SOS
T W E N T Y: T W E N T Y S E R I E S
PART THREE
A VISION OF THE FUTURE
NEXT GENERATION MPS
UNDER PRESSURE
Predicting print and document management development
How will resellers have to develop?
IT AND THE OFFICE
The technology that will shape tomorrow’s businesses www.dealersupport.co.uk MARCH 2012
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Q&A
WELCOME TO THE T W E N T Y: T W E N T Y S E R I E S R E A DY F O R F U T U R E G R OW T H
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here has never been a better time for organisations to use technology to help them run more efficiently, innovate faster and excel in customer service. These are exciting times for our industry. Our market is changing rapidly and moving from selling hardware and software to a services lead, document management focus. Device purchases are being subsumed in managed service contracts focused on print fleet optimisation, service and consumables, in a pay as you use type payment structure. These basic print services are being enhanced by software solutions providing usability, security and cost control. The MPS opportunity is forecast to grow with a CAGR of 10% through to 2016. However it is worth recognising that market dynamics have changed. MPS contracts have mainly been adopted by larger companies leaving the midmarket relatively untouched and the late adopter market now seeing the benefits to be gained. With general client acceptance of MPS we have seen an explosion of providers, making differentiation a key challenge. For larger clients the forces of mobility, cloud and server consolidation have provided an answer. A business grade, private managed print service hosted in the cloud. For the mid-market, the growth of inexpensive, print device-embedded apps to tackle small workflow improvements will provide companies the business benefit beyond print that they are looking for. Companies who have successfully implemented a managed print service are now looking at ‘what next’. This provides perhaps our greatest opportunity and challenge. With the print fleet as an effective on ramp to digitise documents, we are uniquely positioned to help clients tackle document workflow and process improvement initiatives. Gartner are predicting that by 2016 managed content service will have replaced at least a third of traditional MPS engagements. But let’s not forget the other major opportunity in our market, one that is closer to our printing heritage than we might first perceive, that of 3D printing. A market requiring a similar business structure to 2D print but opening up completely new green field opportunities to transform business prototyping and production.
Helen George MDS Marketing Manager, KYOCERA Document Solutions UK
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FUTURE MPS
THE NEXT G E N E R AT I O N MPS What does the future of print and document management look like and what role will dealers play in this? HELEN GEORGE, MDS Marketing Manager at KYOCERA Document Solutions UK, shares her thoughts
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FUTURE Q&A MPS
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ather than the new service many people still regard it as, the world of managed print services (MPS) continues to mature and evolve rapidly both in terms of how it’s treated by customers and the technology that’s behind it. With demand now driven by the end-user rather than service providers or manufacturers, the future success of dealers depends on embracing these changes. Helen George, MDS Marketing Manager, comments: “From my point of view we very rarely find dealers that just sell equipment, what we’re seeing is two types of dealers emerge. There are those that are optimising print infrastructures and providing service and consumables within a click contract. This is hardware focused and generally delivers cost reduction and device availability benefits. Then there’s dealers who are adding on a layer of software and focus on cost control and usability where the likes of PaperCut and Equitrac come in.” Looking to the future, George says MPS will continue to become more and more mainstream, opening up further opportunities for dealers in the process, but only if they stand out from the crowd. “As the late adopters enter the market and MPS becomes mainstream, the challenge for dealers is going to be how to differentiate themselves from the competition. “If you’re selling to larger customers, extending a traditional MPS to include print server consolation and cloud hosting will help to increase the benefits customers gain. According to Gartner server consolidation is an important focus within the client base. So by combining print server consolidation and printer management together you manage more of the print environment and instantly create a differentiator, further reducing costs and IT burden.” George continues: “If you’re selling to the emerging mid-market and smaller companies who now also want to benefit from a managed print service, then it’s worth looking at embedded applications in the print devices themselves, such as KYOCERA’s HyPAS apps. These are a cost effective way to add capability beyond print and help companies with routine tasks. They help you stand out from the crowd. “One thing it’s worth remembering is that when selling a managed print service it’s key to think about what’s next, how else you can add value. For example, if you’ve sold an MPS solution the next step could be to talk about server consolidation, cloud hosting, digitising paper documents or