Copier Dealers and OEMs: Ecosystems are here. Where are you?

For over 50 years, copying and printing has been the lifeblood of business.?Companies were highly dependent on this equipment.?Companies thrived on the ability to communicate with prospects and customers utilizing the printed page.?Bills were printed, invoices were scanned, glossy brochures were made.?Use was high.?Remember when virtually everyone read the newspaper and had magazine subscriptions??Print was the optimal cost-effective way to communicate.

Then the network was born.?

At first, a network was an enabler to the print and copy industry.??The devices became the on-ramps and off-ramps to the “digital highway”, allowing for greatly increased information sharing. ?API’s and workflows were created to enable automation of the business and were seen as bringing increased value to the organization.?Soon, print became ubiquitous.?Dependence on the MFP devices increased to became critical as they became a foundational factor to a business’s success.?MPS came about and evolved to increase uptime, proactively manage the fleet of devices, and optimize the fleet for cost-control.?Availability increased, cost of operation decreased and consequently dependance on copy and print devices peaked.

Then the Internet became practical.?

PCs, better browsers, and new websites began to allow for communication on a universal level. ?The world went from analog to digital rapidly.?We began to live in what is called a “perfectly digital world”.?Internet bandwidth has increased so much, and high availability has enabled real-time access and retrieval of information.?Customer began to question whether or not all of this printing was necessary.

Now the internet dominates everything.

Powerful cloud software applications (including the automations of BI, AI and IOT) have driven users to almost complete dependency on glass-screens.?Very little, if any, printing is still truly required.?The glass screen is now where most people get the information they need to operate effectively in this new world.?

The advent of new business ecosystems

Suppliers of these new applications have banded together through partnerships and M&A to create and succeed in what is commonly referred to as an” Ecosystem”.??The suppliers of hardware, networking, and applications are developing seamless integration in functional interoperability. ??Interestingly, they bi-directionally utilize functionality to deliver a higher value to the customer. ?As a result, printers and copiers that are not members of the ecosystems are destined to forgo opportunities to remain relevant in the long run.?They are simply not part of a bigger decision.

There have been people (experts actually) in our industry who have been warning copy and printer OEM’s and Dealers to incorporate Managed IT services, UCAAS, and other value add services into their portfolios for years.??Few have listened; some have dismissed these folks as fringe players (think “Death of the Copier and “The End of The Day” series).?Yet they may be the most prescient.??Just look at what HP, TD SYNNEX, and EKM Global have just done!

This is the true watershed moment in the industry.??Think this one can still be ignored? ??

Think again

--- Steve Spencer manages the Technology Leadership Recruting practice for Morisey-Dart Group. He can help you navigate these issues. He can be reached at (239) 963-4295 [email protected]