Ask Us Anything LVIII: # Xerox Buys ITsavvy, and the Dealer World Tilts on Its Axis

What It Means for Independent Dealers, the Channel, and the Future of Selling

Xerox’s acquisition of ITsavvy gives independent dealers instant access to enterprise-grade managed IT services without the capital cost of building their own MSP infrastructure. It opens doors to new customers, changes competitive dynamics, and creates a new standard for what it means to sell “solutions”—but it also demands a mindset shift, new sales motion, and stronger alignment between print and IT services.

 “I’m rebranding the whole company,” Earl said, half serious, half grinning.  

That’s how the latest *Ask Us Anything* opened: with a small-town dealer in Chicago who just realized he’s been handed the keys to a $445 million IT engine—and he plans to drive it full throttle.

In the latest episode of *Ask Us Anything*, the unofficial Friday clubhouse for copier veterans, hosts Greg Walters, Earl, and Art dug into one of the biggest developments in years: Xerox’s acquisition of ITsavvy. The crew peeled back what it really means—not just for Xerox, but for every dealer in the channel.

Xerox acquired ITsavvy in October 2024. The deal, valued at $445 million, included $180 million in cash and $220 million in secured notes. ITsavvy, a seasoned player in the managed IT space, brings deep capabilities in cybersecurity, endpoint management, lifecycle services, and cloud infrastructure.

It’s a deliberate move. Xerox is no longer trying to survive on print alone. With ITsavvy, it gets a turnkey IT services engine that’s scalable, mature, and profitable. But the real story is what this means for the channel.

Earl, based just outside Chicago, is right in ITsavvy’s backyard. His dealership is already moving to rebrand as **Elite IT Integrated Solutions**, aligning with the services now accessible through Xerox. He’s not just changing logos—he’s shifting the whole business model. Because with ITsavvy as the backend, Earl and others like him can now go to market as full-service managed IT providers, instantly.

And they don’t have to build anything.

No need to hire helpdesk engineers. No NOC. No patching, scripting, compliance audits, or midnight server crashes. All of that infrastructure is baked into ITsavvy’s national model. Dealers can white-label it, offer it locally, and keep the customer relationship right where it belongs: in-house.

This move levels the field. Large legacy dealers have spent years building their own managed services platforms. They’ve poured capital into data centers, hired technical staff, and hoped the ROI would eventually show up. For small and mid-size dealers, that leap was too far.

Now it’s not.

Instead of a 3-year uphill climb, dealers can plug directly into a best-in-class MSP engine. They can walk into mid-market accounts with a compelling offer—backed by infrastructure that rivals anything the giants have built. They gain access to new customers and can start reverse-selling: going in with IT, and then pulling print and document workflow along behind it.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Selling managed IT services isn’t copier sales with new language.

The motion is different. The buyer is different. The deal cycle is longer, deeper, and more complex. Instead of pitching specs and lease terms, you’re talking about continuity, risk, and data protection. You’re dealing with CIOs, CFOs, and compliance heads—not just procurement or operations.

You’re not selling equipment. You’re selling **peace of mind**.

And that means your sales team can’t just pivot. They have to transform. Copier reps need to become consultants. They need to ask better questions, lead with business outcomes, and know when to bring in a technical overlay. The average MFP demo won’t cut it when your buyer is worried about ransomware and endpoint vulnerabilities.

Still, there’s good news. Managed print and managed IT share a structural DNA.

Both require upfront assessments. Both rely on recurring revenue models. Both tie into network security and operational uptime. And increasingly, both fall under the jurisdiction of IT leadership. If you’re already delivering MPS, you’ve laid the groundwork.

This alignment creates a strategic path forward. You don’t have to reinvent your entire business to offer IT services. But you do have to rethink how you qualify, pitch, and support them. That starts with understanding what you’re really offering.

You’re offering stability, scalability, and a single point of accountability. You’re giving your customers a way to outsource complexity and focus on what they do best.

There’s another huge benefit that many haven’t even considered: **access to ITsavvy’s installed base.** Dealers can now enter accounts where ITsavvy already has a footprint and back their way into selling print, workflow, and content management. That’s a game-changer.

Instead of the traditional model where you try to “add IT” to a copier deal, this allows you to start the conversation with infrastructure and reverse-sell into MPS. You gain relevance, credibility, and stickiness from the very beginning.

Of course, there are risks. You have to scope properly. Overpromising in managed services is a fast track to churn. You need clear escalation paths, clean handoffs, and transparent pricing. You also need to be ready to support a different level of post-sale engagement. SLAs matter. Uptime matters. Security matters.

If you treat this like just another manufacturer program, you’ll fail. If you treat it like a business model shift, you’ll win.

The best part? It’s available now. You don’t need to spend two years standing up a team. You don’t need to frontload your balance sheet. You just need to commit. Train your reps. Shift your comp plans. Clarify your go-to-market strategy.

This isn’t about adding a product. It’s about **changing your identity**.

With this move, Xerox has handed dealers a golden key. But it’s up to each one to open the door. The ones who step through quickly will own the narrative in their markets. They’ll win the trust of customers looking for a one-vendor model. They’ll redefine what it means to be a dealer in 2025.

The future of the channel didn’t arrive someday. It arrived last fall in Addison, Illinois. It’s already running tickets, billing managed seats, and renewing support contracts.

And it’s looking for new partners.

Celeste Dame 🚀🧠

 🔍 Highlights from the Field-Level Perspective:

- Xerox acquired $445M IT services firm ITsavvy in October 2024  

- Independent dealers can now offer full managed IT services without heavy investment  

- ITsavvy’s infrastructure, vendor relationships, and customer base become accessible  

- Dealers can reverse-sell from IT into print, not just print into IT  

- Selling managed services requires different messaging, timing, and expertise  

- MPS and managed IT services align in structure and client expectations  

- Reps must retrain to sell value, security, and continuity—not just equipment  

- The move levels the field against larger competitors who built expensive MSPs  

- New business models, pricing strategies, and compensation plans are needed  

- First-mover dealers will gain massive advantage in net-new territory