workflow solutions. It’s about adopting a partnership approach with the client and building on that relationship. Either into the document workflow space or other IT services like telephony, storage or desktop.” MARKET SATURATION In order to ensure future success for its dealers, KYOCERA is keeping a keen eye on the saturation levels of the MPS market. “We need to stop thinking of MPS as something new,” explains George. “We need to keep an eye on the saturation of this market. Gartner is still predicting 10% compound annual growth for the next three to four years so there’s still room for growth. The challenge comes when the midmarket is saturated and you have to start dealing with the very small customers and start-ups. That’s likely to be where cloud really comes into play.” When asked about issues to do with maturing original MPS contracts, George answers: “The concept of running an MPS contract and reviewing it at renewal have to change. For years and years old type MPS contracts came to an end, at which point clients asked “how
are you going to add value and how are you going to move my business forward?” This is no longer acceptable to the market and a terrible way to retain clients. It should be about regular meetings, an ongoing partnership and constantly evolving solutions that do more for the customer.” THE CORRECT SOLUTIONS As MPS matures, the need for more document solutions does too. “This is without doubt where the channel is moving to next,” explains George. “Already 5 to 10% of our MPS contracts have some level of process management and document digitisation and I think it’s Gartner who are predicting that by 2016 one third of MPS contracts will include document services. At KYOCERA we’re working hard to ensure that we have the solutions required to digitise, index, store, retrieve, manage and archive electronic documents. We’re keen to help our channel work with their clients to optimise document workflows, whether paper or electronic.
“As the late adopters enter the market and MPS becomes mainstream, the challenge for dealers is going to be how to differentiate themselves from the competition” “Above all else dealers have to give companies the solutions that are best suited to them – it’s not a one solution fits all scenario. We’re seeing some verticals – the legal sector is a good example – adopting cloud solutions faster than we ever thought they would, but other organisations still work with hard copies of documents. Changes are taking place but different organisations will move forward at different speeds. “One other thing I’d like to mention is that, when talking to end clients, their projects can be quite large and complex. In healthcare, for example, they’re talking about electronic patient records so that a better service can be offered at a lower cost, but often it’s difficult, especially when an MPS solution hasn’t even been put in place, to find the route to implementing those desired solutions. The value add that this industry can do is to not only show how technology can help, but also the route that needs to be taken to get there in very simple, controllable risk-free steps.” KEY PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE • To succeed dealers need to focus on solutions and services, not just transactional business • MPS will become more mainstream offering the channel massive sales potential • Dealers will have to work out how to differentiate themselves • MPS will become popular in mid-size organisations – the traditional dealer stronghold • Cloud solutions will have much more of a role to play • Document management will become incredibly important as part of a wider solution • Dealers need to listen to the needs of clients and then provide solutions tailor made to them DS
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FUTURE IT
THE FUTURE OF IT IN THE OFFICE EDDIE GINJA, Business Development Manager, SIs & KMDS and Cloud Evangelist at KYOCERA Document Solutions UK predicts the future technology changes that he thinks will happen in businesses over the coming years
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s organisations become ever more reliant on technology, its obvious that office supplies/service dealers need to become more tech savvy. That means keeping pace with the latest developments in the world of office IT, cloud solutions and document management – if only to take advantage of the sales opportunities that exist. “We know that things are getting tougher for the industry in terms
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of sales and squeezed profit levels, so I think the short-term future is all about finding differentiators and solutions that channel partners can sell as value added services to their customers,” says Eddie Ginja, Business Development Manager, SIs & KMDS and Cloud Evangelist at KYOCERA Document Solutions UK. “As a result, the remit of dealers is becoming bigger. For example I’m seeing a lot of our channel partners hiring network specialists and infrastructure architects being brought into businesses. Where dealers have been selling 10 copiers here, five machines
FUTURE Q&A IT
