6. The Ability For Partners To Easily Build Their Own Apps

About a year agoo, Xerox launched an app gallery that supports partner-developed apps, Hoover said. Since then, Hoover said channel partners have developed about 20 different apps capable of streamlining firmware updates or components of managed print services.

Hoover said he doesn't expect to see millions of channel-developed apps since businesses can only use a finite number in their regular workflows, but he expects partners to eventually contribute hundreds of thousands of apps to the gallery. This will help the channel maintain a relationship with end users that extends beyond the one-time device sale, Hoover said.

"We have made it very easy for partners to develop these apps, and we think that ability will give them a little extra value with customers to make them really sticky," Hoover said.