HP, TD SYNNEX, and EKM oh, The Probabilities are Scary!

by ray stasieczko January 29, 2022

HP, TD SYNNEX, and EKM oh, The Probabilities are Scary!

The organizations I discuss in this article connect in ways that I imagine could cause massive disruption.

This article does not suggest that any of these actors are doing anything wrong. Instead, I am outlining a probable outcome based on how I see the actors aligning. It’s a warning to the office print equipment industry, Is the DCA tool you are paying for helping to fund your own disruption?   

The Print Equipment and Services dealers have to quickly decide their HP and TD SYNNEX relationship! They also need to question who owns the probable paths regarding TD SYNNEX’s EKM DCA Tool?

I am suggesting that with all the DCA technology in the Marketplace, why should Office Print Equipment Dealers take the risk of aligning with DCA software owned by TD SYNNEX and managed by both TD SYNNEX and HP? Without truly understanding the potential probabilities.

Here's my thinking:

HP had great aspirations of disrupting the A3 Marketplace, and I believe today they are looking at this potential and understand they will never accomplish those ambitions as once thought.

However, I believe HP is now setting up the Office Equipment Dealers for a complete surprise. A surprise that dealers have helped HP design. While the dealers were dabbling in delivering HP A3, many feed HP massive amounts of data through the Amplify agreements.

HP was and continues building an arsenal of partner and end-user data, all provided by their partners, both distributors and resellers/dealers. HP's battle plan is being drawn from the lack of concern of the office print equipment dealers regarding their data.

I believe that HP has Amplified their dealer's lack of concern regarding end-user data in ways too many are not imagining.

While the dealers sacrifice their data for Hardware and supply discounts, HP remains focused on the massive data collection dealers provide them.

The dealers may think that the data they are feeding HP is not that important. I would ask all my dealer/reseller friends if the data is not that valuable. Why is HP spending hundreds of millions in commissions to the distributors and discounts to dealers to obtain it?

Today I firmly believe that there are zero benefits with dealing with HP through any program, Amplify or not, which requires dealers to give HP any data.

I do not see HP as a friend or partner to the Office Print Equipment dealers. Instead, I see HP building fantastic relationships with major distributors, and these distributors have access to thousands of IT resellers and third-party service providers.

I am also very suspicious of EKM and all the EKM resellers!

If TD SYNNEX owns EKM, I believe it is disingenuous that EKM continues to promote itself as EKM; they should clearly define that TD SYNNEX owns them.

Office Print Equipment Dealers using the EKM DCA must clearly understand the realities of that engagement.

HP is meeting daily to discuss data with distributors. If HP had bought the EKM DCA, the office print equipment dealers on the EKM platform would have gone ballistic.

Unfortunately, I don't see a difference between HP owning EKM or TD SYNNEX. The HP and TD Synnex relationship regarding office print dealers is way too close for my comfort.

In a recent End Of The Day With Ray Episode, I discussed emails sent to resellers/dealers from TD SYNNEX scolding dealers on behalf of HP. I included a link at the bottom of the article.

I realize that if dealers/resellers agree out of delusion or misguided judgment to give data to HP collected by TD SYNNEX or other distributors, they may have obligations to that. However, In my opinion, dealers/resellers need to cancel these agreements before it's too late. 

There's a disconnect between dealers/resellers regarding how they perceive DCA data and how I believe HP and Distributors perceive DCA data.  

The DCA technology is about data to HP. HP is valuing data, and unfortunately, the Office Equipment Dealers see DCA tools as vehicles to help them manage print in an account. The office print equipment dealer values the DCA based on an end-user contract.

While both HP and TD SYNNEX, as other distributors, value the DCA data based on the global data they collect. One day this data dealers gave both HP and TD SYNNEX could be the means to disrupt the old partner as they create new partners.

Times are quickly changing, and so are the Dealer, OEM, and Distributor's go-to-market strategies. As a result, the Office Print Equipment Dealers have to protect and explore how they will be disrupted or defeated.

Think about the day HP and TD SYNNEX decided to give the EKM DCA technology to IT resellers at zero cost.

In the Office Equipment industry, dealers pay for DCA technology and receive the ROI based on the revenue coming from the end-user agreements.

In a world I see as probable, TD Synnex, on behalf of HP, will give this technology to IT resellers who do not monetize print its supplies or services as the office print equipment dealers do.

TD Synnex could position the DCA as an assessment tool helping IT resellers with technology assessments. For example, as we have seen HP preaching, is the need for firmware updates based on security false or real?

How long before the TD Synnex DCA will become a security tool, false or real, to be interpreted.

IT resellers may load up the DCA checking for printers which may be a security risk. The information the DCA gathers all goes to TD Synnex/HP.

The IT reseller, in return, gets back an excellent assessment regarding print which they include in their overall IT assessment. I will discuss this concept in further detail soon what I imagine is very disruptive. The possibilities are enormous for TD Synnex and HP.

In Closing: Remember the way you as a dealer value DCA technology, IT resellers have a different value, and I believe that TD Synnex and HP can capitalize greatly on that IT resellers perceived value.

There's no stopping the disruptions coming to the Office Print Equipment industry. However, its actors do not have to facilitate their demise by participating in any overreaching OEM data grabs.

Instead, they have to strategize a new continued relevance. That relevance won't come from attending reunions talking about Managed Print Services.  

Lots of surprises are coming to the unimaginative. So, the office print equipment dealers have to stop surrounding themselves with outdated thinking and start looking past what's comfortable.

There is no comfort in disruption, and those who seek comfort over the pain of improvement will fall victim to the disruptors who gladly paid the tuition of pain and discipline to succeed.

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

Ray Stasieczko

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