What does the next 25 years hold for Digitech Systems and its Value-Added Resellers? A year after Digitech Systems celebrated its silver anniversary, CEO HK Bain sees more of the same: new products, new revenue opportunities for resellers and a technology partner that you can trust. “When you conduct business that way, what does it get you? It gets you 25 years in business and it gets you a fabulous, loyal group of Value-Added Resellers and distribution partners,” Bain says. “People will follow consistency. They like consistency because they know what to expect. The world is full of unknowns. We shouldn’t be one of them.”

HK joined Digitech Systems soon after the company’s 1997 formation. A University of Wyoming graduate, he previously worked as a certified public accountant and as a cellular telephone company executive. In recent years, he’s remained active as CEO while successfully battling health challenges. “I feel great and I want to thank all the professional staff at UC Health Denver for being incredible and”—flashing some of his trademark humor— “not skipping cancer class.” His doctor, Dr. Dan Pollyea, “tells everybody that I’m the poster child for coming through the treatments and having the desired results.”

1. What does the next 25 years look like for Digitech Systems?

“Digitech Systems is first and foremost a technology company and our Value-Added Resellers can absolutely expect us to continue with an eye toward the future,” HK says. New products will utilize the cloud to make information management even more effective and affordable for any size business. “Twenty years ago, we were one of the first to market with software-as-a-service in this industry. With our future technology, we feel we’re going to be 20 years ahead of the curve again. That’s the value of being a technology company as opposed to a software company.”

Unchanged will be Digitech Systems’ commitment to its resellers, he says. Since its launch under founder and chief technology officer Scott Matthews, the company has always valued the collective success of its customers, employees, distribution partners and other stakeholders more than its own profits, he says. “The goal has never been to get into the Fortune 500. The goal has always been to get to heaven. And you get into heaven by keeping your word and not taking food off of other people’s tables to put on your plate.”

2. Why has the Stakeholders Statement — unchanged all these years — been so effective?

Digitech Systems' founding pledge to support its customers, employees and distribution partners is embodied in the company's Stakeholder Statement, available in the About Us section of www.digitechsystems.com.

The opening paragraphs of the Digitech Systems Stakeholder Statement.

“Most companies’ goal—at the end of the day—is to increase shareholder value. If you're not a shareholder, you're not on the agenda. We’ve never believed in that. It goes back to 'Do business in the way you can be proud of.’ We thought it important early on that, with all of our associations, they should know what to expect from Digitech Systems. So our goal with the Stakeholder Statement was, ‘Here's what you can expect.’ And it's laminated by the way. So it's not changing. We actually do live by it."

3. What is the value for resellers of the company's recurring revenue opportunities?

“Not only can you not ‘out-earn’ a residual model but, as with ImageSilo^®, you do the work once and you get paid for the life of the customer,” HK says. “It’s not the fastest because you’re giving up that transactional lump-sum upfront payment for recurring revenue over time, but it’s the most profitable way to reseller wealth.”

He points to resellers’ historic success of offering products such as ImageSilo. “I can’t tell you how many “Silo Millionaires” have been made. It’s a great product. It’s a very sticky product. Once customers use ImageSilo, they love it. The same is true for PaperVision^®.com and will be for future product offerings," he says.

4. Will the company continue to place a premium on its legendary support?

“Yes. That has been a hallmark of our competitive advantage since day one,” HK says of the company’s fast customer and technical support that includes getting your telephone call answered within seconds by a US-based expert who is fully trained to provide immediate help.

Thinking back to his first channel conference as CEO, he remembers when the company’s then technical support manager, Joel Prendes, was introduced and the audience gave a standing ovation. “I’m sitting there going, ‘Wait a sec. Tech support in a technology company in America is getting a standing ovation.’ That was so unique to me and struck me as such a valuable advantage that we vowed never to let that go.”

In an era when such support is increasingly rare, Digitech Systems’ ongoing investment is a reflection of the company’s overall goals and values, he says. “That’s where a lack of greed also comes into play because we have no outside investors. We are privately held. We don’t exist just to see how much money we can make. We exist to see how big we can get and do it in a way we can be proud of.” This spring, ENX Magazine named Nathan Schwenke, Digitech Systems Vice President of Customer Support, as a 2023 Difference Maker in recognition of his and the company’s excellence in customer service.

As his comments reaffirm, HK sees a bright future for Digitech Systems, one guided by the same principles that are reflected in the company’s founding vision statement: “We desire to create for all stakeholders a safe, prosperous, wildly successful, value-based organization by offering affordable electronic document management solutions giving customers the ability to get Any Document, Anywhere, Anytime^®.”

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Digitech Systems Sales and Marketing