In 2014, the company found a new source of revenue and started working with Xerox’s ConnectKey, an application platform that comes as part of the vendor’s newest devices.

Two years ago, Southern Solutions saw the potential in the technology and began to develop applications for it, becoming one of the first partners to attend Xerox’s personalized application builder workshop and build an app specifically for clients of managed print services providers. The app, ContactUs, can be used by clients to order supplies and services directly from a printer or copier, expediting their delivery and removing the need for a services phone call.

Just last year, Southern Solutions became one of two Xerox-certified personalized application builders and authorized developers in the world, and the only one in the U.S.

Now, Justice said his company’s applications are available via Xerox’s application store, which, like Apple’s AppStore, is itself an app that can be used to browse, purchase and download new apps to ConnectKey-enabled printers and copiers.

Southern Solutions’ latest application, an automatic firmware update app, was licensed by Xerox for all its U.S. partners and comes pre-loaded on a number of Xerox’s more recent A4 multi-function printer releases.

Justice said Southern Solutions has continued to create custom apps for specific clients and has even made a number of custom apps for larger clients.

Justice added with more of Southern Solutions’ business in contracts instead of sales, the company has more time to focus on growing its list of recurring revenue sources, which he said increases each year.

However, Justice said that despite the growth, the price of hardware is still falling, and so are the margins, making it harder to make the same money traditional resellers did in the past.

But with managed services leading the way, Justice said his company is also selling more Xerox machines than before even though the overall revenue it makes from those sales is falling.

The reason the company can sell more hardware, he said, has a little to do with the price dip, but more with the fact that when his company starts managing more of its clients’ IT needs, clients can more clearly see the value of streamlining their machines and replacing older ones with new models, giving Justice a bigger opportunity to sell more products as a trusted advisor instead of as a hardware salesman.