CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLES
10
Physical Security
Dealers provide a look at this diversification strategy by Brent Hoskins
Office Technology Magazine
Increasingly, office technology dealers are embracing a new diversification strategy — physical security, by way of surveillance cameras, access control systems, etc. This month’s cover story profiles three dealerships that are helping clients protect people and property.
Gateway to Success
16
18
BTA Mid-America & BTA East host event Sept. 24-25 by Elizabeth Marvel
Office Technology Magazine
The 2024 Gateway to Success event, co-hosted by BTA Mid-America and BTA East, was held Sept. 24-25 at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. The event featured three dealer panels, two additional main stage sessions, six breakout sessions and networking time.
Poaching IT Clients
How to outmaneuver sneaky
insurance companies by Dale Stein
Technology Assurance Group (TAG)
As an office technology dealer, you have spent years building trust, fostering relationships and delivering results. But imagine this: Out of nowhere, your clients start mentioning they have been approached by their insurance companies offering them managed IT services.
Diversification & Our Industry
It is critical to be open to additional products & services by Chip
Miceli
Pulse Technology
We have seen seismic shifts in the office technology industry in recent years. As we navigate through these changes, it is necessary for us to adapt our business models to remain profitable and viable. At Pulse Technology, we have always been big believers in diversification.
AI INSIGHT
AI-Powered Solutions
Driving productivity through collaboration by Chris White
Lexmark International
The world of artificial intelligence (AI) might seem far removed from the familiar hum of a printer. At Lexmark, we view AI not as a futuristic concept, but as a powerful, practical tool driving tangible benefits for our customers and unlocking new opportunities for our valued channel partners.
LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
SaaS Contracts
A shift in implementing & optimizing software by Greg Goldberg
BTA General Counsel
Purchasing software as a product is quickly transitioning into licensing software as a service (SaaS). This month, Legal Perspective takes a look at SaaS agreements. SaaS is an alternative to purchasing software on traditional media or via download.
Value-Added Offerings
What products & services have been most successful?
Compiled by Brent Hoskins
Office Technology Magazine
This feature includes a question submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource and many of the answers received. These answers and others — as well as additional Q&As — can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website.
Less Hassle. More Hustle.
The New WorkForce® Enterprise AM Series.
Powered by PrecisionCore®, this marvel has less imaging parts than typical laser printers which can result in fewer slowdowns, breakdowns, and office meltdowns.
Why Not Let Fellow Dealers Help You?
WExecutive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology
Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040
Associate Editor
Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060
Contributing Writers
Greg Goldberg, BTA General Counsel Business Technology Association
ould you welcome the opportunity to connect with non-competing dealers via Zoom to discuss best practices, new revenue ideas, solutions to common challenges, etc.? If your response is “yes,” I encourage you to consider joining one of the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) Dealers Helping Dealers Discussion Groups. BTA formed these groups in the spring of 2020 (yes, during the COVID-19 pandemic) to bring dealers together to help one another. The participating dealers don’t talk about the challenges of the pandemic anymore. They talk about everything else. It’s at no cost and is simple. When registering for each one-hour call, dealers are asked to respond to this question: “What topics or questions would you like the group to address in this call?” That opens the door for fellow dealers to provide welcome guidance and insight.
Are you interested in joining one of these groups? If so, just email me at brent@bta. org. I’ll send you lists of the participating companies in the groups and you can select the group that works best for you. Three of the groups are for dealership owners and senior management. We also have two groups for sales management and one for service management. Two of the groups meet twice a month; the other four groups meet monthly. Here’s what some of the current discussion group members are saying: n “I have enjoyed my almost two years of involvement in BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers Discussion Group. I try not to miss these one-hour, biweekly discussions, as I always find value in the sharing of ideas and best practices.” — Susie Woodhull, owner/CEO, Woodhull, Springboro, Ohio
n “Gathering for an hour or two hours per month to hear things that you may not be doing or using in your dealership, and asking questions of your peers and receiving valuable feedback is priceless.” — Van Seretis, managing partner, Premium Digital Office Solutions, Parsippany, New Jersey n “Sometimes I feel like I am ‘alone’ and have to make decisions without ‘independent’ input. Having a group of people I can call who are not competitors is invaluable in determining if I am operating within the norms of the industry.” — Neville Chaney, president, WJ Office, Boone, North Carolina n “The BTA Dealers Helping Dealers Discussion Group that I belong to has been very helpful to my business. It is like having a board of directors of like-minded people who come to the meetings with great ideas.” — Mick Dean, president, SaraMana Business Products Inc., Sarasota, Florida n “Being part of the BTA Sales Management Discussion Group has been invaluable to my professional growth. The opportunity to hear how other sales managers handle similar challenges and different strategies has given me countless actionable ideas.”
— Jennifer Thomson, vice president of sales and marketing, Automated Business Solutions, Warwick, Rhode Island n “The BTA Service Management Discussion Group has been extremely helpful in tackling the day-to-day issues that we all face as service managers. The forum helps in many ways, but one of the most useful is to determine if some of the challenges your company may be dealing with are caused by general headwinds in the industry or possibly by poor processes within your own organization, and to inquire about more effective ways to deal with these situations.” — Rick Hayes, technical service manager, Eakes Office Solutions, Grand Island, Nebraska n — Brent Hoskins
Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology www.pulsetechnology.com
Dale Stein, Technology Assurance Group (TAG) www.tagnational.com
Chris White, Lexmark International www.lexmark.com
Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org
Member Services: (800) 505-2821
BTA Legal Hotline: (847) 922-0945
Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org
Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org
Brooke Barker Administrative Assistant brooke@bta.org
Photo Credits: Adobe Stock. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2024 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.
FLASHBACK
Assisting Your Fellow BTA Member Dealers
One of the noteworthy ways the Business Technology Association (BTA) supports its dealer members is by bringing them together and helping them build camaraderie.
Whether it’s through networking opportunities at BTA events, the sharing of ideas in the association’s peer groups or Dealers Helping Dealers Discussion Groups, or distributing donations from BTA’s various funds, the association strives to assist and unite its members.
Recently, BTA and its members have supported several dealers through a lesserknown member benefit called the BTA Disaster Grant Program. The program was created in 1992 at the time of Hurricane Andrew, but we have been promoting it more heavily to the industry at large since the recent devastating storms in the Southeast. The program was established to provide emergency financial support to BTA dealer members who have suffered a loss due to a natural disaster. The grants awarded do not require repayment.
I recently posted a video to BTA’s social media pages talking about the Disaster Grant Program, encouraging dealers to apply for grants or donate to the program to help their fellow dealers. I also spoke on camera with Andy Slawetsky of Industry Analysts Inc. on Oct. 22, giving him an overview of the program and encouraging dealers to apply and donate. To see those videos, check out BTA’s social media — search for Business Technology Association on LinkedIn, BTAORG on Facebook and BTA_ ORG on X — or visit www.bta.org/Disaster Grant where they have also been posted.
