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Digital Business Drives New Workflow Opportunities

 
 
By Michael Vizard  |  Posted 2016-10-31
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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    1 - Digital Business Drives New Workflow Opportunities
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    Digital Business Drives New Workflow Opportunities

    SMBs need help re-engineering workflows for the digital business age, but who in the channel will capitalize most on these opportunities remains to be seen.
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    2 - Top SMB Business Priorities
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    Top SMB Business Priorities

    When asked about business priorities, respondents rated growing the business equally with increasing productivity through improved workflow/business processes, both at 47%. Reduced printing costs (42%), improved customer service/response times (39%) and improved security/disaster recovery (34%) follow closely.
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    3 - Workflow Economics
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    Workflow Economics

    A full 61% of SMBs expect that a document workflow solution could generate at least a reasonable improvement in the bottom line. Cost reduction (25%) is the most common factor SMBs consider when deciding which workflows to improve, followed by impact on improved productivity (21%) and impact on security (15%).
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    4 - Workflow Assessment Services
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    Workflow Assessment Services

    A full 81% of all organizations report that they plan to improve some of their current document workflow processes in the next 12 months; 29% expect an IT reseller to conduct that assessment, 22% will rely on an office equipment dealer, and one in five will carry out the assessment in-house.
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    5 - Source of Workflow Automation Technology
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    Source of Workflow Automation Technology

    When it comes to acquiring workflow automation technology, office equipment dealers dominate at 47%, followed by vendors at 37% and resellers at 26%.
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    6 - Digitization of Paper Processes
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    Digitization of Paper Processes

    Just over a quarter (28%) report they are well-advanced with respect to implementing their plans to digitize paper processes, 37% have just started to digitize paper processes and 12% plan to embark on process change in the next 12 months.
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    7 - The Mobile Computing Effect
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    The Mobile Computing Effect

    By the end of 2017, 23% of SMBs envision that mobile devices will be completely integrated with their workflow processes. Today, 66% of SMBs say they currently include mobile printing in their mobility initiatives, while 27% plan to within the next year.
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    8 - Prevalence of Managed Print Services
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    Prevalence of Managed Print Services

    A total of 42% of SMBs taking part in the survey have a managed print service (MPS) contract in place while 40% plan to put a contract in place within the next 12 months. Less than one in five of the SMBs taking part said MPS had no benefit at all.
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    9 - Benefits of Managed Print Services
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    Benefits of Managed Print Services

    The top benefits of a MPS contract include reduced costs (48%), reduced paper consumption (47%), improved tracking of print costs (42%) and improved document workflow (41%).
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    10 - Preferred Provider of Managed Print Services
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    Preferred Provider of Managed Print Services

    When asked about preferred channels for MPS, 56% cited IT resellers, 36% office equipment dealers and 33% manufacturers.
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    11 - Sources of Printer Equipment
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    Sources of Printer Equipment

    Just under half (48%) of all SMBs surveyed buy their printing devices from the local print reseller/office equipment dealer. Outsourced IT services provider is the second preference with 38% overall. Only 13% of SMBs buy from the local office superstore/retailer/online. A full 65% say they spend more than $1,000 per month for printing including hardware/toner and service but excluding paper.
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    12 - Relevance of Security
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    Relevance of Security

    56% of all SMBs include printers and/or multifunction printers in their security strategy. A full 57% find value in having a printing security assessment from an office equipment dealer and 65% expect their office equipment dealer to be able to explain how their offerings support or enhance the SMB's information security.
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    13 - Top Skills Sought in a Services Provider
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    Top Skills Sought in a Services Provider

    Systems integration (47%), MPS (46%), software development skills (45%) and post-sales and consulting support (43%) top the list.
 

There's a lot of interest in re-engineering workflow processes, but little consensus in terms of who best to rely on to achieve that goal, according to findings of a global survey of 1,021 small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with revenue ranging from less than $6 million to more than $305 million. Just under a third (29 percent) expect to rely on resellers to conduct workflow assessments, compared with 22 percent for office equipment dealers, according to the study, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of Xerox. But when it comes to acquiring workflow automation technology, the office equipment dealers dominate at 47 percent, followed by resellers at 37 percent. There's been tension between resellers and office equipment vendors for as long as anybody in the channel cares to remember. In fact, over the years, there have been more than a few mergers between resellers and office equipment dealers. Opportunities surrounding workflow engineering in the age of the digital business are on the upswing. Yet who in the channel will capitalize most on those opportunities remains to be seen. Here's a look at key study findings.