Lexmark launches channel ready work from home solution

Print vendor Lexmark has launched a new ‘Work from Home’ bundle for its Australian channel partners, combining product, services and support for SMBs.

The company said the offering was part of its support program aimed at partners who have end-customers currently looking to move away from the traditional A3 cost-per-page service model to a simplified flat fee A4 solution.

The package consists of a three-year agreement for a flat monthly fee. This includes a Lexmark A4 mono printer, consumables, on-site installation and support, as well as access to the vendor’s Cloud Fleet Management platform for remote device management.

“The basic ‘Work from Home’ bundle is only a starting point for our partners who are using a flat rate service and support. It’s designed to help our resellers better connect with changing end-customer demand,” Lexmark’s ANZ channel chief Stephen Dubois said.

“Over the past few months, we’ve seen that there’s a growing interest from many of our channel partners to evolve their charge models towards a flat fee.

“Such models help resellers to diversify beyond just selling tangible assets and consumables and into device as a service, which offers additional profits.”

Cloud services see COVID momentum

The vendor also reported a substantial uptick in the use of its cloud platforms by partners including its Cloud Fleet Management, Cloud Connector and Cloud Print Management. It said global usage of these platforms rose by over 133 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

Dubois said the increased usage was coupled with an increased interest from channel partners to include the services as part of a broader package for customers.

“SMB customers today are purchasing higher value A4 products as their teams have created office workspaces in their homes. Our new office in the home bundle allows print resellers to create specific service bundles for a flat fee where they have tangible products coupled with device as a service..

“We expect this model to continue to evolve as some print resellers are considering now to deliver flat rate monthly billing, a move that would follow the steps of other industries like telecommunications, where mobile carriers initially charged by the minute and now sell fixed rate monthly bundles.”