Few people would argue with the idea that managed IT has a high degree of difficulty for those who are just starting out with the service. The needed investments in technology and people are considerable and ongoing, and even the most successful firms labor for years before being able to show a profit. So imagine the added pressure of kick-starting managed IT in the midst of the pandemic. That was the challenge Automated Business Technologies (ABT), a multi-line office technology dealership from the Denver suburb of Centennial, Colorado, created for itself when the offering was first rolled out.
It was one of those high-risk, high-reward propositions. But Paul Archer, a 47-year veteran of the office technology industry and ABT’s founder, relished the challenge. He’d heard that dealers with strong managed IT operations had thrived at the onset of COVID. And print volumes, which had been declining at 3% per year, yielded no promises of a strong rebound on the imaging end.
ABT took a strategic approach. A chief technology officer was imported from a customer (which gave its blessing) and the dealer began a slow build. Dealer CEO Mike Piche took the point on rolling out managed IT. Piche was judicious and methodical in the timber of client he approached with the new offering and took care not to attempt being all things to all clients. In the past couple years, the department has truly taken off to the tune of 86% revenue growth.
“Success was about being really disciplined about client acquisition but also being aggressive,” Piche said. “After going back and forth about whether we’d have a specific sales team involved, we decided to use the entire unit. In doing that, it required a lot of training. But they got the talk track down and have been very successful in finding qualified opportunities.”
ABT’s managed IT department is but one cog in the engine of the 20-year-old dealership, which counts Canon, HP, Kyocera and Xerox as its main OEM partners, with offerings from Epson as well. Health care, education (predominantly charter and private schools) and legal represent its top client verticals, and ABT also does well in serving houses of worship. Its footprint covers the front range of Colorado—the east side of the Rocky Mountains, from Fort Collins down through Pueblo and into the mountains.
Chapter One
The company celebrated its 20th birthday on July 1. The road that led Archer to hanging his own shingle traveled through stints with HP—where he served as a global manager for hard copy digital convergence—and Associated Business Products, which came under the IKON Office Solutions umbrella. His career traces back to 1978, when he worked for an independent dealer that grew to become one of the largest Canon dealers in the country.
The HP hitch made Archer realized he longed to be back with an independent dealer, so he enlisted four other investors in forming ABT. The addition of Panasonic’s Document Solutions Colorado branch added recurring revenue and team members, backed by the Panasonic and Kyocera lines. Today, the company employs about 70 people.
Ever since exiting the pandemic year, business has been brisk. The company grew 20% year over year for a five-year stretch. Operating income shot up nearly 40% in 2024, and ABT did a better job of attaining profitability, according to Piche. Much of the past year was spent building up the sales team and launching new product offerings. That didn’t translate into immediate success during the first quarter of 2025, which he attributes in part to uncertainty surrounding the new Trump Administration’s tariff policies, which delayed some purchase decisions. Net-new business was up, but existing client upgrades didn’t track as in previous years, since 2025 is year five since the COVID-19 shutdown. Still, ABT caught fire during the summer, and both Piche and Archer anticipate a strong second half of 2025.
The first half of 2025’s performance comes with an asterisk. According to CFO Andy Archer (Paul’s son), ABT had $2 million in closed but not installed business. Once those jobs are cleared, it will go a long way toward catching up on the 2025 business plan. The success in net-new sales helped counter business lost from large accounts that changed hands via acquisition and from another sizeable client that dialed back on volume by nearly $800,000 year over year.
“We needed to replace lost volume with the net-new business, and I think we did pretty well with that,” Andy Archer noted. “We’ve focused on it this year as well, given that we’ve had fewer accounts upgrade their equipment than anticipated. It helps to have those new accounts coming through the door.”
Managed Marvels
A rich product arsenal has catapulted ABT to the $20 million annual revenue range. Managed IT and traditional imaging equipment are complemented by VoIP phone systems, production print, cameras and access control systems, mailing equipment and digital displays. The three leaders have been aggressive in ensuring ABT has product specialists to help spearhead dramatic growth in production and wide-format machines. The latter doesn’t offer much in terms of recurring revenue, but selling ink and substrates has helped buoy revenue.
While apples and oranges from an offering standpoint, managed IT and production share the common denominator of demanding subject-matter experts to position dealers for success. According to Piche, securing a longtime production specialist with demonstrated excellence at multiple firms accomplished that goal.
“They just talk a different language that we weren’t able to speak,” Piche said. “We sent sales managers to training sessions, and they could get by on some of the low-end production gear. But we needed someone who understood graphics and software integrations. Once we brought the production specialist on, business went through the roof.”