Several BTA members have taken advantage of the program since we’ve started our
promotions, with the association awarding nearly $10,000 in grants in the past few weeks. We have also seen a great outpouring of support and donations from dealers looking to assist those who’ve lost so much during the recent hurricanes.
I encourage all of those who have been adversely affected by a recent natural disaster to visit www.bta.org/DisasterGrant and apply for a grant. Consideration for a grant is based on the information provided in an online application. Grants are determined by the BTA national officers, and are based on the fund balance, the number of applications received and the merit of each application. Please use the “comments” section of the application to provide any additional information that may clarify your specific needs. You can also email photos and additional information to brent@bta.org. Once you apply, a BTA representative will contact you as soon as possible to expedite the process.
I’d also like to encourage you to make a future-forward donation to support your fellow dealers affected by natural disasters. Your donations ensure that affected dealers get back on their feet more quickly, keeping their operations running and their teams employed. To donate, visit www.bta. org/DisasterGrantDonation. That link will take you directly to a store item on the BTA website where you can add a donation to your cart. The default amount is $25, but you can adjust the quantity at checkout to increase your donation. You can also choose to donate to the program each year when you renew your BTA membership.
On a personal note, I would like to thank all of my fellow dealers who have reached out to check on me and my dealership after Hurricane Milton. We were fortunate not to have sustained too much damage, and appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. n — Adam Gregory
2024-2025 Board of Directors
President
Adam Gregory Advanced Business Solutions LLC St. Augustine, Florida adam@goabsinc.com
President-Elect
Debra Dennis CopyPro Inc. Greenville, North Carolina ddennis@copypro.net
Vice President Mike Boyle BASE Technologies Inc. Bethel, Connecticut mboyle@baseinc.com
Immediate Past President
Don Risser DCS Technologies Corp. Franklin, Ohio don.risser@dcs-tech.com
BTA East Joe Dellaposta Doing Better Business Hagerstown, Maryland jvd@doingbetterbusiness.com
Chip Denlinger DCS Technologies Corp. Franklin, Ohio chip.denlinger@dcs-tech.com
BTA Mid-America
Greg Quirk JQ Office Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com
Brett Blake Corporate Business Systems LLC Madison, Wisconsin bblake@corpbussystems.com
BTA Southeast Mike Hicks
Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, Kentucky mhicks@ebmky.com
Blake Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina tbrenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com
BTA West Kevin Marshall Copy Link Inc. Chula Vista, California kevin@copylink.net
Scott Reynolds Imagine Technology Group LLC Chandler, Arizona sreynolds@itgarizona.com
Ex-Officio/General Counsel
Greg Goldberg
Barta | Goldberg West Hollywood, California ggoldberg@bartagoldberg.com
Physical Security
Dealers provide a look at this diversification strategy
by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
Increasingly, office technology dealers are embracing a new diversification strategy — physical security, by way of surveillance cameras, access control systems, etc. Following are profiles of three dealerships that are helping clients protect people and property. Perhaps the comments they share will provide some welcome guidance.
iTech Advanced Alarm
It was a little over three years ago that Mike Williams ventured into physical security to help diversify his business. As founder and president of what is today iTech Advanced Alarm (www.itechwv.com), based in Parkersburg, West Virginia, his primary focus had been on placing Xerox imaging devices. “When we first started in the [physical security] business, it accounted for about 20% of our total revenue; it’s now more than 40%,” he says. “In a year to 18 months from now, it should be bigger than our imaging business.”
The venture began when a friend, who had recently acquired a small alarm business and was subleasing space in iTech’s historic 35,000-square-foot downtown building (built in 1896), asked Williams if he had an interest in becoming a partner in the alarm business. The friend was looking for help managing his day-to-day routine. “I really didn’t want to do a partnership, so he said, ‘Why don’t you just buy it from me?’” he says, recalling his acquisition of his friend’s business. “My first thought was: ‘I don’t know anything about the security alarm business, but I am interested in diversifying.’”
That was then. Today, what was a three-person alarm company is now “11 employees on that side of our business and we’ve tripled the revenues,” Williams says. “We do residential and commercial alarms. We have around 1,300 clients altogether and it’s about half residential and half commercial ... The security world is much bigger than I ever thought it was ... For every 10 inbound leads that we receive right now, about eight of them are for the alarm business.”
Williams uses the word “alarm” given the nearly 40-year heritage of the business he acquired, known as an alarm
company in the Parkersburg area. He notes that the company name will likely ultimately be changed to iTech Security Services. Today, iTech’s physical security offerings extend beyond alarms to also include fire, access control, property video surveillance, and even lock and key services.
Through partnerships with such physical security vendors as AVYCON, i-PRO, Mircom and Kantech, iTech installs systems across the business spectrum. “Currently, we are finishing up on a large month-long access-control job for the City of Parkersburg,” Williams says. “We have a lot of cities, courthouses and county government in rural America as clients. Last year, we finished up the local county 911 center. We also do a lot of medical facilities, churches, apartment complexes and new construction; we even have our contractor’s license.”
In addition to the up-front revenue from the installation of security systems, Williams says there is recurring revenue as well. “We sign customers up for monitoring contracts where they are getting billed every month or every year,” he says, noting that iTech outsources the 24/7 monitoring to a third-party monitoring company; if there is a break-in, fire, etc., the third party notifies law enforcement or the fire department. “Plus, the fire alarm business is fantastic because it is legally required that someone inspect the systems each year; that’s recurring revenue, because we’re doing the feebased inspections ... Recurring revenue equates to about 50% of our total revenues [for physical security].”
The margins are good, too, Williams says. “You buy the alarm surveillance systems as you would copiers,” he says. “You are going to pay X amount of dollars and then turn around and lease or sell the equipment. We typically see profits of about 60% on the equipment and services. It’s a very profitable but labor-intensive business.”
In addition to physical security and imaging devices, iTech offers managed IT services. In fact, Williams says he sees IT services as a prerequisite for physical security, given that today’s cameras, etc., are connected to company networks and, often, to the cloud. “If we did not have IT, the [physical
security] business would not be a good fit for us,” he says, encouraging other dealers who offer IT services to take a look at the physical security business through acquisition opportunities. “A lot of baby boomers are starting to transition out of the security business. They are not network tech savvy [with today’s security systems] and they are looking for exit strategies.”
LDI Connect
“You buy the alarm surveillance systems as you would copiers. You are going to pay X amount of dollars and then turn around and lease or sell the equipment.“
Based on his more than 40 years of experience in the physical security business, Todd Carson can attest to the promise of the market opportunity. “During that time, with the exception of maybe one or two years, I have seen yearover-year growth,” he says. “We see this as a tremendous growth opportunity for our organization.”
