The office technology industry used to be a simple place. Remember the days when copiers, typewriters, and adding machines ruled the world? Now look what’s happened. MFPs, software, Managed Services, MPS, ECM, 3D printing, and digital signage are taking over as strong revenue generators. And the beat goes on.
For journalists like myself, I love it when something new comes along because it gives me something new to write about. Admittedly, there’s always a fair amount of grumbling about new technology and services as dealerships need to figure out how to sell it, and in some instances, who best to sell it. We’ve seen it with digital, we’ve seen it with color, we’ve seen it with MPS, we’ve seen it with Managed Services, and we’re seeing it with everything else that the OEMs and the analysts are touting as the next big thing.
It’s human nature to feel challenged by change and leaving one’s comfort zone to embrace something new. Yet, there is a segment of dealers (I was going to say a small segment, but I don’t want to generalize because there may be more than that) who go out looking for something new to sell or take on a niche product that’s not so new such as mailing systems or phone systems. Some do it as a way of making themselves a one-stop shop for their customers.
Anyway, no matter how new and scary a given technology, solution or service is today, tomorrow it’s just another item in a dealership’s menu of product offerings. I’m talking about this now because the main feature this month is alternate revenue streams beyond MFPs, MS, and MPS. Most of what I’m writing about in the article isn’t all that scary, but is new, somewhat exciting, and offer dealers an opportunity to expand into product segments beyond their traditional comfort zones. And expanding beyond one’s traditional comfort zone is nothing new to an office technology dealer.
Thanks for reading.
