Five Printing & Imaging Trends to Watch
Solution providers needn't let an uncertain economy stand in the way of business growth.
2007 wasn't the best nor was it the worst of times, but it did set the stage for what could be a new year of concerns and opportunities. Here are five trends that could have the biggest impact on business in the months ahead.
#1: It's the economy stupid, part II.
Recession fears, sub-prime lending fallout, rising energy costs—2008 will be filled with economic uncertainties that will have solution providers wondering how their businesses will fare in the next 12 months.
The top fear is that their customers will reduce spending to protect themselves against economic uncertainty, according 43 percent of the respondents to the 2008 VARBusiness State of the Market survey. The poll included opinions from 733 North American solution providers.
Virtually the same number worries that the declining value of the U.S. dollar versus other currencies will adversely impact their businesses, VARBusiness reports. Other significant fears centered on credit-market turmoil and what some solution providers believe is the Fed's inadequate response to the problems.
These fears compelled 40 percent of the solution providers to fear that a recession is on the horizon.
Despite these widespread economic concerns, many solution providers are carrying an upbeat attitude into 2008. Twenty-seven percent of the companies expect their businesses will grow by 15 percent or more in the coming year, while another 43 percent are looking for 5- to 14-percent growth, VARBusiness says.
#2: Green printing will take root.
The environmentally conscientious "green printing" practices that sprouted in 2007 will be part of a long-term trend extending into 2008 and beyond, rather than being just a passing fad. Some market researchers are placing environmental concerns among the top business drivers in the near term, while printer-industry experts forecast green practices will change the conversations solution providers have with their customers.
For example, Todd Gregory, marketing manager for global enterprise business in Hewlett-Packard's Imaging and Printing Group, predicts that solution providers may soon be asked by their clients to conduct environmental assessments of printing and imaging environments. Much like traditional audits of fleet size and usage patterns, "I wouldn't be surprised to see environmental assessments as part of the consideration for purchasing, employing, and maintaining fleets of imaging and printing devices," he says.
The audits could outline ways to lower energy consumption through printer-fleet consolidation, reductions in paper consumption, a rise in duplex versus simplex devices, and enforcement of policies for recycling spent hardware and consumables.
#3: Managed print services will be the hot channel market for 2008.
Solution providers will expand their service offerings thanks to increasing demand from small- and mid-sized businesses, along with the wider flexibility solution providers have in creating service packages.
Some solution providers will continue to take advantage of the channel programs offered by most major printer OEMs. Others will turn to custom offerings built around third-party assessment and management products from partners, such as Print Audit and PrintFleet, according to Edward Crowley, CEO of The Photizo Group, an investment research firm that specializes in the printing and imaging industry. "These software vendors have given solution providers some of the infrastructure to manage printer fleets in a very cost effective way, so the solutions are becoming much more widely available," Crowley says.
In the past, many solution providers were "sticking their toes in" the MPS pool by reacting to customer requests for service contracts. "What's changing now is that solution providers are seeing this as a growth opportunity for their business, and they're proactively offering services to their customers. It's a different mindset," he says.
#4: The advantage will tip to printers in the standoff against copiers.
More IT managers will become comfortable with MPS contracts thanks to print-engine-based MFPs, which will make inroads into copier installments because of the reputation for reliability that printers enjoy. "IT is saying, 'I can replace copiers with these units, and because it's a printer, basically, I can put it out there and forget about it," Crowley says.
The added advantage beyond being a replacement for copiers is that MFPs can scan documents and send the files to the PCs of individual workers, who may have been reluctant to give up their personal printers in consolidation efforts. "End users now have the benefit of this Scan-to-PC capability along with user-level print security to make sure nobody is going to see their print jobs. This takes away the objections that end users had for giving up their personal printer and moving to a shared printer," Crowley adds.
#5: Enterprise Content Management will evolve from a tactical to strategic solution.
Companies will increasingly install ECM in enterprise-wide implementations to avoid the management frustrations and costs of maintaining a number of point solutions for various departments.
"Learning from the mistakes of large companies is going to save medium-size businesses a lot of headaches," says Carl Frappaolo, vice president of market intelligence for AIIM. "But it will be more than just standardizing on a platform. It's really about simplifying the way companies look at their enterprise content and how they manage it. Medium-sized companies that are now getting ready to make investments in ECM will probably start with enterprise-level solutions and not go after this area on a department-by- department, application-by-application basis."
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