Managed print tops HP's 2017 channel priorities

Device-as-a-service and education among other push areas for PC and print giant

HP UK channel boss Neil Sawyer has outlined his priorities for 2017, with managed print services topping the bill.

He also pinpointed device-as-a-service, building partners' sales outside HP's core PC and print market in areas such as Google's ecosystem, and education, as his other push areas for next year.

In September, HP Inc announced its intent to acquire Samsung's print business, and on the same day unveiled a range of A3 multifunction printers "designed to disrupt the $55bn A3 copier market".

Last week HP's global boss Dion Weisler met with the top 15-20 UK managed print services partners it will be launching the product with next April to May, according to Sawyer.

"Our biggest priority of the lot is the managed print services market and the $1bn investment we've put into A3 technology is a massive opportunity for us," said Sawyer, who is UK & Ireland channel director for HP.

"When you talk to some partners, particularly the likes of Computacenter, Softcat and CCS Media, the investment they are putting into growing their managed print services business is fantastic, and HP is fully aligned to that."

A second priority Sawyer (pictured) highlighted is subscription and device-as-a-service, a technology he said HP is currently working on with Microsoft.

"We've made some good progress over the last six months and we've managed to secure the high single digits of millions of pounds of contracts for subscription, and I think that's a good start," he said. "We've had some early-adopter partners that are helping us with that, and we will continue that into 2017."

Next up, Sawyer said that from January, HP will be launching a series of projects with its channel partners around the theme of building business beyond HP's core PC, laptop and printer market.

"Our channel partners are looking at how to diversify their business beyond the core," he explained.

"It's about things like looking at the Google ecosystem, which is really emerging in education, but also in corporate now, particularly around virtualised desktops. We are putting a massive investment into that and feel our partners have a big opportunity to grow their business in new areas, rather than just cannibalising the markets that already exist."

Sawyer said HP sold over 10,000 Chromebooks in August alone and is investing heavily in services such as Google ARC, an app that allows users to run Android apps on Chrome OS.

Education is the final priority and Sawyer said HP would "go big" at the BETT show in January, where it will debut some software partnerships it has developed for the sector.

Trade body the British Educational Suppliers Association predicted in January that secondary school IT budgets will fall by an average of £150 in this current academic year, while education-focused VAR European Electronique recently posted a decline in annual sales, putting the blame partly on falling budgets and a lack of focus on technology in the under-18 schools market.

Sawyer conceded the schools market is "not as easy as it used to be", but said HP's education strategy revolves around the 250 schools he said are currently being built.

"What we're trying to do is be a bit more scientific about who we speak to," he said. "We're calling the schools up before they've put their roof on and asking them what technology they require, so we're in right at the start. Perhaps what happened in the past - and this is symptomatic of a high-spending market - is we sat and waited for them to order products, and we can't do that any longer."

Returning to the topic of managed print, Sawyer claimed that 85 to 90 per cent of HP's business in this space would be channel-focused, which he contrasted with the traditional copier vendors.

HP will take on more account managers and pre-sales and project development staff to support the A3 push next year, Sawyer promised.

"It can be tricky and time consuming [for partners to build a managed print business] and we have a responsibility to resource the channel up, so they have the right level of support," he said.

Alex Tatham, UK managing director of Westcoast, said that the distributor will be the exclusive distributor for HP's A3 technology next year.

"HP have dominated the A4 printer market but have lacked that product forever and ever," he said. "This is a huge opportunity for them as they have a huge install base, and we're excited to be their exclusive distributor."