there, they will have to bundle more services and solutions into the sale. Dealers are creeping into areas of expertise that systems integrators used to look after. “When we move to second, third and fourth generation MPS what will drive the change is access to these technologies. For example, I think mobile is going to be a big player so how do you integrate that with cloud and MPS solutions? Typical new generation MPS is not going to be driven by just consolidating and rationalising more. It’s actually going to be driven by other technologies such as sharing documents online, how you print and access document from mobile devices. It’s about opening up new devices, workflows and strategies to corporate environments. “All technological change has to be driven by an enabler. If you think back to the growth of online banking, the technology enabler to all of that was broadband and its arrival in our homes. Therefore, I think manufacturers and dealers need to bring enablers to the market such as cloud solutions that will enable us to effectively share documents, for example.” GOVERNMENT SUPPORT When asked if this means the UK Government should do more to ensure high-speed broadband is widely available across the whole UK and investment in the likes of 4G/5G should be increased, Ginja’s answer is a resounding yes. “That is the enabler. When we have nationwide 4G coverage and the likes of content delivery networks, it makes the upload and download of documents faster, access to those documents much quicker and aids agility. How we interact with documents will almost become like electricity or the like the internet – it’s nowhere yet everywhere – when you need those documents you have immediate access to them. “I’m speaking to companies such as Workshare who are starting to enable technologies on the web whereby you can start sharing documents via the web and social media. The vision is that we will all one day be on a LinkedIn or Facebook session, I’ll ask if you’ve seen documents x, y and z, you’ll say no but be able to instantly access it, change it, review it and send it back securely via the cloud. We will, via social media, cloud and mobile, interact to make documents more sharable.” Security will be a big issue as more and more documents head onto the cloud, which is why KYOCERA works with known secure technology such as VPN. “It’s all about using known protocols to deliver documents securely and efficiently,” says Ginja. “In time to come, the secure pin/ card release products that we use will become abundant on the web. I think in three or four years’ time the likes of Equitrac and PaperCut will be working against many more competitors than they do now as this area becomes much more important. It is important that we accommodate and embrace new technologies and products into our portfolio and KYOCERA aims to be at the forefront of such trends.” A THREAT TO PRINT? If, as Ginja predicts, documents will more commonly be shared via mobile device, cloud solutions and social media, what impact will that
have on printed documents, the very thing KYOCERA and its channel partners have built their business on? He answers: “I think people will still need and want to have printed documents but at the same time we all need to look to the future and embrace digital documents more. As a company it’s how we evolve to embrace and deal with those digital documents that’s crucial to our future success. The same applies to dealers who need to embrace document management. If you give customers the necessary enablers to access their documents in the cloud, you should also provide the enabler to allow people to print those documents when they want to. OK, people might print less, but they will maybe print from other locations and on other devices.”
“I think manufacturers and dealers need to bring enablers, such as cloud solutions which will enable us to effectively share documents, to the market” LOOKING TO THE FUTURE As we look to the future, five years from now we’ll unquestionably be communicating differently with each other, especially when it comes to business and the sharing of information. What are Ginja’s thoughts on how we’ll be doing this? “We will see a lot more sharing of information, more diverse ways of sharing information through different channels and different ways of manipulating documents within workflows,” he says. “I think we’ll also see various workflows triggered within businesses when we do something with a document. For example, a document being saved and indexed will kick off a purchase order being raised, a statement being sent to a customer or whatever. Document production and filing should also become seamless. “We as manufacturers need to pre-empt that and provide the tools for dealers to sell that people can use to create seamless workflows. If you like, KYOCERA needs to be the enabler that allows end-users to effectively integrate document solutions, including print, into their businesses.” KEY PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE: • Future success will be about managing more of the overall IT environment in a client’s business • Many dealers starting to hire specialists as IT remit widens • Mobile devices and document sharing over the web to be at the heart of future developments • Social media to become an integral part of document sharing and interaction with documents. Documents will be like electricity – nowhere but everywhere; when you need them. Documents should be as readily accessible as flicking an electric switch • Dealers encouraged to become enablers of change • Seamless document workflows and automisation expected to be at the forefront of change DS
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DEALER CHANGES
FUTURE FOCUS How will KYOCERA’s channel partners have to change over the coming years in order to maximise business success? Rod Barthet, Group Sales Director at Annodata and Tony Burnett, Group Sales Director at Alto Digital, share their views
