Print.IT Reseller - issue 68

PRINT IT RESELLER.UK 45 PRINT PREDICTIONS continued... Jason Cort, Director of Product Planning and Marketing, Sharp UK n Cybersecurity for SMBs: Understanding of cybersecurity is on the rise, although there are still a significant number of small to medium sized businesses that need to take up the mantle. Too many think “it won’t happen to me, I’m too small”, which is dangerous and naïve. Cybercrime must be taken seriously at every level and even more so in the SMB community, where business owners should be doing everything in their power to ensure customer data and digital assets are safe. As awareness of cybersecurity grows, we expect to see SMBs continue opting for fewer suppliers – not more – and the onus will be on current suppliers to provide a guarantee of security on top of their service. For example, businesses are increasingly looking to source connected MFPs from their IT suppliers and gain a more unified approach to infrastructure security. This is simpler and business leaders feel safer in the knowledge that suppliers already have the expertise and technology to protect them. n Serverless printing: We predict the adoption of serverless printing will increase due to rising demands in cloud- based infrastructure, as opposed to on- premise. However, network bandwidth is not unlimited, and printing via the cloud has the potential to drain this resource quickly. That said, the trend to remove on- premise infrastructure makes serverless printing an attractive alternative, retaining secure printing capabilities without the need for servers or cloud. Adoption of cloud usage will continue to rise, with more businesses of all sizes making the move to secure cloud environments such as AWS and Microsoft Azure. Moving to the cloud is also allowing businesses to utilise big data analytics and AI services, giving them greater business insights and helping them make better decisions. n The environment: As environmental issues become even more prominent, every industry’s environmental policies will be subject to change. 2019 has been a big year for environmental awareness and accountability and it is clear that this movement will only gain momentum in 2020. Organisational and cultural change takes time in the corporate world, though as suppliers we must think one step ahead about what our clients will require from us. The print industry must consider the EU’s legislative approach and how we can contribute to an organisation’s environmental objectives. In particular following a Circular Economy approach to product design – such as the use of recycled materials for manufacturing – and the reuse and collection of consumables. However, this kind of change needs to be made at the beginning of a product’s life-cycle, not as an afterthought. Furthermore, as the proportion of Millennials and Gen Z represent an ever increasing proportion of the work force, purchasing from environmentally and socially responsible businesses carries greater weight. This requires both operational and cultural change for supplies which takes time to become truly embedded. n Inkjet printing: Whilst we are seeing more confidence in business inkjet by the likes of companies such as HP, who predict considerable adoption in the short-term, there are challenges to widespread adoption in business. The consumer experience of inkjet is often fraught and this perception, along with the reality that at a business level the variability equation of speed vs quality vs ink coverage can be the deciding factor for DMs. However, business inkjet is strong enough to attract new adopters but there’s a long way to go before we see widespread acceptance across the industry. n 5G: 5G is a big buzzword at the moment in every sector. Whilst businesses and the public speculate on the future applications for 5G, the real conversation for printing has not yet started. Although 5G connectivity will be available as a consumer standard by 2020, it is a complicated and long road before we see adoption of any significance in print. 5G could eventually replace fixed line broadband, guaranteeing offices to have access to faster and more secure connections – but any impact on print will not be felt for a few years yet. www.sharp.co.uk n Consolidation will continue: Venture capital companies seem to have become more prevalent in the acquisition process. Their route to success is a tried and tested one – growth through acquisition – achieve a critical mass, sell to another larger VC, or as in the case of Apogee, to an OEM. Which leads me to another prediction that OEMs in the print hardware sector will continue to acquire large dealers to control and shape the market in their own image, and each other as the market, or related value- added organisations such as IT services organisations. I expect at least one major player to be acquired by another in 2020. www.paebusiness.com Rod Tonna-Barthet, CEO, Kyocera Document Solutions Technology and innovation are reshaping almost every sector and it has created a significant shift in our industry. As many organisations have already migrated to the cloud, 2020 will be a good time for them to explore the opportunities it can create. In particular, this will be crucial to those who are moving towards more flexible ways of working and need to have the right tools, such as cloud print in place to ensure that their staff can perform their work securely and effectively. Equally impactful on the way we work is automation. While it has traditionally been used in industrial manufacturing processes, it can now be applied on time-consuming and routine tasks, which can free staff to focus on value-add tasks. The time saved through automation can also be used to upskill, for personal development, or to focus on more complex or customer-centric work. Aside from the huge efficiency gains for the organisation, customers often want to self-serve wherever possible, so customer satisfaction is increased. I really hope to see more organisations taking advantage of this technology in 2020! www.kyoceradocumentsolutions. co.uk Rod Tonna-Barthet Jason Cort Technology and innovation are reshaping almost every sector and it has created a significant shift in our industry