01732 759725 46 Q&A management. This means providing cloud connected, secure print and scan solutions as well as managed print services that provide IT teams with full oversight of usage security and costs. Q: Looking towards the future, what do you envision as the next big breakthrough or game-changer in the industry, and how is your company preparing for it? A: Credential harvesting is emerging as a specific risk for the MFP. Customers are beginning to tighten their digital defences and rethink the security of everyday hardware. Network endpoints, MFPs and devices within managed print service contracts will come under increased scrutiny during the procurement process with print buyers, specifiers and IT decision-makers applying the same level of security criteria as computers and servers. Kyocera, MFPs are secure by design, built to safeguard data from start to finish on its journey through workflows, including guarded access such as tools like OAuth 2.0 for cloud-based printing services; secure communication, protected data storage including FIPS 104-3 certification, HDD overwrite and trusted platform module; and advanced management including preset security level configurations to ensure remote fleet management, SIEM/Syslog monitoring, secure boot and runtime integrity checks. Q: What advice would you give a young person starting a career in the industry? A: Stay curious and adaptable, print is an industry that’s evolved massively from analogue to digital, from hardwarefocused to solutions-driven. The people who thrive are those who keep learning, ask questions, understand how technology, sustainability and customer expectations are reshaping the landscape. I would also say build relationships early with colleagues, partners and customers. The industry is built on trust and reputation - the connections you make will often open more doors than you expect. Combine that with genuine interest in innovation and you will find opportunity no matter how the market changes. our teams to challenge the status quo and share ideas. This mind-set alongside Kyocera’s ongoing investment in sustainable, secure and intelligent technology, is what keeps us ahead of the curve. Q: With artificial intelligence fast becoming mainstream, how do you see this impacting your go-to-market strategy, product roadmap, and indeed the wider channel? A: AI is already starting to reshape how we think about efficiency, insight and customer experience. It’s less about replacing people and more about empowering them, using AI to automate repetitive tasks, analyse data more intelligently and create smarter more predictive service models. At the device, it’s about increasing user confidence with AI-powered features such as image defect prevention and handwriting enhancement, and AI confidential security guard. From a go-to-market perspective, AI will allow us to offer partners new levels of visibility into fleet performance, usage patterns and opportunities for optimisation. This insight helps drive more proactive engagement, stronger customer retention and potentially new revenue streams. For the channel, it’s going to be a real differentiator, partners who embrace AI-driven tools and analytics will be able to deliver more value, faster and with greater precision, ultimately, I see AI as a huge enabler for our industry. Q: What do you see as the key challenges or pain points businesses are facing in today’s hybrid working model and how can you help your partners/customers to address these? A: Hybrid working has brought flexibility, but it has also created new challenges, particularly around information security, collaboration and managing costs. Many organisations now operate with dispersed teams, fragmented workflows and multiple devices, which can make it harder to maintain visibility and control. Our role is to try and simplify that complexity. Kyocera’s approach is about enabling secure, efficient document Nicola Yates, Head of Channel, Kyocera Document Solutions UK Industry Insight Nicola Yates Q: What’s currently having the greatest impact on your business? A: The biggest impact right now is the pace of change across the print and document solutions market. The move towards hybrid working and digital workflows has changed how organisations think about print. More recently, tightening credit insurance has also become a challenge across the channel, it’s affecting how partners trade and how deals are structured, making agility and close collaboration more important than ever. Q: How do you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your company remains at the forefront of innovation? A: Staying ahead starts with staying connected to our partners, customers and the market. We make a conscious effort to listen, understand where challenges are emerging and adapt, shaping our strategy around that insight. At Kyocera, innovation isn’t just about new technology, it’s about helping partners work smarter, deliver more value and stay competitive. Security has become a major driver of innovation. With hybrid working and cloud integration now the norm, we are investing heavily in secure print and document solutions. We believe innovation comes from collaboration and curiosity; we encourage
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