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DEALER CHANGES Q&A
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS CHANGING OVER THE COMING YEARS? Rod Barthet (RB): Annodata is very positive about the future, both in terms of economic outlook and opportunities for growth. As an organisation which was founded in 1988, we’ve navigated through the last three recessions/economic downturns while never borrowing a penny, growing each year and importantly, always being profitable. The next two to three years is one where we expect to grow significantly, both organically and via strategic acquisitions. Our focus is on the development of our corporate client and public sector base which we have seen expand significantly over the last few years and will accelerate over the coming years. We strongly believe that Annodata has the broadest portfolio of services in our market and our aim is to extend as many of those services to our clients as possible, increasing our wallet share and bringing our client relationships even closer. Our strategy has already been well received with a signing in each number of new key relationships won in the last year and a greater number in pipeline for this coming year. Tony Burnett (TB): Over the past few years Altodigital has already become a far more solution led business and this is only going to continue over the coming years. No longer will we be entering a business and only discussing what printers and photocopiers are required. We are now discussing the whole lifecycle of the document and ensuring we are able to cater for the demands and requirements involved in the management of this whole process, including document management systems and digital workflow processes. When coupled with the ongoing IT network support service we provide and the unified communications market that we have recently entered into, Altodigital has and will continue to become a more all-encompassing IT managed services provider. WHAT IS DRIVING CHANGE? TB: Workforces becoming more and more mobile has led to a greater demand for products and services that cater for this change in working practice. Enabling staff to work as if they are in the office, but from any location, relies on many different factors such as access to documents, ability to print, access to network files and ability to share information with other mobile workers, all in a secure environment. This is no mean task for an IT department – but having one partner that can manage the whole process instead of numerous partners with numerous contracts to negotiate, can make the task more achievable with better results – and therefore is an attractive option. Environmental pressures on organisations are causing more and more to move towards a more digital environment with a reduction in paper-based processes. Although this still seems a long way away looking at current industry stats, it is still something that we cannot ignore. RB: We have seen strong demand for a consolidation in vendors from our clients and our ability to provide such a wide range of services has served us well in extending our services across our
corporate and public sector clients. Key technology trends such as increase in workforce mobility, greater compliance requirements, shift to cloud based infrastructure and integration of new technology into existing legacy platforms continues to challenge our clients, for which we are able to demonstrate support to not only address but create significant competitive advantage.What impact will the arrival of Generation Y have on your business and the recruitment of staff? RB: Generation Y, or the millennial generation, will rapidly become the go-to candidates to fill the vacant spots in the print and IT services arena. Members of “Gen Y” will continue to transform the workplace to better suit their needs. They don’t expect to be chained to a desk but rather prefer to work remotely utilising the vast array of secure mobile working solutions available. This generation also expects and thrives on feedback, consistently and regularly. Quick and effective feedback allows millennials to be more productive, speedier and more efficiently delivering greater value to their business. What’s important here is to provide constructive feedback in a timely manner whilst providing ongoing learning opportunities. Although salary is important to this demographic, they also want to work for a company which is aware of the environment and green issues with up to date technology and software. Organisations must view them as a person to develop and not just “employ” so the question isn’t around just recruitment but also retention.
“We are now discussing the whole lifecycle of the document and ensuring we are able to cater for the demands and requirements involved in the management of this whole process” WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T CHANGE? TB: Without paying attention to where the market is going, what the demand is, adjusting our business objectives to match this and investing in the technology and infrastructure to manage this transition - there is no doubt there is a danger of being left behind and not having the capability to offer the full range of services a customer will want from one supplier. RB: That’s not an option! One of my favourite quotes (often misattributed to Darwin) is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment”. Not only as a business, but as an industry, we must always strive to adapt to the environment and the constant changing client demands we see around us. DS