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2012: Key Trends
Edward Crowley
,
CEO & Founder,
Photizo Group
We will see several major
transformations in 2012, some
directly related to the transition
from a product-centric to a
services-centric market. This
will create a shift in customer
focus from buying the best
technology based on features,
performance attributes and cost,
to a focus on driving business
process improvements through
outsourcing the management
of technology to external
vendors and engaging these
same vendors in developing
business process optimisation
solutions. In other words,
customers will shift from buying
products to buying business
services and solutions that
optimise their asset utilisation,
staff productivity and business
process efficiency.
As the worlds of managed print
services (MPS), IT outsourcing
and managed services, mobile
worker enablement and
consumer electronics in the
workplace combine, we will see
a major shift in customer focus.
Intelligent imaging platforms (or
multifunction printers/devices),
ubiquitous cloud computing,
pervasive Internet accessibility
and handheld devices are
creating a perfect storm capable
of fundamentally transforming
business processes. Customers
are aware of this, vendors
are driving it and it’s only a
matter of time before the two
come together with dramatic
ramifications for the tech industry.
In the world of managed
print services, we will see
significant change. Vendors are
2012: The Year Ahead
What will be the key trends in office printing over the next 12 months?
PrintIT asked leading lights from the printer industry for their predictions.
rapidly evolving their direct MPS
capabilities in order to move
beyond asset management
and document solutions to
business process optimisation
and outsourcing. This is creating
a convergence with the world
of traditional IT outsourcing
and business process
outsourcing. In Europe, we will
see a significant expansion of
MPS programs, MPS offerings
and MPS capabilities into the
indirect channels. In Europe,
2012 will be the year of the
MPS channel!
www.photizogroup.com/
ed-crowley/
Simon Hill
,
Sales director UK and Ireland
Nuance Document Imaging
In 2012, Nuance anticipates
further momentum of trends
established in 2011. For scan
and print, Nuance believes a
significant trend in 2012 will
be the rapid adoption of cloud
services facilitating print
management, mobile print,
document capture, document
conversion and routing. With
respect to mobile printing and
capture, the millions of mobile
devices used in the workplace
are driving the need for mobile
access to MFPs for print
services.
We also expect to see
increased demand for Managed
Print Services. It allows
measurable cost reductions from
day one of deployment. More
RFPs are also requesting year-
over-year cost savings, which
can only be delivered through
extended document processing
services, including document
capture.
In 2012, there will be further
integration of scan and print
workflows. Combined, they add
value through consumable cost
reduction, while optimising
document workflows. Print
management and document
capture also share many of
the same value attributes –
authentication, cost reductions,
regulatory compliance and, of
course, security.
Security is the perennial.
In 2012, we’ll see dramatic
increases in demand for
authenticated access to MFP
devices, either through proximity
cards or traditional user ID and
passwords. Driving this adoption
is a mix of user authentication
and adherence to corporate
governance.
Tom Primett
,
Group Product Manager,
Sharp
The Office MFP marketplace
is quite strong at present and
has growth potential in colour.
As part of Sharp’s expanding
business, we will build on
our successful 26-51ppm
colour launches of 2011 and
push the benefits of our new
‘fingerswipe’ user interface
and control panel. We have
seen a 7.5% growth in market
share (A3 MFD, 20-50ppm),
following excellent user
feedback on this revolutionary
MFP technology. 2012 will see
more of the same, with the
mid volume colour segment
seeing innovations from many
sources – all aiming to help
customers control and reduce
costs and be more productive
overall. Another growth area
will be the continuing transition
from personal/desktop to
workgroup A4 devices. A4 MFPs
are becoming more robust and
taking on much of the feature
mix associated with A3 devices.
Jeremy Spencer
,
Marketing manager,
Toshiba TEC UK Imaging
Systems
Two key issues will dominate in
2012 – security and mobility.
While some MFP manufacturers
have addressed the security
issue by introducing elements
such as secure hard disk drives,
there’s still much to do in terms
of educating end users about the
importance of having a ‘whole
life’ approach to security – from
document creation to use and
destruction.
The cloud has helped speed
up the growth in mobile working
and companies with products
and systems that facilitate
this will be in pole position to
benefit during 2012. Being able
to integrate print strategies
and mobile working practices
enhances workflow and will result
in more efficient and effective
communications.
While security is the major
challenge, mobility represents
a genuine opportunity for the
industry. That said, the two
subjects go hand-in-hand, as one
of the main barriers to entry for
cloud sceptics is security and
how this plays out in the year
ahead should be of interest to
us all.
continued...