That organization is LDI Connect (www.myldi.com). Earlier this year, Carson joined the team as director of sales at the dealership after serving the previous seven years in sales leadership at Axis Communications, a leading vendor of video surveillance systems. LDI Connect is a 25-year-old dealership based in Jericho, New York, with a second New York location in Manhattan, two locations in New Jersey, one in Connecticut and one in California. In addition to physical security and Canon, Xerox, HP, Sharp, Toshiba and Brother imaging products, LDI Connect offers document automation, managed network services, cloud communications and professional audiovisual.
“The LDI Connect security offering predates my arrival at the company, but they have been doing it well for a number of years,” Carson says, noting that LDI Connect offers both surveillance camera and access control systems, with all sales reps empowered to sell them, assisted by subject-matter experts. “Our focus is very simple. We want to partner with the best manufacturers and be experts in their technologies.”
Among those manufacturers is Axis, which Carson describes as “a world leader in IP security solutions.” In addition, he says, LDI Connect works with Hanwha Vision, “a massive company that is very well respected in the security space,” along with Verkada Inc., “a newer company that is taking the security industry by storm,” for which LDI Connect is a Gold Partner. “They are a very innovative company with cutting-edge technology.”
Where does LDI Connect see opportunity for the security systems it offers? “We see opportunity everywhere,” Carson says. “We concentrate primarily in the commercial B2B space. In a world that has an increasing number of concerning
— Mike Williams iTech Advanced Alarm
headlines, we recognize that everyone needs solutions that provide protection and peace of mind. Capitalizing on emerging technologies, LDI Connect specializes in both net new and upgrades to existing systems. With the advent of IP and AI [artificial intelligence] in security solutions, many of our customers are updating their analog solutions to newer technology.”
Carson shares an example of how the security industry has changed since the analogonly days. He cites the benefits of systems that are integrated with AI. “Consider the benefit to a school where, perhaps, there have been some challenges with a family; maybe the parents are estranged or there is a restraining order,” he says. “The school can have a license plate number of a parent — or anyone for that matter, a suspected threat — fed into its system. [With an AI-enabled surveillance camera] the school is notified the instant that car enters the property.”
License-plate-reading cameras are also commonly used in purely positive situations as well, Carson says. “For a building that is secured with a gate, all of the employees’ license plates can be entered into the system so that the gate camera will recognize their cars, open the gate and allow them to enter,” he says. “Another example is the use of the technology for casinos, so when a VIP arrives on the property, it will send a notification so that someone is there to greet the VIP at the valet.”
Carson shares some simple, yet critical advice and makes a generous offer to dealers with serious intent to pursue the physical security opportunity. “I would caution anyone considering this to make sure they fully understand it,” he says. “We would be happy to consult with any dealers considering this and share our experience with them.”
Usherwood Office Technology
Seven years ago, Usherwood Office Technology (www. usherwood.com), a third-generation Canon, Xerox and HP dealership based in Syracuse, New York, with 18 locations across seven states, entered the world of physical security. “We selected security and surveillance because it’s a $130-billion global industry and it’s growing,” says Ken Stinson, president of Usherwood. “We felt it complimented the work we’re doing in imaging and managed IT services, which are our two biggest business units. We felt that we’re already securing people’s cyberenvironments. It is a natural foray to secure their physical environments as well.”
Usherwood does so through a range of products, including
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surveillance cameras, door access controls and various monitoring systems, such as environmental, sound and motion monitoring, Stinson says, noting that the dealership’s two leading security vendors are Axis Communications and Verkada Inc.
“Historically, Axis has been a very strong provider of surveillance cameras — ‘bulletproof’ systems when you want to spend a reasonable amount of money and have the cameras last a long time,” he says. “Verkada offers cloud-based camera systems with lots of great bells and whistles. They are powered over Ethernet, so it’s a little different setup. The companies offer two different models, but both fit in various environments very well.”
“We see opportunity everywhere ... In a world that has an increasing number of concerning headlines, we recognize that everyone needs solutions that provide protection and peace of mind.”
— Todd Carson LDI Connect
“There have been so many advancements in technology, ranging from low-light capabilities to IK capabilities, which is the durability of the cameras,” Stinson says. “In addition, there have been improvements in the distance and angles cameras can now see. Plus, there are sensors available, such as vaping sensors or noise sensors. There are so many new technologies available that even if somebody has a camera system — and most people do — it is outdated.”
Because of the robust capabilities of today’s physical security equipment, upgrade opportunities are commonplace.
It is not simply a process of swapping equipment, says Stinson. “It’s never a like-for-like replacement when we go in, but rather is always a newly architected solution that meets the customer’s needs,” he says. All Usherwood “sales professionals” sell the solutions — and “own the client relationships” —
business?
Ready to grow your
“You
have to have a high level of expertise; you can’t go in cold and unknowledgeable. You have to acquire the right assets, gain the right training and have the right certifications
... ”
— Ken Stinson Usherwood Office Technology
working alongside security and surveillance experts the dealership has on staff, he says. “The sales professional uncovers the opportunity, creates the interest and then brings in the proper resources to make sure we conduct a solid discovery to understand what the client is trying to accomplish, which is an incredibly important part of this particular line of business.”
The selling process is not unlike that of the other six lines of business at Usherwood, focused on “creating interest, bringing in experts and conducting a great discovery,” Stinson says. “But there are nuances that are very specific to security and surveillance. You have to have a high level of expertise; you can’t go in cold and unknowledgeable. You have to acquire the right assets, gain the right training and have the right certifications [which vary state by state] so that you can do this correctly.”
Stinson encourages other dealers to take a look at the physical security opportunity. “Security, in general, is a winning conversation — a key conversation starter — for us as an organization with any business owner, whether it is virtual security via your IT infrastructure or it’s physical security via surveillance cameras, access control and managing those environments,” he says. “I see this business [physical security] growing exponentially over the next 10 years.”
For dealers who plan to be around “for the next 25 years, I think it is safe to say that they have to diversify,” Stinson says, emphasizing the importance of first “having every process and procedure nailed down” on the imaging side of their businesses before pursuing anything else. “Our goal is to always grow in imaging, but we’re going do so with an extremely strong IT business, unified communication business, and security and surveillance business wrapped around that.” n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at (816) 303-4040 or brent@bta.org.
Gateway to Success
BTA Mid-America & BTA East host event Sept. 24-25
by: Elizabeth Marvel, Office Technology Magazine
The 2024 Gateway to Success event, co-hosted by BTA Mid-America and BTA East, was held Sept. 2425, at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk in San Antonio, Texas.
