Solutions Sales Manager Andy Johnson joined Develop UK in September 2024, tasked with building a brand new solutions division from the ground up. 18 months in, he speaks to PrintIT Reseller about the rapid growth of DSolutions, the changing needs of the channel, and why partners must embrace solutions to future-proof their businesses
Historically, Develop UK was a hardware-centric organisation, fulfilling device orders for its partners on a next-day delivery basis. However, it recognised that a lot of resellers were looking to diversify and build solutions into their offering to combat the decline in print volumes but didn’t have any experience selling them.
Johnson was brought in with a remit to build a solutions division from scratch, create a portfolio, and support partners who wanted to diversify. “I’ve been given free rein to build this arm of the business and support partners who want to sell solutions,” he explained. “The first thing I did was look at what we were currently selling which was pretty light, filestar and a bit of PaperCut,” he added.
Johnson began mapping out the growth areas and the opportunities for Develop UK’s 150-strong partner base and positioned the new DSolutions offering around three pillars: print, capture and security. Today, Develop UK software partners include Y Soft, Tungsten Automation, PaperCut, Princh (a simple public pay to print solution), Scanshare, FolderIT, filestar, Bitdefender and d.velop sign for e-signatures.
Helping partners keep hold of customers
One of the biggest challenges in the early days was raising awareness of what Develop UK could now offer. Johnson recalls visiting a long-standing partner who told him: ‘We had a customer the other week asking about a copier, so I sold them the copier, but they also wanted an e-signature solution and a PDF editing solution. We don’t sell them, do we?’
This, he says, is the crux of the DSolutions mission, helping partners keep customers not just for hardware, but for the wider digital ecosystem around it. “We do have those solutions in our portfolio, and the partner could have had that business as well,” he said, adding: “A lot of our partners now just email me and say: ‘Do we sell this kind of solution?’ And nine times out of ten, we’ve got something in our portfolio. It means they can add more value and keep hold of that customer for the long‑term.”
Winning new business
Around 35 partners have already fully embraced DSolutions and are actively winning new business. Others lean on Johnson for support on specific deals. “We’re channel-only, so partners are comfortable with me joining them on customer meetings. We can do the solutions design, build the right solution for the customer, trial it, test it, install it and train the end-user,” he explained. “It takes the pressure off the dealer needing to have that resource from day one.”
For many, that support has been transformational as Paul Kamlesh, Technical Director, Copybox Document Systems explains: “Develop UK offers a great range of products and first-class aftersales support, the new solutions offering just further enhances the value to us as a dealer.
“We’ve worked closely with Andy on several deals; we are now looking at solutions we had never thought about before and that’s creating new opportunities for us. Andy is by our side; he’s an extension of Copybox and his deep knowledge on the solutions side combined with our customer-centric approach to print technology, is a great fit for our clients and prospects.”
“I love nothing more than seeing a reseller who’s never sold a solutionbefore sell their first licence,” Johnson said. “They get it. They say, ‘That was easy, I’ll sell more of that.’ And then they’re on the solutions journey.” Scott Passmore, Scansation said that working with the team at Develop UK has been a genuine pleasure. “Scansation has integrated seamlessly with their organisation, and together we remain committed to delivering exceptional service and support to all customers.
“In our first 12 months, we achieved rapid success in the solutions space, securing a multi-thousand-seat Power PDF agreement with a major corporate client. This milestone has already generated further opportunities for 2026/27, and our teams continue to collaborate closely to scope and develop new business initiatives.”
Starting from zero
Launching a solutions division from zero was always going to take time. “The first year was a slow burner,” Johnson said. “But then we started seeing a spike in sales. And this year it’s just carried on. We’re getting more and more partners contacting us.”
Some partners know exactly what they want, for example PaperCut licences, while others come with a customer problem and ask Johnson to help build the solution. Steve Clark, Sales & Solutions Director at A1-Digital Solutions said: “We’ve been a Develop UK partner for many years, but it was when I joined a couple of years ago that we identified that the market had changed and it wasn’t just about print devices – it’s about delivering value to the client with solutions that make their life easier.
“We then started to look seriously at solutions. We originally partnered with another company, but they couldn’t give us the level of support to help transition our business to be a solutions-led partner. “Working with Andy has been invaluable, in fact we’ve opened up two new opportunities this week alone! Andy’s close relationships with the ISVs and his depth of experience and willingness to engage in end-customer conversations is a key differentiator. We’re now confidently talking to customers about solutions, and we know we’ve got the support we need from Andy, if we have a question or a query, he’s straight on it.”
Officeflow is also leveraging the new solutions offering. Director Tom McCarthy said: “We’re not new to solutions, we have extensive experience with PaperCut, and our in-house team are adept in terms of delivery.
“However, Develop UK has transformed from being a hardware distributor and has significantly evolved with its solutions offering. They’ve built a diverse portfolio across multiple areas, and that’s where they’re helping us look beyond our initial brief and expand past PaperCut into new opportunities. Bringing together a range of providers across different fields is something they’re doing particularly well, and it was great to meet some of those vendors at their recent sales summit.”
Johnson added: “We know hardware revenue and page volumes are declining, so partners need to bolt on solutions to make up the revenue. Ultimately, partners are winning more business with solutions and there is still much more that we can do. We’ve got around 80 partners who haven’t yet taken advantage, some simply don’t want to sell solutions and I get that. But many do want to diversify; they just don’t know how. They haven’t got the resource or the knowledge. That’s where we come in.”
Empowering partners beyond print
He continued: “Cybersecurity attacks are increasing and securing the print infrastructure is front and centre for organisations of all sizes. Within that you’ve got device security, network security and document security.”
Develop UK’s portfolio includes Bitdefender. “That resonates strongly with end customers. Hacking is a massive issue. Bitdefender includes advanced antivirus and threat detection specifically designed for networked devices like printers and MFPs. Document security is another growth area, with PDF editing and e-signature solutions in high demand,” he added.
In addition, Johnson points to the growing adoption of AI. “Businesses of all sizes are now looking for solutions with AI built in. Companies want a more agentic workforce, which means they will 100% be working with AI. That’s the future workplace,” he said. “Several DSolutions offerings already incorporate AI capabilities, positioning partners to meet this rising demand.”
Cloud is another huge opportunity. “Something like 80–85% of UK businesses have a cloud strategy,” Johnson noted. “Our solutions plug directly into that.”
From awareness to focus
With the foundations now laid, Johnson believes the next phase is about depth rather than breadth. “The first year was about seeing as many partners as I could and talking about these solutions,” he said. “Now people are aware of them, it’s about focusing on the solutions that are growing massively in the market.”
That means doubling down on cyber security, AI-enabled tools and cloud- ready platforms – areas where partners can differentiate themselves and build recurring revenue. And the appetite is growing. “We’re seeing more partners wanting to transition to solution selling. The ones who understand it were easy to bring on the journey, while others understand the need to diversify, but they don’t know how. That’s why DSolutions exists,” he said.
In conclusion, Johnson says he loves seeing partners win. “Whether it’s a big solution sale or a single licence, it means they’re moving forward and the opportunity is only getting bigger. We’ve built something strong. Now it’s about carrying on what we’re doing – helping partners diversify, helping them win more business, and making sure they’re ready for the future.”
