BTA Getting Ready For The Big 100!

by ray stasieczko September 01, 2025

Will the celebration be its last reunion or the beginning of another 100–year run?

Getting ready for the 100th anniversary is exciting for any association, but it's also scary at the same time. The BTA (Business Technology Association) has been the go-to for copier dealers since they were typewriter dealers, yes, long before the invention of the copier. Founded in 1926!

The BTA association is more than a once a year meeting venue, unlike meetings designed to pay the organizer. The BTA is was founded as a venue dedicated to the attendees and the interests of the dealers the association serves.

Unfortunately, the industry is facing disruption that threatens the core deliverables of all the 100 year old association's members. Innovation and its disruptions are redefining the mindsets of all the industry’s actors thereby causing a questioning of the associations relevance.

Some will say that, since the transition from the typewriter to the copier went so well, this new industry's transition will also go smoothly. I would say it's not the same, and I believe it's that thinking that will absolutely threaten the survival of the BTA.

The disruption to the industry selling business print equipment is not a better-made machine; the industry's real disruption is digital transformation. I must give credit for that comment to Kerstin Woods of Toshiba. She shared that at a Toshiba event, and I thought Wow, she gets it.

When the older members of the BTA (unfortunately, who still outnumber the younger folks) think back to when the typewriter dealers transitioned to the copier, they must also realize that that transition was not really a transition at all.

It was simply a product swap that fit precisely into the typewriter reseller business model. A product model of brining structure to unstructured information. Through processes involving a machine which required supplies parts and onsite technicians. Nothing changed in that transition other than sales reps needed station waggons to demo and deliver copiers and as the copier got bigger the industry upgrade to vans.

I have discussed this before when I shared with dealers the realities of copy/print dealers moving into managed IT services. Some dealers believe that this new transition into services is similar to the last. I usually scream - WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?

Today's new disruptive transition involves dealers providing complex services, often related to IT and IT security. There is no need for vans. There are no warehouses with millions of parts and bottles of toner, and even onsite service is quickly becoming obsolete in the IT services space.

In this new service space, the dealers are selling their intellect. Some dealers are moving aggressively into workflow and data management powered through the advances in AI. Unfortunately, many print providers who are diversifying their deliverables to more services are still giving away intellect in hopes of selling the products of infrastructure (still performing in a product-centric mindset).

Today's technology resellers face numerous challenges. Service agreements regarding the management of IT and IT security services or digital transformation services are far more complex than dealing with print OEMs and print service issues. Human capital is also different, especially in terms of payroll. When selling intellect, you need a different intellect than that which managed print.

I realize that many dealers are performing IT and other services; however, the argument is still not enough, and very few, if any, have actually exceeded the revenues of their print business with IT services or any diversification from the core deliverable of print. I would also suggest that many print dealers selling IT services are also at the lower side of the IT services business operational maturity level.

Is it too late for the BTA to transition to the new world of services and intellect over selling products for infrastructure?

If the BTA had made the transition from product-centric to service-centric a decade ago. The organization would have expanded its membership, and today it would be implementing the 3.0 transition; however today it seems the association and many of its members continue to procrastinate, giving birth to their reinventions and causing great threats to their continued relevance.

All organizations either a business or association celebrating decades of service to its customers will struggle between its history and its future.

The BTA ( Business Technology Association ) is governed by a board of volunteer directors who generously give their time, and these board members work tirelessly to help the association maintain its services to its members. However, for decades, these services required very few changes.

Based on today's disruptive threats, not only to the BTA but also to all the associations and businesses tied to the reselling of technology must shift from a management mindset to an entrepreneurial mindset.

Today, I challenge the BTA board and the associations members to ask themselves what they define as the competitive and disruptive threats to their survival.

This question is extremely important, as its answer will define the necessary materials and human capital required to construct the new foundation for the association and its members to anchor its future on.

The BTA, turning 100 or its members businesses turning 40-50-60- and some members celebrating 75 plus years, must all acknowledge that their legacy foundations are in need of replacement, as we all know; even 40 years is a long time to take for granted the strength of any original foundation let alone those foundations formed 100 years ago.

As any association facing significant disruption, its governing body is the only thing that will force the building of its new foundation. So many tough decisions will have to be made. Remember, in all disruptive environments, the status quo will be determined to keep things comfortable.