The event featured three dealer panels: “Leveraging AI for Enhanced Business Efficiency & Growth,” moderated by Mark Spears, Amplified Solutions; “Strategic Insights & Steps for Successful Acquisitions,” moderated by Andy Slawetsky, Industry Analysts Inc.; and “Strategies for Selling Cybersecurity Services,” moderated by Deborah Hawkins, Keypoint Intelligence. The additional main stage sessions were: “Preparing for Economic Shifts: Insights for the Upcoming Months,” led by John Beriau, Morgan Stanley, and “What’s Happenin’ in the Imaging Industry,” led by Slawetsky. Breakout sessions included: a two-part sales management track, “Building a Sales Culture Where Activities Drive Results,” led by Derek Shebby, Modern Sales Training; a two-part service management track, “Setting the Pace in Service Automation” and “Setting the Pace in Managing the Technical Workforce,” led by Hawkins and Ken Edmonds, 22nd Century Management; “Profiting From the AI Revolution as a Dealer,” led by Steve Cunningham, Simple AI; and “Practical AI & ChatGPT Applications for Quick SOP Documentation,” led by Spears.
The event sponsors: ACDI, AgentDealer, ARCOA, Brother, Crexendo, DLL, ECI, ecoprintQ, eGoldFax, FP, GreatAmerica, IBPI, Intermedia, Keypoint Intelligence, LEAF, Miramar Copies, MPS Monitor, NA Trading, NEXERA, PEAC Solutions, Quench, Ricoh, SalesChain, Sharp (breaks sponsor), Source Technologies, Square 9, Static Control, Toshiba, Upland, Xerox (lunch sponsor) and Zultys (reception sponsor).
BTA’s next event, Spring Break, will be held March 6-8 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida. See the ad on page two or visit www.bta.org/BTAEvents for more information as it becomes available. n
Elizabeth Marvel is associate editor of Office Technology magazine. She can be reached at elizabeth@bta.org or (816) 303-4060.
Clockwise from top left: 2024-25
BTA East President Chip Denlinger serves as an emcee during the event; Spears (far left) moderates the AI dealer panel with panelists (left to right) Anthony DelGrosso of Milner Inc., Peachtree Corners, Georgia, Bob Doucette of Smart Technologies of Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, and Keven Ellison of AIS, North Las Vegas, Nevada; Beriau presents his main stage session; 2024-25 BTA President Adam Gregory (left) presents the Past President’s Award to 2023-24 BTA President Don Risser; attendees visit with exhibiting sponsors during a break between sessions; and the acquisitions dealer panelists were (left to right) Thomas Fimian of Levifi, Charleston, South Carolina, Bill Patsouras of Function4, Sugar Land, Texas, and Rich Simons of EDGE Business Systems, Roswell, Georgia.
Clockwise from top left: 2024-25 BTA Mid-America President Grant Goldsmith serves as an emcee during the event; dealer panelists (left to right) Keith Johnson of Obiviam, Cincinnati, Ohio, Pamela Feld of Triumph Technology Group, Tustin, California, and Davis Tran of C3 Tech, Santa Ana, California, discuss their strategies for cybersecurity services; (left to right) Carrie Witham and Scott Stanford of GreatAmerica visit with Kerry Wright of CPI Technologies LLC, Sulphur Springs, Texas, during a break between sessions; and Slawetsky presents his main stage session.
Breakout session presenters (clockwise from above left) Shebby, Hawkins, Edmonds, Cunningham and Spears lead their sessions on Sept. 24.
Brittany Bagwell (middle left) and RJ Shephard (far right) of eGoldFax
visit with Bill Hancher (far left) and Marc Segal (middle right) of Doing Better Business, Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Selling Cybersecurity
One of the main stage dealer panels at Gateway to Success, “Strategies for Selling Cybersecurity Services,” looked at how three dealerships got started selling these services, their strategies for success in the space and their advice for dealers who may be interested in adding cybersecurity to their lineups.
One of the first — and most important — points all three panelists made was the importance of cybersecurity as a diversification strategy, especially as traditional printing is on the decline. Pamela Feld, founder and CEO of Triumph Technology Group, Tustin, California, shared her perspective: “We still have the other side of the business [copier/MFPs, printers, etc.], but at this point ... the cybersecurity side of the business is much more interesting to me after doing it for a few years,” she said. “Diversification has been our key for a long, long time ... At this point, [cybersecurity] is probably close to 50% of our organization, and I’m hoping at some point it’ll be more ... ”
“When we started seven years ago, we didn’t know COVID was going to happen,” said Davis Tran, vice president of operations at C3 Tech, Santa Ana, California. “2020 came around and then the whole business shut down. No one was printing and revenues were really low ... Luckily we had an IT division and people needed to work from home ... So we needed to figure out some type of subscription service to maintain that revenue and grow it ... ”
All of the panelists acknowledged the importance of cybersecurity education and training for traditional sales reps. “Our approach was to educate Modern Office Methods [MOM] sales reps on the initial conversations,” said Keith Johnson, executive vice president of Obviam [a MOM company], Cincinnati, Ohio. “We did four webinars specifically geared toward [Obviam’s] four pillars as a company. Next, I did five webinars ... on the different verticals, because each one has different compliance and security requirements ... I took the stance to educate our sellers on why security matters in those different verticals and then taught them the answers to key questions they may be asked ... Each of the MOM reps is now wrapped to a specialist on my team who is a cyberaccount executive who knows how to sell cyberservices.”
What advice did each panelist have for dealers looking to get into the cybersecurity space?
Johnson: “Contracts are everything. Agreements are everything. You have to make sure that you’re buttoned up in terms of your liability that you have as an organization ... Make sure that your contracts [lay out] what happens if there’s a breach. Have that language within your contracts. Know where you start and stop ... Starting with good contracts, good agreements and a good responsibility matrix helps things move forward.”
Tran: “Have the best security for your own environment ... protect that first. The other aspect is to draw a scope of what you can and cannot do. Tell your customers: ‘This is what we’re going to do today. This is what we can’t do. These are all the services that we can add.’ You can’t tell them that [just] because you’re a security firm you can do everything to protect their networks.”
Feld: “[I suggest] taking baby steps and not biting off more than you can chew when you’re first starting out. Get those key [vendor] partners set up and really vet them carefully. Do your homework and decide what you want to do in cyber and what you don’t. Because there’s a lot ... There’s much more to it than just having an IT department. You really need to train your people properly and make sure they’re on those education tracks.” n
— Elizabeth Marvel
Poaching IT Clients
How to outmaneuver sneaky insurance companies
by: Dale Stein, Technology Assurance Group (TAG)
As an office technology dealer, you have spent years building trust, fostering relationships and delivering results. But imagine this: Out of nowhere, your clients start mentioning they have been approached by their insurance companies — yes, insurance companies — offering them managed IT services.
Sounds like a bad joke, right? Yet, this is happening, and if you do not pay attention, insurance companies may actually succeed at creeping into your space. They are offering managed IT services to your customers, hoping to tap into a lucrative revenue stream. If they pull this off, they might actually be able to prevent you from recovering those customers, too.
Here is the bottom line — they wouldn’t be getting into this space unless there was a serious opportunity. If insurance companies see the potential, you should too. They recognize that you are sitting on a gold mine of existing customer relationships that could easily be expanded into IT services (even if you still have not gotten around to marketing those offers yet).
