PAPERCUT PARTNER SUMMIT
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all saw how quickly formerly rigid ‘structures’ cracked, from supply chains to travel as well as how and where we work; all were thrown into chaos because we had become so reliant on Plan A, we never thought we’d need a Plan B. “What businesses took from that experience is that they must now have the flexibility offered by the cloud to respond swiftly to any crisis to ensure business resilience; and the crisis we’re facing today is rooted in global economic uncertainty. It is impacting forecasting and projections and has a drip down effect on budgets and how they’re spent. As such, there’s far greater financial scrutiny across all businesses, so we have to offer transparent licensing options that better meet end users’ needs in the face of sudden and unexpected change. “In addition to softening the impact of external challenges and making them easier to navigate, the subscription model option enables our channel partners to better meet the needs of customers wherever they are on their cloud migration journey. It provides new and existing end users with a flexible, easy upgrade path, while protecting users who favour a perpetual licencing model.” Optimistic outlook The Partner Summit showed that PaperCut is innovating and in good shape for the rest of the year and on into 2025, which is indicative of the quiet optimism in the wider channel currently. “Even though trading conditions have been tough, one of the great things about the tech and print industry is – as we have seen – its ability to adapt just as well to market challenges as it does to market opportunities,” says Stuart. “PaperCut is more agile than ever and in good shape to respond effectively to the rapidly-changing global market landscape. We know that many of our end users face the same challenges, and we’re excited about working with them and our channel partners to help them drive even more value from their investment in print now and in the future, to make it easier, more secure, more accountable and more sustainable.” Trends PaperCut is also well across the current and emerging trends in the channel, Stuart adds. “The move to cloud-based print is gathering pace, as organisations of all sizes work to simplify their internal IT, services and
applications,” he says. “This is positive news for ISVs offering cloud-based print solutions and services – like PaperCut – and their channel partners. “Closer to home, now the chip crisis is over, the production of printers and MFPs is starting to meet market demand. That’s great news, as some fleets are long overdue for a refresh. That, in turn, is driving demand for print solutions, so we’re seeing this uptick in the market. Security is now more sharply focused on the hybrid work model, as it requires robust security solutions, products and policies to mitigate risk as much as possible. Hence why we’re spending a lot of time talking to our partners to ensure their customers have up to date security protection on their devices.” Print management solutions are also part of the conversation, although as Stuart admits, many organisations are at different stages of their print journey. “Some recognise that unmanaged print is costly, wasteful, inefficient, complex and potentially a security risk and have taken proactive measures to make print more accountable,” he says. “Others, however, are at the start of that journey and while it’s true that print volumes are falling, we’ll always need print. As the market leader in print, our job is to continue to make it easy, secure, sustainable and convenient for all users, wherever they are no matter how much they print.” Reasons to be cheerful As reflected at the Partner Summit, there is plenty to be positive about right now in the print channel. “The industry is being driven forward by customers’ goals and ambitions, by demand for cloud, and demand for differing commercial models and not just ‘put it all on a lease’,” says Stuart. “This presents the channel with great opportunities, giving it space and time to be creative whether that’s with ‘as a service’ offerings, or through disruptive commercial models. It also opens other opportunities to engage with customers with different messaging around cloud technology and how best to implement it in a way that best aligns with customers’ IT journeys. “In the meantime, print is still here. While print continues to evolve, it can still be a challenge for some organisations, be it with the enablement of print or the management of it. As long as that remains, there are opportunities for PaperCut and the channel more broadly to play a value-add role in simplifying print.”
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The move to cloud-based print is gathering pace, as organisations of all sizes work to simplify their internal IT, services and applications... ...This is positive news for ISVs offering cloud- based print solutions and services – like PaperCut – and their channel partners.
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