How is Xerox along with its partners responding to the slowdown?
No business is immune from the downturn impacting economies across the globe but the current market, which is pushing resellers to deliver more value and better service, is a good thing for a vendor like Xerox who can deliver on all of these. Whilst the markets may be tough to operate in, the ability to give customers a superior offering, differentiated from others now exists.
All segments are under pressure – but some are more resilient. The requirement for colour is now a business need – and not a luxury. Time will tell whether there were any exclusions – Xerox still sees opportunities in its market places and in the Middle East.
At Xerox, we not only boast an extensive portfolio of printing solutions which represent the best value proposition for any office, we provide our customers with software solutions and services developed to enhance worker productivity.
Xerox also provides in-depth analyses of how office environments operate and the processes their workers use so that it can recommend the optimal mix of office systems.Xerox has provided technology innovations for over 48 years that helps office workers get work done faster and simpler.
Are TCO and ROI priorities for purchase decisions?
There is a growing reality in today’s market to ensure a competitive edge as margins get tighter by the day. What is key here, is leading with innovative multifunction solutions that our partners can depend on to improve business results and packaging printing technologies into relevant offering to the business community.
In the face of an increasingly competitive market both on a regional and international level, SMBs & enterprise businesses are becoming more and more quality conscious, state-of-the-art technologies that are affordable and represent excellent ROI. The result is an increased focus on quality of printing output, productivity of printers, and all round value for money. Price is a critical factor when it comes to purchasing decisions and investments in IT, but without compromising on standards and efficiency.
What options are partners looking at other than mere selling? Elaborate on the SMB print services that you rolled out some time ago?
Our customers have a wide range of needs that require an extensive solution portfolio. Ours addresses Content Management, Capture and Distribution, Cost and Access Control, Asset Management, Output and Variable Data Management, all of which are key to partners who offer after-sales service and consultancy.
With specific reference to XPS (Xerox Print Services) for the SMB, this is a remodeled offering through the channel of our industry leading XOS (Xerox Office Service) offered through our Global Services division to Enterprise customers. We continually seek to bring the best from each sector and segment of our business and offer it to those organizations that choose to reach out to resellers for their printing needs. In essence Xerox will examine, profile and then recommend ways to rationalize document and print processes within businesses. This is now being seen as a core activity for most organizations’ as they seek to control costs.
What is the crux of Xerox’s philosophy on Document management ?
At Xerox, we employ Smarter Document Management technologies to add intelligence and structure to both paper and digital documents and activate the content they contain. And we combine our extensive industry expertise with tools like Lean Six Sigma to create a powerful portfolio of services that adds real value to enterprises worldwide.
We help businesses deploy smart document management strategies and find better ways to work through a broad set of integrated software, extensible interface platform and smarter document technologies.
When a customer requests Xerox to run an Office Document Assessment, we come up with recommendations for a managed service that will offer real energy savings to users, new technologies to enable services that simplify document-intensive business processes, more affordable colour solutions for the office and intelligent software solutions that enhance productivity.
Please elaborate on Xerox’s partner strategy in the region.
It’s all about personal relationships and confidence in the channel partner you are buying IT solutions from that makes a difference at the end of the day – a key factor in customer retention. At Xerox, we hold regular partner events in the region, to ensure that the channel provides customers with excellent after-sale support, warranty & parts service and other added value services to ensure they are satisfied and buy into the brand for the long-term.
Xerox’s distribution network in the region is set to continue to grow – from distributors, resellers, OEM, value added resellers, system integrators, power retailers – in order to bring the value of the Xerox brand to more businesses to help them cut costs in their workplace in light of the economic crunch.
Dan Smith, General Manager for Integrated Marketing, MEA, Xerox?s Developing Markets Operations speaks to RWME on the shifts in the printer market
