01732 759725 VOX POP 46 Just look at the world of consumer sales, it’s never been easier or simpler to purchase a product or service and provide the consumer with a flexible method of transaction in technology will need to be environmentally sustainable. With print and IT technologies being data-driven and compute-hungry, the environmental costs can sometimes be hidden. Customers and investors are increasingly looking for green credentials, and we will see more of this in 2023. Datacentres and blockchain technology need to become greener, and companies need to ensure they don’t waste valuable resources and leadership teams will need to report on progress and be held accountable. From a print perspective, this will mean a more holistic view on where, how and why paper is used and a focus on driving to a paper lite strategy through workflow automation. “Digital convergence. Post-pandemic transformation is proceeding at pace, the requirements of the modern workplace are undergoing fundamental changes led by the employee experience – people will want to come to the workspace if the workspace provides an enhanced and more productive work experience than being at home. Print, scanning, workflow, AV, space booking, document sharing, digital signage and collaboration tools can’t be standalone – they will need to be integrated, intuitive and more intelligent. Print volumes will not recover to prepandemic levels as the print to digital convergence continues at pace. “Cloud first. There will be a greater focus for IT departments to move from on-premise print solutions to the cloud or at least a hybrid model. Cloud-based print management services provide more flexibility to scale solutions in line with changes to property and new agile ways of working. “Cyber security. The global managed print services demand will be driven by the ability to prevent internal data loss and safeguard printers from external cyber-attacks. This still remains an area that is overlooked by many organisations “As-a-service. More and more companies are moving to managed services and spend will account for 18 per cent of IT budgets in 2023, up from 15 per cent in 2020. Organisations are consolidating the number of suppliers they work with to enhance end-user experience by developing meaningful relationships with partners that can help integrate technology and user experiences. “Automation. Increased focus on automation processes to reduce manual labour will maximise the demand for outsourced print management services. Managed print services help to streamline the workflow and speed-up business processes through efficient analysis. This then forms the foundation for organisations to build / link ML and AI processes. “Diversification. In general, as a result of the above trends we are seeing traditional print providers and print manufacturers trying to expand their services into a wider variety of offerings such as security, cloud, AV and IT services. We expect to see more of this as the sector strives to keep up with customer requirements.” www.aurafutures.com Craig Pratt, Regional Sales Director, CMYK: “As we see continuing consolidation of businesses in the print and IT sector, this will present a fantastic opportunity for small to mid-sized organisations to expand and grow market share. I see the well-structured, well-organised and well-led mid-sized organisations being able to capitalise on their nimbleness and ability to deliver services. So, I think we’ll see a large amount of organic, and sustainable growth in the smaller and mid-sized resellers. “Due to the change in working practices, the adoption of cloud services and agile business technologies over recent years, the print marketplace has remained pretty static. In order to secure new business in this area we need to be doing something that differentiates ourselves from our peers, focus on delivering an unrivalled service, providing an outstanding client experience, and channelling resources into support functions and brilliant people. That’s why I believe CMYK have the winning ingredient! “I don’t see the current marketplace changing during 2023, so whilst there’s still demand for print services, and businesses want to procure these services, we need to make sure that engagement is a simple, transparent, and straightforward process. For those of us who sit in the managed IT services space, the use of flexible contracts and subscription services is the norm, lengthy and restrictive contracts are becoming a thing of the past. To ensure longevity in the managed print services sector, I believe we need to embrace a similar offering. Just look at the world of consumer sales, it’s never been easier or simpler to purchase a product or service and provide the consumer with a flexible method of transaction. “2022 has been extremely productive and positive for CMYK, with significant growth in our managed IT services and communications offerings. As we enter 2023, we need to remain positive, we’ve all seen the current press coverage on the economic financial outlook for next year, which potentially could mean further change and the possibility of businesses needing to ‘re-size’ to meet that change, whichever way you wish to look at this it’s an OPPORTUNITY! We’ll see, but regardless of opinion at CMYK we remain focused, hugely positive and can’t wait to see how next year plays out.” www.cmyk-digital.co.uk Print predictions part two will feature next month. continued... Alpesh Unalkat Craig Pratt
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