“You’ve got to be able to support the software and the hardware in the field,” Archer added. “You’ve got to have your dispatch systems to deal with customers doing really high volumes and often-complex work.”
Here, too, unprofitable clients can be an issue. ABT chose to part ways with a couple of print-for-pay accounts that were doing high volumes but not yielding profits.
“We were losing our shirt,” Piche said. “It was print for pay. We were paying them to print.”
ABT has seen the wealth of possibilities offered by wide-format machines. The profit margins aren’t as high as other gear, according to Piche, but it’s a fairly low-touch product. The dealer is authorized to sell Canon, Roland, Epson, HP and KIP machines, and historically much of the demand came from the architectural community. However, a new wide-format specialist has led them down the path of visual graphics, such as car wraps and large-scale imagery, including a 40×20’ full wall graphic that a customer recently produced.
“These specialists are good about going out and cold-calling. They’re not just waiting for the reps to bring them opportunities,” Andy Archer said.
Gate Keepers
While not exactly a rookie, one of the sexier ancillary offerings to hit the industry—security cameras and access systems—continues to grab dealer mind share, and Verkada appears to be among those manufacturers leading the charge. As is the case with VoIP, the business landscape is littered with legacy systems—which Piche affectionately termed “dumb cameras”—in dire need of updating. It may not be a conversation starter, but it can extend them as account reps dig deeper into existing accounts and untapped prospects who may be spoken for on the MFP and managed services side.
Piche notes the cameras/systems are sticky products, as they’re durable and rarely falter. That eliminates recurring revenue opportunities. But he cited several examples where clients took on the Verkada gear and later turned to ABT for their MFP needs.
“I think the ceiling is really high for cameras; it’s a bold add and complementary to our catalog,” he said. “And they never break, so clients don’t get upset with you. They’re very stable, and the products we sell are the best in the industry.”
ABT generally outsources the installation of the cameras and access systems. Piche points out there’s no uniformity among municipalities or jurisdictions when it comes to regulatory requirements. Denver, for example, has stricter regulations within the city proper, while another municipality just miles away may have fewer requirements. Thus, it made more sense to outsource installation.
AI Impact
As is the case of many forward-thinking dealerships, artificial intelligence (AI) has made its presence known across company operations. Outside of software programs, the marketing department seems to be the primary entry point and the initial foray for the majority of dealers, and that’s the case for ABT. Piche points out that the impact has been so significant, it’s saved the company from having to add another full-time employee for the marketing department. The marketing director has enjoyed success generating content quicker and leveraging keywords more effectively, and the upshot is an increase in inbound leads. Piche attributes marketing with the addition of a half-million dollars in new business.
As to sales enablement, the jury is still out. Piche stacked up the company’s current proposal generator against AI, and the former still proved to be quicker. Still, he found AI capable of generating side-by-side comparisons of two machines; it highlighted 30 specs in 30 seconds, accessing info which ordinarily couldn’t be attained without a subscription.
“These tools should speed up our reps considerably,” Piche added. “As AI improves, there’s going to be a lot more that we can do.”
ABT’s vice president of technology solutions is currently researching AI products the company can resell and possibly turn into a source of recurring revenue. While solutions the dealer currently uses, from ZoomInfo to Salesforce and HubSpot, have baked-in AI features, Piche believes it will be a slow but steady integration process throughout the organization. AI is also incorporated in products ABT sells, such as the aforementioned Verkada security cameras that can scan recorded footage by various attributes (e.g., identify people wearing green shirts within a specific time frame).
“It’s being incorporated into the products we already sell, and now we’re looking at an actual AI product that we can resell,” Piche said. “That’s can prove to be a real differentiator for us.”
Honor Guard
ABT maintains an ethics code on a level that few companies match, according to Paul Archer. Over the years, he’s witnessed disappointing business practices that did more to exploit clients than support them. He’s seen lease escalations, auto renewals, buyouts where the vendor pads its pocket, hidden fees and other insidious practices that sting many a client.
Archer is determined to ensure that the way his team members conduct business—as well as its policies—don’t reflect negatively on the organization. It’s a critical point of differentiation that separates ABT from the pack.
“Our standard is, if there’s a business practice that we don’t want done to ourselves, we don’t do it for our customers,” Archer said. “We’re very transparent with our clients when it comes to business practices. Most customers have experienced the negative consequences from competitor practices, and it’s been done for so long by so many that it’s come to be expected. But that’s not us. We give them guarantees and a level of transparency, that golden-rule experience they don’t find anywhere else.”
