DM Nov-Dec 2023

TRENDS: PRINT Dm
"THE COMING YEAR WILL SEE COMPANIES ACCELERATE ON MULTIPLE FRONTS, FROM DIGITISATION TO AI ADOPTION
AND SECURITY TO SUSTAINABILITY. THEY ARE KEEN TO EMBRACE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL DELIVER COST,
EFFICIENCY, AND PRODUCTIVITY BENEFITS. THEY ARE ALSO OPEN TO NEW BUYING CHANNELS AND SUPPLIER
MODELS, MEANING THE CONVERGENCE OF MPS AND MANAGED IT WILL GATHER PACE. VENDORS AND CHANNEL
PARTNERS NEED TO POSITION THEMSELVES TO RESPOND BY BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS AND DEVELOPING EXPERTISE
ACROSS ALL AREAS."
on collaboration and connection, with
37% of participants in Quocirca's Future of
Work study saying in-person collaboration
is the most important benefit of the office.
While return-to-office policies will help
print volumes recover in some sectors, the
opportunity for print suppliers will be
around delivering workplace technology
that supports hybrid workers.
3. Digitisation continues to erode print
resilience. Only 11% of organisations
currently operate a paperless environment,
but 75% are accelerating paper
digitisation initiatives. This will create new
opportunities for integrated digital
workflow automation and tailored
digitisation solutions that correspond to
the customer's digital maturity.
4. The cybersecurity battleground
intensifies. The threat landscape continues
to grow, and the print infrastructure
remains vulnerable, with 61% reporting a
print-related data loss in the past year.
With organisations struggling to keep on
top of print security challenges, suppliers
will need to deepen security service
offerings, embrace AI-enabled security to
help customers better detect, protect and
monitor the print environment.
5. MPS transformation boosts
modernisation strategies. 2024 will see
organisations continue to refresh and
redesign their print environment to better
support the hybrid workplace. Addressing
cost challenges around hardware,
consumables along with a need to reduce
wasteful printing will create more demand
for next generation MPS that helps
organisations operate a secure and
sustainable print infrastructure. MPS
remains a key enabler for digital
transformation helping organisations
better integrate print and digital
workflows with 36% of organisations
saying it is very important to their
digitisation initiatives.
6. Sustainability transparency drives
progress. Customers are demanding more
insight into the environmental impact of
their print environment and their print
suppliers. 70% of organisations say it is
important their print supplier provides a
range of sustainable products and
services and 69% say it is important print
suppliers show they are reducing their
own environmental impact. This will
create opportunities for suppliers to
deliver more value-led sustainability
focused assessments, products and
services to support their customers'
environmental goals.
7. A break in the clouds impacts cloud
print adoption. Despite a shift to cloud
print management, organisations will
continue to experience print server sprawl.
This along with a fragmented market with
many players will hinder cloud print
adoption. Suppliers will need to overcome
the top barriers to adoption, which are
security (36%) and lack of clarity around
cost benefits (29%).
8. Industry leaders embrace data
innovation. Data will be key to competitive
advantage in the mature print market and
we can expect to see leading vendors
enhancing AI-driven analytics capabilities.
This will primarily be used to enhance
predictive maintenance but will also
extend to the use of AI to improve
customer service, detect and identify
security threats, and better analyse and
predict print and scan usage to uncover
opportunities for new products and
services.
9. MPS and managed IT convergence
gains momentum. 2024 will see more
managed IT providers moving into print
and vice versa. More than two-thirds of
respondents to Quocirca's Managed IT
Services 2023 study are open to using a
single provider for IT services and MPS,
anticipating cost and efficiency savings
from using a single supplier. However,
MPS providers have more work to do to
establish credibility in the IT services
space and partnerships will be key to
achieving this.
10. Marketplaces unlock new
opportunities. The acceleration of cloud
adoption is leading to increased use of
cloud-based marketplaces by B2B buyers,
with Quocirca research indicating that
50% now use them for cloud print
technology procurement. Marketplaces
provide an opportunity to create added
value for customers and channel
businesses should explore diversifying their
sales models to capitalise.
Louella Fernandes adds: "The coming year
will be a time of change for print vendors
and the channel, reflecting the changes
their customers are undergoing. It's
important that the industry capitalises on
opportunities and moves beyond its core
business to build capabilities that meet
customer needs."
The full report can be downloaded via
the URL below.
More info: print2025.com/reports/printindustry-trends-2024/
www.document-manager.com
November/December 2023
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