They see the high margins, the scalable solutions and the positioning they can secure as the trusted experts if they establish themselves in this role before you can.
If you want to grow your organization, secure new revenue streams and protect your company from obsolescence, we at Technology Assurance Group (TAG) strongly urge you to outmaneuver insurance companies and move into this space first, before it is too late. You already have the trust, the expertise and the customer base — now is the time to act.
It is not all bad news though. Insurance companies cannot deliver managed IT services, so you still have a window of opportunity.
Let’s be real. Insurance companies excel at selling policies, not fixing technology. So, what is their end game? They are using their existing trust with clients to offer bundled managed IT services, hoping your clients will think, “Why not?”
But when something goes wrong — and it will — what is an insurance company going to do to fix IT problems?
Here is the fundamental truth: They cannot fix IT issues.
For your customers, this means if there is a network outage, security breach or hardware failure, your clients will still need someone to swoop in and resolve the issue.
And the kicker? If your clients hand over IT management to an insurance company, you cannot even touch it. Trying to step in might void your client’s insurance coverage, leaving you, the expert, locked out.
This is the big play. Insurance companies are entering this market because they see IT services and cybersecurity as growing risks that align with their traditional focus on risk management. Additionally, they believe bundling IT services with their insurance products is an easy upsell.
But managing IT is not as simple as offering a policy — it requires deep technical expertise and ongoing hands-on support, which is something most insurers are not prepared to provide. This is something you are probably already working toward.
The Escape Clause Dilemma
Here is where things get even trickier. We have spent a lot of time deep-diving into cybersecurity insurance policies and have uncovered that these policies frequently come loaded with covert language — that even include escape clauses. In simple terms, these loopholes mean that if something
• 20/20ppm BW/Clr (2010AC)
• 25/25ppm BW/Clr (2520AC)
• 25/25ppm BW/Clr (2525AC)
• 30/30ppm BW/Clr (3025AC) 3525AC 4525AC 5525AC 6525AC
• 25 pages per minute (2528A)
• 35 pages per minute (3528A)
• 45 pages per minute (4528A)
• 100-Sheet RADF or 300-Sheet DSDF
• 35/35ppm (BW/Clr) (3525AC)
• 45/45ppm (BW/Clr) (4525AC)
• 55/55ppm (BW/Clr) (5525AC)
• 65/65ppm (BW/Clr) (6525AC)
• 65/55ppm (5516ACT)
• 75/65ppm (6527AC/ACT)
• 85/75ppm (7527AC/ACT)
• Up to 3,520-Sht Cap. (Std), 8,050-Sht Cap. (Max)
• 55 pages per minute (5528A)
• 65 pages per minute (6528A)
• Up to 1200 x 1200 dpi Resolution
• 100-Sheet RADF or 300-Sheet DSDF
• 65ppm (6529A)
• 75ppm (7529A)
• 90ppm (9029A)
• 6GB Memory, 128GB HDD • Std. 3,520-Sheet Cap.
goes wrong — like a cybersecurity attack or a major system failure — the insurance companies can absolve themselves of any liability or, more importantly, they can restrict repairs to a preselected list of “approved vendors” (which you will have to pay a royalty to be part of). Their policies will state that if anyone else (like your “unapproved IT team”) tries to fix the problem, they are no longer responsible. Ultimately, this leaves your customers completely vulnerable, locked into paying for a service that will not actually protect them when they need it the most.
Insurance companies are eyeing the managed IT space because they know it is a huge opportunity. But they do not have the experience ... to actually deliver ...
How to Get Ahead of This Problem & In Front of Your Customer
You are in the perfect position to get ahead of this issue. Here is how:
(1) Educate Your Clients: Start reaching out to your base. Let them know about the risks of trusting their IT infrastructures to insurance companies. Make it clear that when problems arise, insurance companies cannot deliver, and their policies may even prevent you from helping.
(2) Explain the Loopholes: Highlight the covert escape clauses buried in these insurance policies. We are happy to share examples on request. Your clients need to know that many insurance companies will dodge responsibility if they or anyone else tries to fix a problem. What good is managed IT if it does not manage anything?
(3) Position Yourself as the Trusted Expert: You already have the expertise and the customer relationships. Frame yourself as your customers’ fractional CTO — not just the guy solving tickets, but a partner who helps them plan for the future. Offer regular reviews that focus on more than just IT — introduce them to new technology, help them identify areas for growth and demonstrate how your services proactively safeguard their operations.
(4) Offer Redundant Cybersecurity Protection: As a TAG member, you can leverage doubly redundant cybersecurity liability protection through our strategic partnership with Lloyd’s of London. This is a massive differentiator. While insurance companies are playing games with escape clauses, you can offer real coverage that will not leave them hanging. We have personally vetted these policies to ensure there is no ambiguous language, so either your policy takes care of it or Lloyd’s of London does.
The Perfect Moment to Expand Your Services
Your clients already trust you. They are used to coming to you for their office technology needs. Expanding your
services to managed IT is the logical next step. If you take advantage of this opportunity, you can offer them what insurance companies never will: true protection, real solutions and a partner they can trust.
Right now, most insurance companies do not even know how to price these services. They have seen huge spikes in risk, especially since more people are working from home. But they do not understand the IT landscape well enough to manage it. At TAG, we have overseen more than $1 billion in products/services transactions and have spent 40-plus years monitoring the evolution of this marketplace. We would love to share all our findings with you in more detail.
So, this is where you come in. You get to be the expert who will have opportunities to monetize any number of technology solutions your customers need assistance with in the future. If you are ready to secure your company’s relevance and protect your clients from getting trapped into bad deals and bad service, this is actually a golden opportunity for you to expand your product and services offerings.
Act Now, Before It Is Too Late
This is a critical moment for your business. Even though competitors are looming, this is a time where you can harness their misguided overconfidence to establish yourself as a trusted office technology expert who is thinking strategically for them and anticipating their future needs, just like any great fractional CTO would.
Insurance companies are eyeing the managed IT space because they know it is a huge opportunity. But they do not have the experience, the expertise or the infrastructure to actually deliver what your clients need. You do.
Now is the time to act. Start by educating your clients, marketing your superior services and positioning yourself as the trusted partner who will keep their businesses secure — without loopholes, delays and empty promises. Do not let insurance companies steal your revenue stream. This is your space. Own it. n
Dale Stein is co-founder of Technology Assurance Group (TAG), an organization of managed technology service providers (MTSPs). He is responsible for developing TAG’s strategic planning and guiding its business development.
In addition, Stein is the managing partner for TAG’s MTSP, i-NETT, and also serves as its president. He also founded Westec Security Corp. and served as its CEO. Stein can be reached at dales@tagnational.com. Visit www.tagnational.com
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Diversification & Our Industry
It is critical to be open to additional products & services
by: Chip Miceli, Pulse Technology
We have seen seismic shifts in the office technology industry in recent years. As we navigate through these changes, it is necessary for us to adapt our business models to remain profitable and viable.
