At this week’s Xerox event debuting the company’s 29 ConnectKey–enabled printers and multifunction devices with mobile and cloud connectivity, there was a lot of focus on channel partners.
“We want to add many more channel partners, and we are actively recruiting them,” said Mike Feldman, corporate executive vice president and president, Xerox North America Operations. “We think they will be very interested in our new line of products. There’s a lot of consolidation in this market, and we offer the stability of the Xerox brand.”
Xerox partners are currently split 50/50 between its U.S. and global partners, and the company wants to expand in all these markets.
“These new printers and multifunction products give users access to all their information at all times from all devices,” Feldman explained. “And users can securely view or print their documents right from their mobile devices. They can even print to facilities outside their company, such as hotels and Staples stores.”
The 29 devices introduced are divided between the Xerox VersaLink and Xerox AltaLink series. The VersaLink devices include 19 printers and multifunction units, and they are designed for small workgroups and distributed teams. The AltaLink products, which are designed for large workgroups and print volume requirements, include 10 multifunction printers.
During a partner panel at the event, Darren Cassidy, president of Xerox’s channels unit, said the company’s Personalized App Builder (PAB), which enables channel partners and customers to customize apps, “is where all this comes to life. Building apps turns resellers into consultants.”
The partners on the panel were enthusiastic about the ability to customize apps. “We’re in the middle of app design,” said Stefan Nilsson, CEO of Foxway International. “If you know how to deliver apps, it makes you more competitive.”
Joshua Justice, president of JustTech, is another fan of customizing apps. “We built an app for our customers and ended up selling it to 170 partners,” he told the audience. Justice added that app development efforts now make up about 10 percent of his company’s revenue.
Donna Davis, vice president of Software & Technology Solutions at Vision-e, an authorized PAB developer, said the company has created cloud and voice recognition apps, as well as one that lets customers access the internet from a multifunction printer.
“We are bringing resellers into the design phase to customize these [Xerox] solutions,” said Bertrand Cerisier, vice president, Global Marketing, Workplace Solutions. “We want to give partners tools they can use to engage with their customers.”
“This launch underscores our commitment to R&D, product delivery and channel support that will lead to the long-term success of our partners,” Feldman added.
Photo includes the partner panel participants.