Develop UK’s DSolutions drives partner transformation with focus on software and services

Develop UK’s new DSolutions initiative, spearheaded by Andy Johnson, is transforming channel partners from device resellers into comprehensive solutions providers, emphasising software, cybersecurity, and recurring revenue models amid falling print volumes.

When Andy Johnson joined Develop UK in September 2024, he was given a clear brief: build a solutions business from the ground up and help the channel move beyond hardware alone. What began as a modest software line-up has since become DSolutions, a broader offer built around print, capture and security, designed to help resellers keep pace with falling print volumes and the changing expectations of customers. According to Develop’s own partner programme pages, the wider business is built around collaboration, technical expertise and long-term channel relationships, which fitted neatly with Johnson’s remit.

The shift has already started to pay off. Johnson says around 35 partners are actively winning business through DSolutions, while others now call on him for help with specific opportunities. In practice, that can mean anything from selecting a PaperCut licence to designing, trialling, installing and training around a fuller package that includes e-signatures, PDF editing or cybersecurity tools. He says the aim is simple: help dealers retain the wider customer relationship, not just the device sale. Partners including Copybox Document Systems, Scansation, A1-Digital Solutions and Officeflow have all used the offer to open new opportunities, with one reporting a multi-thousand-seat Power PDF deal and others saying the support has helped them move into areas they had not previously considered.

That approach also mirrors the way Develop’s international parent wants its ecosystem to work. d.velop says its network spans more than 400 sales, consulting, app-building, OEM and technology partners across 20 countries, supporting more than 15,000 customers. The message from both companies is that the channel no longer succeeds by shifting kit alone; it needs software, integration and services that sit around the hardware and make customers harder to dislodge. Johnson’s pitch to partners is therefore as much about business model change as it is about product availability.

The strongest demand, he says, is coming in cybersecurity, AI-enabled tools and cloud-ready platforms. That is not surprising: Develop UK is pointing partners towards Bitdefender for device and network protection, while also highlighting document security tools such as PDF editing and e-signatures. Johnson argues that organisations increasingly want systems that can support an “agentic” workforce and that many UK businesses already have cloud strategies in place, creating an opening for software that plugs into existing environments rather than replacing them. Microsoft’s ISV Success programme, which is focused on helping software firms build and publish faster with AI tools and marketplace reach, underlines how mainstream that shift has become.

For Johnson, the first year was largely about awareness; the next is about concentration. He says the market now understands what DSolutions is, so the task is to deepen the work in areas with the strongest momentum and help more of Develop UK’s partner base find a route into recurring revenue. That, he believes, is what will future-proof dealers as page volumes continue to fall. The message is blunt but familiar across the channel: partners that learn to sell solutions will be better placed to hold customers, win new business and build a more resilient business model.

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Source: Fuse Wire Services