ACT and Tarsus have announced the commencement of the companies` IPSS (Imaging and Printing Solutions and Services) pilot programme aimed at recruiting the top resellers in the corporate print solutions space.
The programme will provide them with the tools and services required to help customers with consolidation, management and cost-optimisation of country-wide print fleets.
The pilot programme is designed to complement the launch of HP South Africa`s IPSS partner programme which will allow accredited partners to provide support and access to a range of high-end MFPs (multifunction printers) as well as the recently launched HP copier products designed for the corporate market.
"We see massive value in this market, since corporates of all sizes are desperately trying to get a handle on their print costs," says Gary Pickford, sales director at ACT. "HP can now offer a comprehensive solution that is targeted at increasing their domination of the laser printing industry, at the same time capturing the market traditionally supplied by the copier companies only.
"By implementing a well managed set of policies for company wide document output, corporates can reduce their bottom line costs by a substantial margin. The stumbling block, however, is that these corporates have insufficient knowledge of the dominant printing trends and how, based on their existing infrastructure, these cost savings can be effected," Pickford continues.
"The IPSS pilot programme is about identifying players in the market that can offer vital assistance to the corporate world and provide them with the skills, support and product sets required to be of service to their customers," he says.
Robbie Johnson, IPG Commercial category manager for HP SA, says: "The partners selected for the IPSS Pilot programme are ready to deliver HP`s Balanced Deployment solution which in turn is a vital component of our Total Print Management (TPM) offering. Any company that wants to take control of their print costs - both printer and copier - can now partner with an HP IPSS partner."
Alan Hawkins, sales manager at Tarsus Technologies, says ACT and Tarsus are initially aiming to entice 25 of the top-players and provide them with relevant product and solutions training. "From that base we believe that the top 15 companies will make it into the IPSS partner programme when it goes live in six months` time," he says.
"A key factor to us achieving success with this venture will also be to change the corporate market`s perception towards the ICT industry," Hawkins continues.
"Generally, the corporate market has regarded printer and consumables resellers as `box-droppers`, when in fact the resellers desire to add more value. By providing our partners with the tools to show that savings can be effected as well as reducing the complexity of print fleets, we believe we can take the high-end output market (traditionally dominated by copier vendors) by storm."
Besides giving this programme specific focus going forward, ACT and Tarsus have already shown their commitment through R2 million worth of investment in an IPSS solutions centre. "The solutions centre will be used as a demo and training facility that partners can utilise throughout the sales and implementation process," Pickford continues.
"We have already trained a number of our partners in repair support of the new copier products. In the coming weeks we will be offering the partners selected for participation in the pilot programme comprehensive training that stretches from pre-sales to deployment. This training will be integral to partners gaining accreditation from HP to participate in the IPSS the programme."
ACT and Tarsus have provided additional value by appointing a select group of third-party specialists that will collaborate with the IPSS partners to provide a `one-stop` output solution to customers.
"As such," Hawkins says, "these third-party specialists will provide niche market solutions in the realms of change management, output auditing, output software (monitoring and reporting), pay-per-use options, project management, printer fleet management and integration. The launch of a separate partner programme for these players will commence on 19 April," he concludes.
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Advanced Channel Technologies (Pty) Ltd (ACT) is a focused supplier of high quality IT consumables and printers.
The company`s products and value-added services support cost-effective print management, risk management in the data storage arena, and quality output to all media formats, including speciality papers.
ACT is committed to the delivery of world-class products and services to a national network of premier business partners and resellers who address the entire potential market for IT consumables in SA and neighbouring states in the SADC region.
The company operates as a fully-authorised supplier of a comprehensive range of high quality products that are manufactured by the world`s premier brand name vendors.
Tarsus Technologies
Tarsus Technologies is rated by suppliers and channel partners as SA`s leading hardware distributor for its stability, service ethos, product knowledge, excellent support, competitive pricing strategies and channel focus. Distributing a wide range of products from the world`s leading manufacturers, including Acer, APC, HP, IBM, OKI, Samsung and Tally, and supplementing this range with its own brand - the Tarsus PC - Tarsus focuses strongly on long-lasting partnerships with its suppliers and resellers. In line with this philosophy Tarsus provides a comprehensive range of services to its resellers that enables them to add value to their own offering, and assists them in growing their business.
It is this service offering that has afforded Tarsus a number of channel accolades. The latest include: Channel Executive Awards 2002; Best Distributor Overall 2002; Compaq`s "BDG Distributor of the Year" award 2001 and CRN Outlook Awards 2002.
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