It goes beyond a mere “we’re not one of them” mentality. Piche points out his company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for any reason and allows clients to exit service agreements with a month’s notice.
“We don’t play games with fees or any of the other tactics, and that’s been a huge differentiator,” Piche said. “Clients come to us from other vendors who’ve burned them, which causes a lot of cynicism and skepticism about industry providers. That’ll never happen with us, and we put it in writing.”
Growth Path
No one appreciates the correlation between quality team members and growth more than Paul Archer. ABT doesn’t do a lot of acquisitions, but in those cases where Archer swings a deal, it’s paramount that the most valuable resources obtained are centered on personnel. And like clients, team members need to feel appreciated and valued, which is why Archer and Co. provide longtime employees memorable vacation experiences starting with their 10th anniversary. Every five years after, subsequent trips are progressively memorable.
It’s an investment, no different than the hiring of a production specialist, in that growth requires the leadership team to be intentional, plan and invest ahead of it—even when the fruits of those investments are delayed. Archer is playing the long game: Piche and ABT’s vice president of sales came courtesy of a company acquisition, as did a sales manager and some valuable technicians. What few deals Archer completes tend to be impactful, with a nod toward solidifying the present and future of the company.
“Our intent is to remain a privately held, robust company that will thrive for a long time,” he said. “We make commitments to our employees that we’re going to have a future they can count on, and we make commitments to our customers that we’re not going to do anything that would radically disrupt the experience they’ve come to expect from us. And acquisition by ABT is a key to keeping the business going.”
With such a varied catalog, success for ABT moving forward is predicated on the customer experience it provides, according to Andy Archer. There are many other outlets from which end-users can source hardware—though not all have the product diversity of ABT—so winning the hearts and minds of clients is the best path to distinguish the company from the sea of sameness.
“You, the client, need to get a better experience from us than from somebody else,” he added. “As we move further into AI, that personal touch will be more important in differentiating us from the competition.”
Difference Maker
Paul Archer sees a three-point value proposition driving his company: the aforementioned customer and employee experiences along with community involvement. He spearheaded an organization to help Colorado address its ponderous and esoteric sales tax system (“We’ve had 18 bills go through the legislature,” he noted). In 2022, he ran as a District 37 candidate for the Colorado State House, but didn’t prevail. That hasn’t deterred him from tirelessly working to improve the business climate in Colorado as well as dedicating time and resources to charitable endeavors in the communities ABT serves.
But Archer’s already thinking about life’s second act, some of which will include missionary work and church service (see sidebar). He already had a test run in the form of an 18-month leave of absence, and ABT underwent a restructuring of the business. Operations ran smoothly while he was away, and Archer is excited for both his future and that of the company. He’s not losing any sleep regarding ABT’s fate once he walks away.
“Mike and Andy and their leadership team are doing a great job. They’re the future,” Archer said. “We have an ownership council with the five owners in the company, and we’ve talked about what it will look like when I leave the business. It matters a lot to us. We’re not doing all this just to sell out to someone; we want it to stay in the ABT family. As we look to the future, we’re mindful of what we value, how we focus and how we’re driving the business for the long term.”
Life-Changing Experience: Missionary Work in Africa Alters Paul Archer’s Global Perspective
Not long ago, Paul Archer and his wife, Carol, returned from an 18-month stay in Kenya, where they served as communications missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It’s a church unfamiliar to many Africans, according to Archer, but those who are aware of it tend to have a negative perception of the organization. The Archers efforts were focused on raising awareness of the LDS Church and casting it in a more favorable light.
“We did some really awesome things, and it was an incredible experience,” he said. “We traveled to multiple countries and experienced the best climate on the planet. We had the opportunity to connect with lovely, lovely people.”
In addition to their LDS work, the Archers had the good fortune to go on safari adventures, coming within feet of lions, cheetahs, elephants and giraffes, to name a few. Four of the Archers’ children and their families came to Africa, and they engaged with and absorbed a world that few experience.
Perhaps the most rewarding and beneficial aspect of their stay was the opportunity to serve at an orphanage. Archer points out there’s no public funding for orphanages or for much of any social services; an LDS couple founded this particular facility. Upon learning about the wonderful work done by and significant needs of the orphanage, ABT employees made monetary donations to assist it.
It was a humbling experience, and Archer noted it made him appreciate all the luxuries and amenities our country offers, which are usually taken for granted by citizens. “You come back realizing the United States is a unique, amazing and wonderful place,” he said. “We were thrilled to have that international experience not as tourists, but as residents. I’m happy to be able to call Colorado and the United States home.”
