While the Affinity Index showed that HP is capturing the the most share in terms of proposals for network color lasers (see next slide), Xerox finished first in the overall Channel Affinity Index score, with 651 to HP's 572. It's the latest research-based accolade for the vendor in 2008. Xerox this year also jumped to first in Everything Channel's 2008 Channel Champions matchup after finishing fourth in the 2007 installment.
Tim Freeman, vice president of sales for The Performance Group, an imaging solution provider based in Ventura, Calif., championed Xerox earlier this year for its reliability.
"We also sell HP but I sell Xerox over HP because of the reliability long-term," Freeman said, also emphasizing Xerox's lower total cost of ownership more than that of the competition. "Brand recognition is probably 50 percent of the reason people buy Xerox, if not more."
HP looks strong -- and its ability to understand the needs of the solution provider channel is well-established in just about every market in which the Palo Alto, Calif. vendor plays. But a healthier Affinity Index score for Xerox highlights that company's ability to serve VARs in in the areas that mean most to them. If a vendor is doing a lot of things right, it says a lot about the company's potential to gain market share, and Xerox's solution providers see the potential for that to happen.
"It wouldn't surprise me a bit," Questing Hound's Morse said. "In fact, I expect it."
