Xerox Channel Chief talks apps, A4 and more
December 6, 2018
In a recent interview, Xerox’s Pete Peterson, President of Xerox Channels, opened up about the OEM’s apps, its A4 printer portfolio, and its growing number of solution provider partners.
In conversation with CRN, Peterson revealed that Xerox remains focused on “boosting innovation and expanding into new business segments”.
He also shed light on the OEM’s business apps, which are now available on ConnectKey-enabled devices, and talked about Xerox’s “success so far at moving into small and midsize businesses with the help of a portfolio of A4 devices” and more solution provider partners.
“This isn’t the old Xerox,” Peterson said. “We’re a nimble company, and we’re a high-tech company in a really hot space right now.”
Questioned about apps, he stated, “We’re excited, from a channel perspective. This is exciting times to be at Xerox, with the major focus on apps. I do believe it’s a differentiator in the marketplace.”
When asked how apps assist Xerox with acquiring new partners, Peterson explained, “In the last 18 to 24 months, we’ve had a major focus on attracting what we call ‘multi-branded partners’. Xerox has a fairly unique partner ecosystem.” He went on to state that there were two kinds of multi-branded partners: document technology partners and IT resellers.
Peterson also elaborated on how adding an A4 portfolio to Xerox’s products had helped the company target the SMB market, commenting, “When we launched our new ConnectKey products in March of 2017, the expansion into A4 gave us a huge footprint. We’ve had great success so far.”
Xerox has also been focusing on introducing MPS for SMBs, with Peterson describing the OEM’s MPS offering as “the fastest-growing piece of our MPS business.” He added, “I think we’ve enabled somewhere close to 100 partners in this fiscal year – we’ve got them certified and enabled so they can better understand the solutions and offerings.”
Finally, when queried about how the OEM’s leadership reshuffling has affected channel investments, Peterson stated, “The investment piece hasn’t changed and hasn’t wavered. That was the piece that was attractive to me when I joined Xerox 18 months ago.” He described the OEM’s new management team as having an understanding of services, of channels and the “value of channels”, concluding, “And so for folks like myself, we’re saying, “This is a great opportunity. You can’t really go and expand this business until you fix the foundation.”
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