Message of the week 21 - 25 January 2019

Innovation in the channel

The word innovation is bandied about so often as to render it meaningless. Each time the latest smart phone is launched, there’s a flood of voices noting its innovative features. But as analyst Larry Walsh notes in the Channelnomics State of the Market Report on Innovation 2018 (https://incisive.cvtr.io/whitepapers/download/24602?locale=1&rm=), “the words innovation, innovative and innovator are probably the most overused words in the technology industry, if not the English language…Just because an idea or technology is new, doesn’t make it innovative. Equally so, some innovative technologies fail, but still leave a lasting impact on the market. Innovation is a label we should reserve for truly special technologies, business models and people.”

We at KYOCERA Document Solutions South Africa have taken a step back, asking ourselves what innovation means to us, and how it can add value to both our business and our clients. For us, innovation needn’t be a shiny, fandangled app or a breathtaking cloud solution, but a fresh way to conduct business, or an effective way to deepen partnerships.

We’d like to take heed of the results in the Channelnomics report, which asked solution provider executives what qualities and behaviours they most value from individual channel leaders. Ten key factors were put forward, with a “clear understanding of partners’ business models” being ranked as most important (55.7%). Accessibility and regular contact with partners, was next at 51.9 percent. Not far behind and completing the top three was trustworthiness and accountability at 49.1 percent. Also considered as being of high importance is setting a clear overall channel strategy, which was picked by 35.8 percent of respondents.

May these insights form the basis of how we do business with you, our partners, in 2019, and how we tailor our approach to our channel.

To meaningful innovation!

Lee-Ann Kellner - Dealer Sales Manager - KYOCERA Document Solutions South Africa