By Andy Slawetsky – I sat down with James Hwang, the new CEO at Visual Edge IT (VEIT), and came away thinking the company has a leader who speaks fluent MSP and respects what built the print business. Building on the success of their previous CEO, Austin Vanchieri, now Chairman of the Board, James is here to take the company, especially their managed services piece to new levels.

Bottom-up, not top-down.
Many office equipment resellers who’ve added IT often try to push print down into managed services. Hwang wants the reverse: stand up disciplined MSP/MSSP services as the foundation, then bring in the “goodness” from print—managed print, A3/A4, production, wide format—where it adds value. That’s a notable flip for our space and it matches how mid-market customers actually buy today. Discipline was a word that came up throughout the interview, no surprise coming from the West Point graduate.

Know your lane.
VEIT is locking in on customers with 25–250 users (expandable to 500). That focus drives everything—marketing, staffing, packaging, and delivery. If you’ve ever chased a 1,500-seat IT deal you can’t profitably service, you’ll appreciate the approach.

Service gets a real rebuild.
VEIT is centralizing to a Customer Experience Center that triages tickets once, routes them to the right resource, and leans on a shared data lake so repeat device errors trigger known fixes. Think MSP-style telemetry and automation married to copier service DNA. Goal: higher first-call resolution, less “let me transfer you,” and happier customers who may be more open to cross-sell. James told me the goal is “one throat to choke”

Your technicians are the engine.
James knows dealers win or lose on tech relationships. VEIT plans to A+ certify its field force (300+ techs, ~200 vans, with their names on them much like fighter pilots, according to James) and give them career paths—into networking, security, NOC/remote roles. That helps recruiting younger talent and keeps veterans growing instead of hitting a ceiling. It also repositions a “copier tech” into a “customer’s go-to technologist.”

Packaging matters.
VEIT is adding true product management—customer experiences that start with co-managed IT or a single service and expand logically into security, managed print, and consulting. James brought in people who’ve done this at scale (telecom and consumer tech) to bundle offers customers understand.

Deals built the platform; integration will unlock it.
VEIT has done dozens of acquisitions over the years. James’ team (including operators with supply chain and MSP/MSSP COO backgrounds) is tasked with knitting it together for billion-dollar scale (his words)—from logistics and refurb lines to IT asset management. The theme is “respect the past, rebuild the foundation.” Let that set in; a billion-dollar scale.

On the money side.
Post-COVID, everyone had to reset. James says the shareholder group has patient capital behind the plan. They don’t seem like they’re walking away anytime soon, a vote of confidence in the new leadership from what we discussed.

Why this should get office equipment resellers’ attention
Managed services isn’t the biggest piece of VEIT’s revenue today, but the runway is wide open. If they pull off AI-assisted service, tighter targeting, and product management, that creates a cleaner path to attach IT on top of print—and vice versa. It’s the cross-sell motion our channel talks about but all too often doesn’t capitalize on.

Interview highlights for office equipment resellers

• MSP-first approach: build from services up, then layer print/copy where it fits.
• Tight target customer profile: 25–250 users (scalable to 500) to keep the offer focused.
• Service revamp: a single Customer Experience Center with AI-assisted triage to boost first-call resolution.
• People strategy: upskill 300+ field techs with A+ certifications and real career paths into networking, security, NOC.
• Product management muscle: formal “customer journey” design, packaging, and bundling (led by longtime telco/consumer tech operators).
• Investors on board: simplified cap table and patient capital to execute, not a quick flip.

What to watch next

• Service metrics: first-call resolution and time-to-close as the new scoreboard.
• Talent pipeline: certifications rolling out and new hires who can sell both leases and managed services.
• Packaging: clear, tiered offers customers can step through.
• Field proof: more VEIT wins where a mid-market MSP deal also drags print/MPS—or the other way around.

There’s work ahead, but after talking with James, I’m optimistic. VEIT has a leader who understands the MSP grind, values dealer-grade service, and isn’t afraid to say “no” to bad-fit business. If they execute, expect Visual Edge IT to make some noise in managed services while staying a serious player for office equipment resellers.

SOURCE Industry Analysts Inc.