PrintIT issue48

PRINT.IT 19 www.printitmag.co.uk 2017 REVIEW Continued... Print 2017/2018 Nick Parkes, regional sales manager, Y Soft Public Cloud: Particularly in the government and public sector. Segregated buildings are giving way to centralised workplace hubs where a mix of government and public sector bodies (such as health and pension) are working from the same building and sharing print services. GDPR: With the enforcement date around the corner, there is concern about how the information flowing in and out of print devices is compliant with the regulations. Security: There has been a heightened awareness of security around network printers and multifunction devices (MFDs). As MFDs are essentially IoT devices that can contain sensitive corporate data through the print, copy and scan functions they enable, they are susceptible to external hack threats. Internally, they must also be protected from inappropriate use. A report issued in 2017 by Quocirca revealed that 61% of organisations have experienced at least one print-related data loss. Organisations cannot be complacent any longer and this is now being taken more seriously. Chris Strammiello, director, worldwide marketing and global alliances, Nuance Document Imaging Division What Nuance has seen this year is how the increase in information transmitted between systems, people and organisations has really started to drive the evolution of smart systems designed automatically to understand the content of data. The progress made in this field increasingly gives end users the assurance of knowing that the information they want or need to share is only seen by or sent to people authorised to see it. With GDPR looming and a key talking point in 2017, combining artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing is a logical progression in the context of security. Colin Griffin, managing director, Blackbox Solutions The main trend we saw this year was the continued consolidation of multifunction printers and inkjet technology, and heightened competition in the A3 market. MFPs have continued to expand their market share over recent years, as businesses pursue cost efficiencies. The shift to MFPs also means that managed print services have become increasingly viable for SMEs, creating major new opportunities for resellers. We've also seen inkjet continue to go from strength to strength as improvements in the speed, quality and cost efficiency of inkjet printers reduce the demand for conventional laser technology. Roughly 20% of our business clients are now choosing to embrace inkjet technology. PrintIT asked leading lights from the printer industry for their thoughts on key market trends in 2017 and likely developments in 2018. On pages 19-23 we hear about this year’s highlights. Then, on pages 24-28, our contributors look ahead to the industry developments they expect to see in 2018 Carlo Longhi, director and general manager, indirect channels UK and Ireland, Xerox The digitisation trend continued as businesses and organisations looked to move easily between their digital and paper worlds. Managed Print Services (MPS) continued to prove very important in enabling digital transformation, with the growth of apps, the evolving role of the MFP and cloud-based services all supporting this transition. Mark Smyth, chief operating officer, Vision 2017 has seen considerable market consolidation, with both resellers and OEMs challenging for market share and growth. There has been considerable activity with mergers and acquisitions and some surprises as the market’s larger players look to protect, retain and gain market share. Gary Tierney, MD Ireland & UKI printing category director, HP For me, it was the growth of ‘as a service’, which continues to disrupt more and more business models in both consumer and commercial spheres. For instance, HP has long led the managed print services market, and this year it began applying the same approach to its personal systems space with the launch of its ‘device as a service’ (DaaS) offering. Another example is HP’s subscription printing service, Instant Ink, which was rolled out in a number of European countries this year, including Ireland. Instant Ink has brought an end to customers running out of ink and having to dash to their nearest retailer. Instead their printer detects when it is running out and orders cartridges automatically via the post – all for a low, fixed monthly fee. Ultimately, this is all part of a bigger trend – the move to ‘everything as a service’. Jonathan Whitworth, managing director, DSales (UK) Ltd The explosion in mobile working and the BYOD trend are radically changing the way people manage documents, including printing. That’s why Develop MFDs have been designed to provide What for you was the main trend in print and document management in 2017? Inkjet printers like Epson’s new A3 MFPs and A4 EcoTank products gained ground in 2017. Blackbox Solutions says 20% of its clients now use inkjet technology. Chris Strammiello Colin Griffin Carlo Longhi