Tech
Happily burdened with the obstinate reputation of being the great business leveller, technology in all its guises has been another powerful business motivator in 2011
on track
by Bruce Ackland bruce.ackland@opi.net
I
Ron Books 36
n the battle against the power channel, office products companies have been presented with even more shiny technology tools with which to capitalise on this year. In 2011 there has been a particular focus on utilising the latest mobile and smartphone capabilities, managed print services (MPS), leveraging data to improve overall performance, the now common presence of cloud computing and search engine optimisation (SEO) to name a few. Generally speaking, it appears that dealers are feeling better about the economy and know they need to make those technology decisions that they have been delaying if they want to stay competitive. In the words of ECi Solutions CEO Ron Books: “Technology is so important to success nowadays and those that utilise it successfully will continue to compete and see returns.” Success is something ECi saw a lot of in its second quarter, reporting that it had signed up 259 new customers in the first half of 2011, of which 73 were for new systems in the office products channel and 89 for its value
US Office Products Industry Annual Review 2011
added solutions which include the Acsellerate business intelligence software and FMAudit MPS offering. The company followed this strong quarter by buying rival software provider Digital Gateway, that’s e-automate dealer management product had been a strong competitor for ECi’s own OMD and La Crosse products for some time.
Data ECi has also been keen to ensure dealers give due time and consideration to improving and refining technology offerings, in particular in the area of leveraging data and self-service reporting and capture solutions. By the second half of the year, ECi was helping dealers to compete more effectively with the big boxes with its new on-demand customer intelligence software Cxintelligence – from subsidiary Acsellerate. The software allows specific end-users to access their purchase information through interactive dashboards and detailed reports with the aim of helping independents compete better and win new accounts. BMI USA enjoyed a year that included the company’s best pipeline of prospects since 2007, again demonstrating dealers’ desire to move forward with technology. It’s also had a busy time working on its hosted version giving smaller dealers the opportunity to use the same technology as the company’s larger customers.