Trevor Akervik,
Marco
When considering what elements could comprise the future of offering everything-as-a-service (XaaS), some dealers are looking to the past, in a sense. That holds true for Marco. The St. Cloud, MN-based megadealer is taking a holistic overview in judging what areas of its business could lend themselves to the recurring, subscription-based model, according to Trevor Akervik, senior director of managed services.
“We’re looking backward to other parts of our company,” he said. “Can we offer our copier-based solutions; is that industry ready for a change? We feel like it might be on the cusp of being ready for change. How that ends up, we don’t know yet.”
Steve Gau, president of the Copier Division for Marco, points out that the proliferation of industry consolidation, there will be more pressure to build toward a XaaS model. By the same token, acquiring the competencies that envelop the XaaS philosophy will not be cheap.
Steve Gau,
Marco
“This is expensive, it isn’t opening a copier dealer and having a $40-hour tech and commission-based sales rep,” he said. “This is hiring that talent with very specific knowledge on these items. You have to have those people on board before there’s ever any billing associated with it. It’s expensive to build out, so it’s not going to be for everybody. The other alternative is outsourcing to third-party companies to do it. We believe in every aspect of this being taken care of by a Marco-backed W2 employee. So that’s going to be the challenge that dealers face. It’s going to be a heavy investment.”
In addition to having an expert-level staff, Akervik points to external challenges toward XaaS, such as financing considerations and convincing vendors to apply their solutions in a similar fashion so that they can be brought to market. But Marco has made the investments to move forward with XaaS, and its testing of seat-based billing on a smaller scale is further evidence of its commitment.
One aspect that will certainly hasten the move toward XaaS can be seen in how the philosophy is beginning to infiltrate our everyday lives, according to West McDonald, vice president of business development for Print Audit. Netflix is an oft-quoted example, but it’s hardly an outlier. Other subscription-based services include Mister Car Wash, which provides for unlimited internal/external cleanings per month. Restaurants and grocery stores have embarked on this.
Even automakers are getting into the act, with BMW, Volvo, Lexus and Mercedes among the manufacturers. You choose the tier of auto, pay anywhere from $600 to upwards of $3,000 a month, and enjoy the benefits of insurance, roadside assistance and unlimited mileage—all driven (no pun intended) by an app.
West McDonald,
Print Audit
“In areas where things are changing faster, it’s going to be more permeated with as-a-service,” McDonald noted. “The things you have become outdated so quickly—why would you want to own it, since it’s not really an asset. Service is better because you’re going to be continually updated.”
Over the long haul, McDonald stresses that every dealer that is seeking a long-term growth path will need to adopt the XaaS strategy beyond print to include document management, IT services, telephony. But he still senses resistance to the movement.
“I’ve talked to lots of dealers who say, ‘No-no, there’s still lots of room in the print world, we’re just going to keep plugging at it.’ That’s not a growth model. You might be able to survive and retain a lifestyle business, but if you’re looking to grow, then as-a-service is the only way to go and you have to expand the kinds of things that you offer as a service. It just can’t be for print.”
Calvin Wanner,
Verticomm
One of the greatest challenges in designing the perfect XaaS beast is not necessarily in the administration or delivery of the concept, but rather in the personnel required to make good on that promise, regardless of the discipline (managed print/IT, telephony, document management, etc.). That particularly holds true for the tech-heavy managed IT side for purveyors whose solutions are home-grown. Calvin Wanner, sales manager for Denver-based Verticomm, knows the battle for quality employees is a hotly-contested one.
“It’s all about knowledge. There are a lot of unknowns in the management of applications as they continue to morph and grow,” he said. “We struggle ourselves with finding great engineers. The economy’s doing well and companies are paying guys top dollar. So it’s hard to find good resources nowadays. The better resources you have and the better support, the faster you can clear ticket times and reduce that operational expense.”
