PRINTITRESELLER.UK 39 VOX POP continued... Print predictions – part two As yet another year draws to a close, key industry players share their thoughts on what 2025 will hold for the print and IT sectors Steve Holmes, Head of Global Sales & Channels/EMEA GM, PaperCut: The economy appeared to be more stable in 2024 compared to the last two years, which gave businesses the confidence to gradually unlock budget and invest in IT again. A likely driver for investment in the early part of the new year, are promising predictions from independent organisations like IDC. It indicates that, in 2025, 60% of print infrastructure within mid-to-large organisations will be either fully or partially hosted in the cloud. While this presents resellers with an opportunity to work with their customers to prepare them for a cloud-based future, for some resellers this is also an ideal moment to look closely at their business model and skill set to ensure that they are equipped and ready to take their customers on their cloud journey. In line with that, we also expect to see the continued adoption of cloud print management solutions. We’re seeing more uptake month on month as existing leases end, and workplaces explore new cloud print management solutions. Interest in AI was of course a driver for investment this year, as organisations consider both what role it can play in their business and whether they have the technology strategy and infrastructure to support its deployment. From a print perspective, I think that next year we’ll see AI deployed more broadly across the whole print ecosystem, from device to MSP offerings and everything else in between. With AI being so multi‑faceted, it’ll be interesting to observe how channel partners deploy it too, from using it to optimise the customer experience to helping with their own internal DE&I and ESG goals. From a security perspective, we hope that the growing awareness of workplace print environments as possible attack vectors will see IT teams quick to update hardware and software patches, in line with the ongoing efforts made by the print sector to keep its solutions robust and protected from attacks by bad actors. Sustainability will be front‑ofmind, too. I anticipate a shift in the perception of print; rather than it being deemed ‘bad’ for the environment, we’ll see responsible, intelligent print as a positive force for sustainable good, through services like energy efficiency dashboards that show CO2 saved, and the number of trees planted relative to print output and so on. In parallel, we expect that the print industry ecosystem will form closer alliances with independent bodies to understand where and how they need to work together to plug any sustainability gaps throughout the document and device lifecycle. Finally, Microsoft’s new Windows Protected Print (WPP) mode will likely cause consternation in workplaces around the world. It’s extremely important that the print industry works together to provide customers with a clear pathway to adoption. It’s likely that many workplaces will switch to WPP without realising the impact, so plenty of education is required through 2025 to make the transition smooth. www.papercut.com Steve Holmes I think that next year we’ll see AI deployed more broadly across the whole print ecosystem
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDUxNDM=