Print.IT Reseller - issue 50

01732 759725 38 RESEARCH Against a backdrop of hardware commoditisation, shrinking margins and a buyer landscape that will be less dependent on printing, Principal Analyst and PRINT 2025 author, Louella Fernandes, says there is no question the print industry must reinvent and reimagine its product and service offerings. The print industry has seen significant consolidation, there are just 12 printer OEMs remaining from around 20 that were operational in 2000. Much of this has happened in recent years. In 2015, Hewlett Packard split into two companies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. In 2016, Lexmark was acquired by a consortium of investors (Consortium) led by Apex Technology Co., Ltd and PAG Asia Capital (PAG), and Sharp was subsequently acquired by Foxconn in the same year. In late 2017, HP completed its $1.05 billion acquisition of Samsung’s printer business, aiming to disrupt the copier industry. The most recent acquisition to shake up the industry as reported in PrintIT Reseller last issue, is Fujifilm Holdings’ announcement that it will take over Xerox in a $6.1 billion deal. Fernandes predicts that there will undoubtedly be more consolidation ahead, with further mergers and acquisitions likely between now and 2025. She argues that the print industry must start laying the foundations for the new digital workplace now, or it will not be prepared for the changes ahead. “The successful players of 2025 will be those that are software-centric and innovative, and which embrace open partnerships. The workplace of 2025 will be drastically different and the industry faces tough strategic choices ahead,” she said. A must-read for OEMs and channel vendors alike, the PRINT 2025 report considers if the industry is ready to adapt to the changes ahead. It outlines the key strategies for success to drive relevance in the fast-changing market, explores the innovators and debates who will be the winners in the print industry of 2025. Poised for profound change With technology advancing at an unprecedented pace, the print industry is poised for profound change as we head towards 2025. The future workplace will be radically different in terms of how and where we work and the technology we use. The millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000, will not only have a dominant presence in the workplace, they will also enter the boardroom. The journey to 2025 marks a generational shift as baby boomers retire and millennials become the largest segment of the workforce. This, along with more Generation Z employees (born between 2000 and 2009) entering employment, will create new challenges for organisations. These increasingly demanding customers, more accustomed to reading from a screen, will have different expectations of print technology in the workplace. In the face of the changing technology landscape, printing has fought its corner. It has survived the onset of digital communications, the Quocirca’s latest report PRINT 2025 , is a new ground-breaking study on the smart, connected future of print in the digital workplace PRINT 2025: evolution or revolution? internet and the increasingly mobile workplace. However, automation, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become more pervasive. Employees in the workplace of 2025 will always be connected and the focus will be on driving wider collaboration beyond individual user productivity. To survive and prosper in this rapidly evolving landscape, print manufacturers must develop new products, services and business models that will sustain and drive growth. This demands innovative thinking and a start-up mentality - in both core and new, emerging business areas. Quocirca believes that a focus on compelling solutions, machine intelligence and analytics, along with extensive partnering, will be the keys to success in this new era. The landscape of change To better understand the landscape of change in the print industry, Quocirca conducted two surveys: one with 55 senior industry executives in the US, Europe and Japan, and one with 575 SMB and enterprise organisations across In the face of the changing technology landscape, printing has fought its corner. Louella Fernandes

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