Andy Slawetsky of Industry Analysts, Inc. sat down with Tom Mitchell, President of Connected Office Technologies, to talk about his dealership, Brother’s Value Print Plus (VPP) program, and how his company has expanded into new areas to support customers across Maine and New Hampshire.

A Decade in Business

Connected Office Technologies, based in Portland, ME and Portsmouth, NH, has been serving customers for over 10 years. Tom started the dealership with a background in technology and distribution, spotting an opportunity when manufacturers began pulling back from rural markets. “We saw the writing on the wall,” he explained, “and wanted to align with a partner that gave us stability.”

That partner was Brother. Introduced at a BTA show, Brother’s VPP program offered compliance-ready, commercial-grade devices with an exchange model that reduced service overhead. Connected quickly signed on and became one of the earliest adopters. The move paid off with major wins, including a state contract that placed more than 1,000 Brother devices.

Why Brother Works in Rural Territories

Covering two states and customers as far north as the Canadian border means technicians often face eight-hour drives. That’s where the Brother VPP program has been a game changer. Instead of waiting for a tech, customers can keep preconfigured backup devices on site. If a unit fails, they simply swap it out and send the old one back.

“It takes the friction out of the transaction,” Tom said. “You’re eliminating all that windshield time, saving costs, and making life easier for the customer.”

The platform also includes Brother’s console for remote management, eliminating the need for local device scans while allowing settings and updates to be pushed fleet-wide. Connected integrates this with e-automate and CEO Juice dashboards for a streamlined process.

Expanding Beyond Copiers

Like many dealers, Connected has diversified. In addition to copiers and printers, they now offer:

• Water coolers and filtration systems – a niche left open after national providers exited rural markets.
• Wi-Fi services – leveraging Tom’s background in networking, his team certifies and installs solutions for customers struggling with connectivity.
• Security cameras and access control – through a partnership with Axis Communications, Connected has trained techs to handle physical security installs.

All of these solutions can be financed and bundled into a single monthly bill, making it easier for customers to manage.

Simplifying the Sale

Mitchell sees one of the biggest advantages of the Brother program as simplicity. Instead of navigating 15 or 16 different models, reps only need to understand a handful. That makes it faster to train sales teams and easier to show ROI to customers. Brother also supports demos, training, and even direct technical conversations when needed.

“The quality of the product and the way they go to market just makes it easier for the dealer and easier for the customer,” Tom said.

SOURCE Industry Analysts Inc.