are posting the remaining predictions here.
John MacInnes, Print Audit
Early Signs of a Shift to Seat-Based Billing
A couple of industry leaders wondered if the click-based model for consumables and service contracts is becoming obsolete. John MacInnes, president of Print Audit, sees the dealer channel starting to adopt seat-based billing (SBB). “SBB more closely aligns dealers with what their customers want to achieve while improving profit margins,” he said. Print Audit has set up a certification to help dealers learn how to adopt the SBB model. MacInnes added that the SBB model can help dealer get revenue from scans as well as prints.
Luke Goldberg, Clover Imaging Group
Growing Divide Between Transactional and Contractual Models
Luke Goldberg, executive vice-president of global sales and marketing at Clover Imaging Group. sees a growing shift away from the transactional channel model toward a contractual channel model where MPS and other managed services dominate. “This is important in that it is shaping the way businesses procure their goods and services in a fundamental way,” he said. “Transactional dealers are at risk to lose their business to solution providers that are simply adding more value to customer relationships.”
Brian Stevenson, footPRINT MPS
Increasing Security Concerns
Expect customers to ask for help understanding and addressing their security risks. “There are so many examples of data breaches occurring through non-traditional connected devices, including printers,” said Brian Stevenson, president of footPRINT MPS and the director of technology and managed services at TriMega. CIOs and chief security officers are looking to understand IoT and ensure any device that resides on their network is fully protected and secure. “The dealer channel must be able to respond to these customer expectations and provide solutions ranging from the monitoring and configuration of printer endpoint security settings to the deployment of secure printing software tools,” he added.
Greg Chavers, Lexmark
Color MFP Growth
InfoTrends projects color laser A4 multifunction replacements in the 45 to 69 ppm segment to achieve a 16.6 CAGR in North America. Greg Chavers, director of U.S. copier sales for Lexmark, encourages dealers to develop strategies and offerings to aggressively address this market growth opportunity.
Debbie Dellaposta, WPS/Doing Better Business
Political Uncertainty
How will the recent election affect dealers’ government business? Debbie Dellaposta, president of WPS/Doing Better Business, thinks one factor is the potential for a reduction in the size of the federal government. “This could go either way with an increase to state and local government agencies or an overall reduction in government agencies and printing,” she said.
David Concors,
Supplies Network
Realignment of OEM Channels
“There is a growing desire among manufacturers to align with the resellers that have demonstrated the ability to deliver growth and market share,” said David Concors, vice president of sales at Supplies Network. “Their go-to-market strategy includes products and growth programs tailored to specific resellers or reseller channels rather than an attempt to appeal to the masses. Inclusion in the ‘club’ provides greater access to those products and programs designed to create competitive differentiation. This, of course, comes at the expense of losing engagement with less loyal resellers and channels.”