And we all know this, "Status quo is the killer of all that will be invented."

Logic tells us that without a deconstruction plan, nothing new can be built in its place and there's nothing comfortable about blowing things up in the deconstruction phase.

When organizations remain under decades old practices and governance, they can become stagnant. I would also warn that those fearful of what the future holds, will resist moving towards it and these fearful folks are prone to stifle progress.

Over the past few years, I have been concerned that the BTA and many of its members are easily swayed to a path of least resistance a path void any conflict. All the industry's actors must understand that passiveness and conflict avoidance are the ingredients for the glue which holds status quo together.

Is the BTA Board and its association members ready to agitate status quo? I still remain cautiously optimistic.

However, I was excited to see Adam Gregory serve as the BTA's last president, as all members, along with me, witnessed under Adam's presidency that the BTA had made some strides in shaking a few things up.

The 2025 BTA National meeting was one of the best BTA events in decades. Congratulations, Adam and the BTA, for that accomplishment.

Of course, 2025 is fading into history, and as the board looks to 2026, its members are expecting not a repeat of 2025 but even more improvement. A little pressure for my friend Debra Dennis , the new BTA board president.

Today, the BTA and all its members must open their minds and evaluate all aspects of the industry's current relevance and its irrelevance caused by disrupting innovations.

"Those who refuse to explore how they can be defeated will fall victim to those who seek to defeat them."

Remember, not just the industry's dealers have competitors its associations do as well and beware those calming they don't as they are probably the competitors.

As any industry enters the doors to its disruption, its actors will find plenty of folks cheerleading to remain status quo. As disruptions always bring out fear, desperation, and uncertainty, all of which are welcome signs to the status quo cheerleaders hoping to capitalize on the fears of those being disrupted.

In opposition are the, critics, as a rule, critics have no intention in ignoring what they see needs recognition, regardless of the complaints from the status quo. So, I warn you, beware of the cheerleaders with their nonsensical platitudes!

Unfortunately, and sadly, our industry has too big of an appetite for avoiding atmospheres clouded in conflict. However, I remain hopeful that those who are complacent in comfort will instead run towards the uncomfortableness of change.

The BTA has a place in the industry; however, without vigilance to reality, its place can become just old photos and memories that older folks will share at reunions or post on LinkedIn.

"Beware, during disruptions memories will attempt to fill the space in open minds seeking change."

Here are some threats that all industry actors should ensure are not present in the industry's associations or the association's members' own businesses.

1) No real succession plans for aging management and staff. This will lead to desperate decisions when vacancies arise.

2) No fundamental strategies to seek outside influence to offset static thinking. Boards can become too comfortable and unchallenging and can also be manipulated and controlled by members who serve essentially lifetime appointments.

3) Day-to-day leadership only capable of managing. Businesses and associations being completely disrupted must have entrepreneurial mindsets at the C-level and the board.

4) No strategies regarding competition. Sometimes, the perception an association or a business has of its competitors’ is completely misaligned with the real competitive threats. Especially in disrupted industries.

5) Too much influence from corporate sponsors. Associations being disrupted can easily be influenced by the financial contributions from sponsors.

When an association has too much financial dependency on vendors, these vendors can take too much control over the narrative. All associations must offer a value that members find beneficial and are willing to pay for. This will offset vendors from getting too much power over the associations governance.

If the BTA can deliver exceptional services, content, and well-thought-out strategies, the BTA Dealer members won't have issues paying more in dues. Also, keep in mind that when the BTA is reinvented, it will have new members that none of today's members even know.

Those who seek to capitalize on the future will seek the knowledge which is closer to the future.

As part of the BTA's reinvention the association must incorporate more educational platforms based on the dealer's best interests for the times they are heading to , it's time to eliminate educational platforms based on grandpa's copier dealership. I was pleased that at the 2025 national meeting, there was more future-based thinking to offset the history-based regurgitations.

In closing, I wish the BTA an exciting 100th birthday. I know it's a 2026 celebration, but without a focused change, I fear the BTA's One Hundredth celebration might be just a reunion of folks who came to take photos of each other and say goodbye to the industry's oldest and greatest venue.

Status quo is the killer of all that will be invented.

Ray Stasieczko Host of The End Of The Day With Ray! Youtube Series

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