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Diversification is an important business strategy for technology suppliers, but it is especially critical in a difficult industry like print. Expansion of products, solutions, and services was the theme looking back at the recent BTA national conference. Vendors and dealers collaborate to raise awareness and educate their businesses on the benefits of expanding into new product categories, targeting new client groups, and new technology.
Over the past three years, traditional work has changed and shifted in many ways—creating several challenges for those who supply print products and services. The BTA national conference sets out to inspire and motivate channel members with a variety of sessions meant to inform and engage with peers and partners. The BTA has long supported and advocated for members to adopt a transformative outlook on services and solutions. Throughout the event, the significance of flexibility and agility in coping with changing business situations was furthered. To grow and change, members were encouraged to listen to peer members who have made the leap beyond traditional print into adjacent spaces, such as managed IT services, with success.
Managed IT services has gained momentum from the buyer and supplier point of view. Buyers are seeking ways to harden their environment with cybersecurity solutions along with new and innovative ways to drive more and effective customer experiences. Vendors, in kind, are offering a wide range of services and solutions to address these evolving needs. Many BTA members have embarked on this journey into adjacent technology areas and leaning into their core value of customers first, while others are considering their next steps.
BTA members were able to visit displaying vendors at the showcase. BTA gathered a wide variety of solutions from vendors in security, cloud fax, print management, and unified communications. Along with the vendor showcase, panel sessions were conducted from the channel and vendor points of view. BTA insisted that the panel sessions be less about a specific vendor and product and more about the benefits to the buyer of the service or solution. This enabled an unbiased approach to learning and reduced the “infomercial” type of presentation.
In Keypoint Intelligence’s 2023 IT Decision Maker Primary Research study, we undertook an examination of the progress businesses have made on their digital transformation journey and how that progress will impact vendors and technology providers. Keypoint has presented data where organizations contract with an outside provider to take over at least a portion of specific IT solutions needs and can be a key offering for office equipment dealers looking to diversify beyond print. Collaboration and voice solutions, as part of a managed IT services agreement, are sought after to upgrade and modernize the environment.
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Keypoint was fortunate to participate in a Unified Communication-as-a-Service (UCaaS) panel discussion. UCaaS, born from telephony communications, is a robust cloud communications platform that encompasses not only voice, but video, collaboration, and chat. There are a variety of drivers for today’s modern UCaaS platforms:
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As channel providers move quickly to discover new and competitive ways of offering new technology, a clear and concise strategy and plan of action is recommended. While focusing on education, we also recommend assessing and discovering customer requirements and business outcome objectives. Organizations look to modernize their infrastructure to be more secure, efficient, productive, and compliant. As first and second-generation solutions are shed, this makes way for state-of-the-art solutions.
BTA events provide a valuable opportunity for the community to learn about new products, services, solutions, and trends in the industry. They also offer opportunities for networking with peers—sharing best practices and getting hands-on experience with new technologies as well as creating new opportunities for collaboration. These events can be particularly beneficial for dealers who are looking to stay up to date on the latest trends in cutting-edge technology. By attending these events, dealers can also learn about new tools and resources that can help improve their businesses and receive advice from experts on how to implement these new technologies in their dealerships and for their customers.
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