Editor’s Blog: Between the Lines

A big hurdle for many dealers considering the addition of software sales to their offerings is the learning curve needed to properly deploy and support a solution. Some software vendors offer the option of providing their own implementation and support services once the dealer Read More

HP Inc. gave security analysts an update on how the company is doing since it spun off from Hewlett-Packard nearly a year ago. ENX has reviewed the presentation and background materials and pulled out items of interest to the dealer community. Here’s what we found: ● CEO Dion Read More

TriMega’s Brian Stevenson says that like many people, his introduction to the office technology industry came about by accident. He was playing fastpitch softball in New Zealand and then returned to North America to play in Toronto during the summer of 1994. “With plenty of Read More

In the October issue of ENX Magazine (“There’s Gold in Selling Software Solutions, but You Have to Dig for It”), both dealers and software vendors touted the benefits of focusing on vertical markets. Let’s drill down on the reasons why that might be the smartest strategy for your Read More

Pete Emory, director of research and lab services, US/Asia at Buyers Laboratory LLC, recalls that his 11-year-old daughter once said to him, “Smile, Daddy. Always be happy and take it easy. Yes, this be okay.” “That is the best advice I ever got,” he says. “I’m trying to live by Read More

If you sell any services or products that are delivered through or connected to the internet, then be prepared to face more questions from your customer base about security in the coming year. That was the message that Michael Buratowski, senior VP of Cybersecurity Services at Read More

BEI Services VP of operations, Bud Karakey entered the office technology industry in 1992 when he was hired by ADS (Automated Dispatch Systems) Communications as their installation engineer. At that time he was tasked with integrating copier dealerships’ telephone systems to the Read More

Sharp Electronics’ senior director of software product management, Vince Jannelli, recalls the best advice he ever received: “We have two ears and one mouth, and we should use them in proportion,” he says. The emphasis on learning is not surprising considering Janneli’s Read More

Many office equipment dealers (OEDs) have made the move into managed services. Those that have done so successfully are seeing strong growth and profits, but the investment in training and hiring can sway others from making the move. The hurdles to offering managed services are Read More

“Change is constant, and you have to anticipate and accept it.” That’s how Jennie Fisher opened her roundtable discussion entitled Leading for Innovative Results at the Business Technology Association’s (BTA’s) Grand Slam event in Boston earlier this month. Fisher is the senior Read More

Cannon IV, one of the country’s leading dealerships, was started 42 years ago by Jerry Jones’s father. In those early days the business consisted solely of selling carbon paper and typewriter ribbons out of the family garage in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones joined the business at Read More

“You’re in the unstructured data business. You have been all your life.” This is how Ed McLaughlin opened his keynote address, “A Vision for the Future of the Industry,” at the Business Technology Association’s (BTA) Grand Slam event in Boston last week. McLaughlin was making a Read More

Todd S. Johnson left the U.S. Marine Corps in 1993 to join his father, Tom Johnson, in his consulting business. He recalls that it was his father who convinced him to make that change and it was the best advice he ever received. “I was reluctant to make that decision at the time, Read More

After a week of rumors, HP confirmed at its Global Partner Conference on September 12 that it has an agreement with Samsung Electronics to purchase its printer unit for $1.05 billion, HP’s largest printer-oriented acquisition to date. The deal, which HP expects to complete by the Read More

HP Inc.’s dual announcements of its acquisition of Samsung’s printer business and its own line of 16 A3 platforms sent a strong signal that it intends to be a major player in the A3 market. The new multifunction printers (MFPs), introduced on September 12 at the HP Global Partner Read More