Change is inevitable, which is hardly a new belief. In fact, Socrates, who lived from 469 to 399 B.C., is credited with proclaiming: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
His advice is as valid today as it was then and it definitely applies to our industry. What is “up” in any one period of time may not remain so indefinitely. In fact, it probably won’t. Imaging devices, for example, have been a cornerstone of the industry for many years. And while I believe there will always be a place for them in our offerings, trends tell us that successful dealers will need more than MPS and imaging devices to hang their hats on.
There is truth to the adage: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Who could have foreseen how the COVID-19 pandemic would impact our industry? Or how social media, the trend toward paperless offices and other external factors might affect document generation? We cannot know for certain how market conditions and needs may change in the next year or the next five years. So, it is critically important for all of us to plan, as best we can, for the “what if’s” that may come our way. And the best way to do that is to be diversified in what we offer to our customers.
At Pulse Technology, we have always been big believers in diversification. Remember the emergence of managed print services (MPS) as the “next big thing” for our industry some years ago? At the time, the concept was transformational. MPS took our industry to an entirely new level, enabling dealers to become more than merely “those people who sell copiers and printers.” The benefits of MPS to our customers — streamlining and improving efficiencies while delivering lower per-page costs — elevated dealers from being simply vendors to solution providers and trusted advisors to their customer bases.
But today, MPS may not be enough all by itself. My own company has diversified significantly from its early days
under the name Des Plaines Office Equipment, which my father, Vincent Miceli, launched in 1955. In his early days, the company’s offerings included typewriters and calculators among other things — both useful at the time, but hardly the foundation for a successful business today.
I began my career in this industry at Des Plaines Office Equipment in the late 1980s as a salesman, and what I discovered early on from listening to customers was that their needs often extended beyond the products and services that we were currently offering. We built our business, in part, by listening to those needs and expanding our offerings where it made sense to do so. That was what diversification looked like 35 years ago. And although the solutions may be different today, the principle is the same.
The importance of being open to new markets, products and services is a lesson I have carried with me throughout the years. To be successful in this industry, you have to listen intently — to your customers, your employees and your trusted contacts in the industry. If you hear about a new product or idea, be open to it. Investigate it. And if it works for you, take that step and go forward with it.
In the past, we were dedicated almost entirely to imaging devices and print services. It was a winning model for
a number of years. But we have all seen print sales decline due to a number of factors, and the belief that it might decline is what kept us conscious of the need to diversify our offerings.
Fast forward to today and this segment accounts for approximately 50% of our overall revenues, which means that we have found a number of other sources of revenue that work for our customers.
If, as a dealer, you are strategic about what you offer to your clients, you may find that they appreciate the opportunity to work with one trusted partner ...
We have diversified considerably over the last decade. Prior to that time, from 2005 to 2015, we had grown, in part, through a number of strategic acquisitions in the greater Chicago, Illinois, area. The acquired companies were smaller and focused on copier/MFPs and printers, largely in the same general space as us. Through those acquisitions, we did add a manufacturer or two to our product line, and we certainly expanded our customer base, but MPS remained our core offering.
Our first big foray into diversification was with managed IT services, which we accomplished without an acquisition, but rather through strategic internal planning. Managed IT services was a logical extension of the technology we offered to our MPS clients and was a first important step on our journey toward becoming a “one-stop shop” for customers.
Acquisitions in Indiana in the last decade brought us into the office supply, office furniture and mailing equipment markets, and significantly expanded what we could deliver in the way of related services to our customers. In fact, it was after diversifying into managed services, furniture and office supplies that we realized we had outgrown our name. We undertook a rebranding process to develop a name that speaks to our greater breadth of offerings. And, so, in 2019, Des Plaines Office Equipment and our Indiana affiliates (McShane’s and Kramer & Leonard) became Pulse Technology.
We continued our diversification into the digital display market with the addition of conferencing tools and video walls. The pandemic may have opened that door a little wider as the idea of videoconferencing took on a new importance. In addition to the sale and service of this equipment (which you can find in corporate conference rooms, educational institutions and sports arenas), we found a related opportunity in our conference room subscription model. Equipping businesses with interactive boards, panels and sound systems for their conferencing needs is increasingly popular, driven in part by the changes in the workplace that COVID forced upon us all. We lease the equipment and provide all of the on-site support needed. Video walls are far more of an office staple today as opposed to 10 years ago when they were seen as a luxury.
Another new area we have added is production print. We see signs pointing to heightened interest from larger corporations with significant printing needs that prefer to do their work inhouse. We recently became one of very few dealers to bring a machine that can virtually outperform many web offset printers in-house — the Sharp BP-1200S. We anticipate this being attractive to large corporations with significant printing needs, advertising agencies, marketing companies, larger real estate agencies and even printing shops.
We have also explored other revenue streams that are tied with our office products, including janitorial supplies and water systems.
As a dealer, you may be saying: “That all sounds good, but how do you get your sales reps to successfully market these new products and services when they’ve mostly just sold copiers and printers?” On top of our representatives’ commission plans, we offer bonuses for focusing on adding monthly recurring revenue. We add commission boosts and other incentives on certain offerings. We also increase commissions when sales representatives sell new services to existing clients.
We do think that imaging devices — which have been the “bread and butter” for many dealers — will remain critical to the business landscape. Although some verticals have reduced their reliance on printed material, others still prefer their current processes that rely on prints.
But it is critical for dealers to be open to additional products and services — ideally ones with recurring revenue models — to stay strong through these times. If, as a dealer, you are strategic about what you offer to your clients, you may find that they appreciate the opportunity to work with one trusted partner rather than multiple vendors.
How do you decide what diversification might work for you? Talk with your clients. Ask about what they need that you might be able to provide. Talk with your local business associations, and even other dealers who aren’t your competitors, but rather your colleagues. Whether your expansion is managed services, office products, document management, VoIP products or something completely different, do your investigating and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results. n
Chip Miceli is CEO of BTA member Pulse Technology, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, with additional locations in Indiana and Wisconsin. He can be reached at chip@pulsetechnology.com. Visit www.pulsetechnology.com.
AI-Powered Solutions
Driving productivity through collaboration
The world of artificial intelligence (AI) might seem far removed from the familiar hum of a printer. At Lexmark, we view AI not as a futuristic concept, but as a powerful, practical tool driving tangible benefits for our customers and unlocking new opportunities for our valued channel partners.
While everyone wants to talk about AI, it is not applicable and beneficial to everything. At Lexmark, we recognize the importance of finding the best use cases to deliver value to end customers.
