New Alliances Mean New Opportunities for MSPs and Copier Dealers

By N-able Guest Blog 2

The IT services industry is transforming, and resellers who are banking on printers, copiers and multifunction peripherals will see their financing and relevancy shrink if they don’t make some immediate changes and embrace cloud and mobile technologies. 

Why? Because more and more users are increasingly looking to their mobile devices to view and share information, and the need to print images and documents is going by the wayside–at a fast and furious pace. So where will the copier dealers of today and tomorrow find new sources of revenue? Managed services. The market was valued at more than $100 billion in 2014 and is projected to reach $293 billion in 2019, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Managed services represents a natural next step for copier dealers because of their significant experience in delivering recurring fee-based, long-term services. Their expertise with this business model can give them a legitimate advantage over traditional IT-grown MSPs. However, the business model experience may not be enough, given the technical nuances and varying range of IT services that exist in the market today.

That’s why instead of building an MSP practice on their own, some copier dealers–from Staples to Ricoh to Konika Minolta–have chosen to buy or partner with MSPs to optimize their chances for success.

The timing for alliances like this couldn’t be better, and MSPs stand to benefit. as well. Here are two reasons why:

1. Everything to Gain, Nothing to Lose

Copier dealers have everything to gain and nothing to lose by adopting managed services in partnership with an MSP. For starters, with the right investments across talent, technology and process, copier dealers can gain a foothold in a growing market. At the same time, MSPs are now facing new and bigger competitors in cloud and other areas, and commoditization across what were once their most viable and profitable markets is also creating a new set of challenges. With the right relationships in place, they can build a stronger and more stable business under the umbrella of an established copier dealer, or by working in partnership with one.

2. New Business Opportunities

One of the biggest upsides for copier dealers-turned MSPs is the potential to win new business. Their seasoned and highly trained sales departments can be put to work to identify and recruit new clients. And with the nearly unlimited growth projected in managed services, along with ongoing market demand for better and more cost-effective ways to manage IT, the opportunities for winning new customers and new contracts couldn’t be better. And it goes both ways: As copier dealers expand their client base, they can move beyond offering managed services and also deliver legacy office equipment and associated services to new customers. This allows them to give clients the single point of contact–and the single point of trust–they prefer.

It’s clear that copier dealers can move their businesses forward by adding managed services or partnering with or acquiring an MSP. For MSPs, as the market shifts with larger competitors and new threats to the viability of their businesses, the opportunity to build out an experienced sales force, gain stronger financial stability and more resources also presents many advantages.

For both sides, it’s all about future-proofing your business. The positives seem to outweigh the negatives, and we expect to see more of these alliances happening in the managed services market in the year ahead.

Mike Cullen is Senior VP, Sales and MSP Strategy. He brings over 20 years of corporate sales experience to SolarWinds N-able and has assembled an equally experienced sales force. Prior to joining N-able, he was vice president of sales (Ottawa Branch) and interim president of the Québec region for IKON Office Solutions. He grew the Ottawa business to $24 million in just five years, resulting in the Ottawa office’s recognition as the branch office of the year in 2000. Cullen joined IKON in 1995 as a result of an acquisition of Fulline Office Products, an office equipment company he co-founded in 1988. Previously in his career, he held progressively senior sales management positions with Canon and Pitney Bowes.