AI Delivering Real-World Benefits Today
Lexmark has seamlessly woven AI into the fabric of our operations, particularly within our managed print services (MPS). We are not just managing printers; we are managing outcomes. By harnessing the power of AI in conjunction with the Internet of Things (IoT), we remotely manage more than 1.5 million connected printers for our customers worldwide. The burden of overseeing printer fleets no longer rests on their shoulders and, thanks to AI, we can uncover new ways to make those fleets more productive and efficient, while furthering cost savings over time.
The key benefits of the AI and IoT combination in MPS allow us to:
n Predict and prevent printing disruptions: Our AIpowered predictive support resolves 70% of issues remotely before they impact our customers, minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity. This comes with a 25% increase in profitability due to better utilization of devices in the field.
n Optimize supply management: Gone are the days of frantic toner orders. We can accurately predict toner needs and automatically ship replacements to customers, eliminating any inventory gaps before they happen.
n Provide seamless language translation: Our AI-powered Translation Assistant is breaking down communication barriers, enabling users to translate documents into more than 100 languages directly on our printers in a matter of minutes. It has been an asset for customers who work with diverse populations to expand their reach.
n Enhance manufacturing processes: Manually identifying defects is a slow and deliberate process that is often prone to human error. Unfortunately, there are significant costs associated with human inspectors. By deploying Lexmark Optra Edge’s visual AI capabilities, Lexmark applies AI-enabled
by: Chris White, Lexmark International
software to cameras to conduct visual inspections on our assembled printers. The ability to do heavy AI processing in real time, right where the camera sits, has increased inspection speeds by 40%, reduced errors by 99% and delivered a return on investment within just three months.
n Leverage AI-driven analytics: We help dealerships uncover hidden patterns and trends in their data, leading to more informed decision making and improved business outcomes. Big data and analytics provide valuable insights into customer needs and preferences. By analyzing data from device sensors, dealers can optimize serviceability and maintenance, reducing downtime and improving customer satisfaction. Furthermore, advanced analytics can help dealers identify new opportunities for growth, such as expanding into new markets or offering additional services. These are just a few examples of how AI is driving tangible business outcomes for Lexmark and our customers.
The Future of AI in Printing Drives Efficiency, Security
As groundbreaking as these current applications are, we believe we have only just begun to tap into the vast potential of AI in the printing industry.
We are already doing AI-powered predictive diagnostics. Looking ahead, as the technology matures and grows more sophisticated, we foresee applications in the design phase generating imaging based on prompts, cleaning up scanned images or preevaluating how marketing material might land with different audiences.
Because printers are often connected to the internet — and then often connected to one another — ensuring robust security is paramount. AI is already playing a critical role in monitoring network traffic on the edge, closer to the point of data collection. For more than 15 years, AI algorithms have been in firewalls that are on networks to monitor for suspicious traffic. However, printers are frequently an overlooked security concern. Having the appropriate network architecture in place to allow the edge devices (e.g., sensors or IoT devices) to monitor endpoint traffic (from a printer or another device) is essential. As companies implement more zero-trust network principles, it provides opportunity for more network traffic to be monitored by AI.
Partnering for Success in the Age of AI
Lexmark has been doing IoT for more than 20 years —
before it was cool or mainstream. With this experience, we recognize that the benefits of AI and edge computing (the process of bringing information storage and computing abilities closer to the devices that produce that information and the users who consume it) can be difficult to reap for other manufacturers. There is a learning curve to tee up an IoT and AI operation internally, not to mention the complexity, costs and gaps in data science expertise. This is precisely why we launched Lexmark Optra IoT Solutions, a package of ready-made hardware, software and services that we offer to other connected-device manufacturers that do not necessarily have the means to pull off an AI/ edge project on their own. The full potential of IoT can only be realized if we, as an industry, share and collaborate with one another.
Your deep understanding of customer needs and your trusted adviser status make you essential partners in bringing the right AI-powered solutions to market.
and your trusted adviser status make you essential partners in bringing the right AIpowered solutions to market.
The future of printing is intelligent, intuitive and interconnected. At Lexmark, we are excited to be at the forefront of this AIdriven transformation. We are committed to collaborating with our channel partners to unlock the full potential of AI and shape the future of printing, together. n
We believe that everyone in the channel ecosystem has a role to play in bringing the power of AI to businesses of all sizes. Dealers, your role in this AI-driven future is more critical than ever. Your deep understanding of customer needs
Chris White is Lexmark’s director of global product portfolio. From 2009 to 2017, he was director of global business development for Lexmark with responsibility for managing international customer relationships, negotiations, product development, supply chain and P&L. White joined Lexmark in 1999 and has held various leadership roles in global operations and global alliances. He can be reached at chris.white@lexmark.com. Visit www.lexmark.com.
SaaS Contracts
A shift in implementing & optimizing software
by: Greg Goldberg, BTA General Counsel
One of my earliest internet memories is receiving a free CD-ROM in the mail from America Online (AOL). Much to my parents’ chagrin, I would dial up the World Wide Web on my then-state-of-the-art 56k modem, tying up our family’s phone line for hours on end. It is difficult to believe that was more than three decades ago. Today, floppy disks, CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs are long gone, and purchasing software as a product is quickly transitioning into licensing software as a service (SaaS). This month, Legal Perspective takes a look at SaaS agreements.
SaaS is an alternative to purchasing software on traditional media or via download. In a SaaS arrangement, the essential software is never actually installed on the end-user’s computer. Instead, the end user may download an application or a plugin to access a particular program, but the administrator hosts the core software in the cloud. The administrator also configures, manages and maintains the underlying cloud infrastructure and end-user connectivity.
SaaS arrangements appeal to a broad range of software administrators, dealers and end users for a variety of reasons. SaaS administrators benefit significantly from centralized hosting in the cloud, which enables fully remote maintenance, patches and updates. In practice, that means software administrators need not rely on end users to initiate annoying program downloads or system restarts. Software administrators can also customize price and service levels to match the needs of dealers and end users, ranging from smaller operations to giant enterprises at scale.
The advantages of SaaS arrangements to end users are equally compelling. SaaS services are ideal for shared applications such as email, calendar, communications and databases. SaaS can also streamline transactions between end users, their employees and their customers, including funds transfers, inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM) software. SaaS end users realize significant cost savings due to no up-front investment in equipment and seamless software integration. End users also enjoy increased flexibility to adjust for variance in headcount due to business expansion or contraction.
Despite the many upsides to SaaS arrangements, it is important to consider the relevant risks. An end user of cloudbased SaaS relinquishes control over service delivery and security to the SaaS administrator. That means SaaS end users are particularly susceptible to server downtime, service
disruptions, network dependency, data commingling and third-party cyberattacks. To account for some of these vulnerabilities, SaaS contracts need to be very clear about the rights and responsibilities of the respective parties. Generally speaking, contractual obligations placed on SaaS providers include: access to the specified software application; software updates; data storage; data backup; data security; and customer support. At a minimum, a robust SaaS contract should address: services provided; pricing and payments; service levels; disaster recovery; limitation of liability and indemnification; initial and renewal terms; suspension and termination; transition rights; compliance obligations; acceptable use policies; and data protection.
Data provisions are especially important because the implementation of cloud storage means data does not reside with the software administrator or the end user. Critical provisions related to stored data include: data ownership; data access and use; data retention and security; data location; and security breaches. End users should be sure to retain ownership of all stored data (and related intellectual property); ensure immediate access to stored data on demand; secure transition assistance to a new provider in the event of termination; and specify proper formatting to ease transportability and transferability of data.
The evolution from CD-ROMs to SaaS models represents a tectonic shift in the way administrators, dealers and end users market, implement and optimize enterprise software solutions. As businesses increasingly migrate their back offices (i.e., software applications, data storage and IT services) from the server closet to the cloud, it is important to weigh the clear benefits against some of the less obvious trade-offs. I encourage BTA members to take advantage of their legal services benefit and reach out with questions or concerns about transitioning to SaaS.
Clarification: I received some feedback about my September 2024 column covering the new U.S. Department of Labor rules concerning overtime pay. I would like to clarify that the new minimum salary thresholds that expand eligibility for overtime pay to certain previously exempt roles do not apply to outside sales employees. I apologize for any confusion. n
Greg Goldberg, partner at Barta | Goldberg, is general counsel for the Business Technology Association. He can be reached at ggoldberg@bartagoldberg.com or (847) 922-0945.
BTA HIGHLIGHTS
BTA would like to welcome the following new member to the association:
Dealer Member
DPS TECK LLC, Dallas, TX
For full contact information of this new member, visit www.bta.org.
Free Sales Training & Resources From Modern Sales Training
Derek Shebby, founder of Modern Sales Training, provides BTA members the following:
• The Value Building 101 Series, which includes two Office Technology magazine articles and the March 2024 BTA Building My Business Webinar: “How to Include Value Building Into Your Sales Process”
• “Are You Onboarding Your Salespeople Correctly” Office Technology article
• November 2021 BTA Building My Business Webinar: “Legendary Sales Leadership”
• “The 7-Step Execution Plan” Leadership Handout
• June 2021 BTA Building My Business Webinar Slide Deck: “How to Sell Your MPS Deals Faster”
• “Copier Dealer Owner Growth Mastermind MPS Checklist”
• 2021 BTA National Conference Educational Session Slide Deck: “Are You Onboarding Your Salespeople Incorrectly?”
• Copier/MFP Sales Training Course
• Sales New Hire Onboarding Program
For more information, visit www.bta.org/ModernSalesTraining.
For information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits.
For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members.
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Collabrance works with progressive managed services providers (MSPs) to build strategic, long-term, mutually beneficial opportunities aimed at providing exceptional solutions and service to the MSP’s end customer. You maintain ownership of the customer, while Collabrance delivers service excellence through a comprehensive suite of IT solutions and behind-the-scenes customer support. The company’s value-added services include sales, marketing and solution support; vendor engagement and service delivery; training and education; and hiring assistance and best practices.
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A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.
DEALERS HELPING DEALERS
Value-Added Offerings
What products & services have been most successful?
Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine
Following is a question submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s Dealers Helping Dealers resource and many of the answers received. These answers and others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/DealersHelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.
Besides traditional MFPs, desktop printers and MPS, what other value-added offerings (e.g., IT, VoIP, water, document management, etc.) have been most successful for you? Why?
“Network services allow you to get a foot in the door to expand offerings. We acquired a sign company to complement digital message center offerings.”
Dean Carlile, president Adams Remco, South Bend, Indiana
“We have been doing DMS [document management software] and VoIP for years, and have also diversified into our print business offering marketing solutions, trade show and signage, and promotional products for our clients or potential clients.”
Van Seretis, president Premium Digital Office Solutions, Parsippany, New Jersey
“Document management and cloud-based services have worked the best for us. These are easy to discuss since the integration is a part of the MFP itself. It is an easier talk track for the salespeople.”
Kecia Caughey, vice president of sales and general manager
South Coast Copy Systems, San Diego, California
“We added managed IT services about five years ago and have found success in IT and finding new MFPs within IT accounts. It has opened doors to wide-format printing and water solutions as well.”
Gil Gastelum, vice president of managed services
Coast to Coast Business Equipment Inc., Irvine, California
“Smart lockers. We partnered with Luxer One and we are just beginning the ramp up. We are going after multifamily
(i.e., apartment complexes) and commercial (e.g., hospitals, schools, campus settings, etc.) locations. We believe this is a good model for us due to the service side after installation. It is recurring revenue.”
Cody Webster, general manager JQ Office, Omaha, Nebraska
“We added network support for our devices about four years ago. That has added about 5% to our gross revenue and operates at the same profitability as MFP service. We also added VoIP about a year-and-a-half ago. We partnered with Intermedia and do billing in-house for better profitability. VoIP is nice since there is very little post-sale service required.”
Michael DelBorrello, owner Cyan Sky Copier Technologies, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
“We are about as diversified as you can get. I don’t see how you can stay in this industry long term without having IT. Production print has been a real winner for us. VoIP has been an incredible add-on. We just added Xante flatbed printers and Zebra [products], and are authorized on both.”
David Carson, president Plus Inc., Greenville, South Carolina
“We added an IT department two years ago and it has been very successful. It sells VoIP, whiteboards and software, and we have an in-house help desk for customers.”
Dana Johnston, controller CPI Technologies, Springfield, Missouri
“IT, VoIP and document management. These are great addons to the business we are in.”
Chad Carey, purchasing manager Coordinated Business Systems, Burnsville, Minnesota
“Document management, but it does seem to be causing a decline in overall clicks as we convert more customers to using software.”
Juan Maldonado, vice president of service UBEO, San Antonio, Texas n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine. He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.
ADVERTISER INDEX
2 • 2025 BTA Events
(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BTAEvents
26 • BPO Media
www.workflowotg.com / www.theimagingchannel.com
31 • Business Equipment Quota Index (800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BEQI
32 • DLL Financial Solutions (610) 386-5629 / www.dllgroup.com
14 • DocuWare
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31 • ENX Magazine (818) 505-0022 / www.enxmag.com
5 • Epson
https://epson.com/business-inkjet-printers
23 • First Citizens Bank
https://firstcitizens.com/vendor-financing
30 • GoWest.ai
(647) 992-6775 / www.gowest.ai
3 • Hytec (800) 883-1001 / www.hytecrepair.com
19 • International Digital Solutions (888) 372-3700 / www.idswc.com
7 • In Time Tec www.intimetec.com
21 • Polek & Polek
www.polek.com
23 • Source Technologies (412) 522-0515 / www.sourcetech.com
9 • TD SYNNEX www.tdsynnex.com
21 • UPS (800) 636-2377 / www.1800members.com/bta
13 • U.S. Bank www.usbank.com
11 • Xerox www.xerox.com
