The Western European printer
and MFP market enjoyed
mixed fortunes in the fourth
quarter of 2013, according
to the latest figures
from International Data
Corporation (IDC).
Market shipments rose once
again – up 5.5% or 360,000
units on the same period in
2012. However, price pressure
caused average selling values
(ASV) to decline by 7.4% year-
on-year.
An improving market in the
second half of the year meant
that growth for 2013 as a
whole was flat.
Phil Sargeant, program
director of IDC’s Western
European Imaging Hardware
Devices and Document
Solutions group, said: “These
positive results for the quarter
show that many companies
are continuing to invest in
their printing and imaging
requirements as confidence
in the overall economy
improves. There are pockets
of opportunities for many
manufacturers and channel
partners, and 2014 is most
likely to see the overall market
increase. Growth is likely to be
steady rather than spectacular.”
In the UK, sales in the fourth
quarter were 13.4% higher than
in the same period in 2012.
Inkjet shipments increased
14.7% in what is traditionally a
strong quarter, though business
inkjets showed a slight decline.
Colour MFP sales grew strongly
with both A4 and A3 segments
achieving double-digit year-on-
year growth.
Business leaders are
overconfident about the
speed at which their
organisations are responding
to technology-led change,
according to Ricoh-sponsored
research by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU).
More than nine out of
10 (92%) business leaders
surveyed by EIU say that speed
is part of their culture. Yet only
24% believe their organisations
are able to respond quickly
to new opportunities or
unexpected changes.
Businesses’ perceptions
of competitors are similarly
misguided. The report found that
business leaders are three times
more likely to compare their
organisation to a speedboat
(48%) than a supertanker (17%),
while believing the opposite of
their competitors.
The Challenge of Speed
report warns that without
a realistic understanding
of internal and competitive
landscapes, it can be difficult
for business leaders to guide
their organisations towards
positive change.
Two of the greatest barriers
to change identified by the
EIU are an inability to link
technology platforms, resulting
in information silos, and
the difficulty of persuading
employees or business units to
adopt a common approach.
Only one in 10 respondents
believes there is clarity around
the direction of change among
both leadership teams and
front-line workers.
Another barrier identified by
respondents are bureaucratic
processes – a key focus of
leading MFP vendors as they
expand their managed print
services to embrace business
process re-engineering. Only
36% of respondents say their
firms eliminate unnecessary
approvals or controls in the
search for speed.
The EIU says that agile
companies excel in three key
areas: product and service
innovation; adoption of new
technology; and business
process change.
It also found that the most
successful change initiatives
originate with line managers
or department heads.
Organisations in which change
is initiated by the C-suite
appear to be falling behind their
competitors: they are twice as
likely to say they need to move
somewhat or significantly faster
in the next three years than
a company in which change
originates from department
heads (53% compared to 27%).
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Bulletin
Sharp launches cloud MFPs
Following the launch of its
new generation of cloud-
ready colour MFPs, Sharp
has introduced six B&W
models with advanced cloud
capabilities, including the
ability to print from and
scan to the cloud and use
the Sharp Cloud Portal
Office for collaboration
(see
Business Info
Issue
115 for more details).
The MX-M565N, MX-
M465N and MX-M365N come
with wireless LAN connectivity
and cloud capabilities as
standard; while the cloud-
ready MX-M564N, MX-
M464N and MX-M364N offer
them as options.
The former also have a
10.1” multi-touch LCD control
panel, rather than a 7in colour
LCD; a 150-sheet Duplex
Single Pass Feeder; and 1200
x 1200 dpi print resolution
rather than 600 x600 dpi.
All models combine fast
print speeds of 36, 46 and 56
pages per minute; advanced
finishing options, including
booklet-making and hole-
punching; and a range of
energy saving features.
These include a new
low-melt toner formulation
that significantly reduces
the amount of energy used
and intelligent power saving
features, including the ability to
‘learn’ usage patterns and
go to sleep when a period
of inactivity is predicted.
Users can also choose Auto
Power Shut Off after each job
is completed and set times for
the MFPs to switch off.
Bureaucratic processes keep
businesses in the slow lane
Slaes of A4 MFPs like the Develop ineo 3320 and 4020
enjoyed double-digit growth last year. DSales UK’s new mono
MFPs combine a compact footprint with impressive functionality,
including secure print and a quiet mode that reduces noise
levels during printing. Suitable for small to mid-sized workgroups
of 3-15 users, they have print speeds of 33 and 40 pages per
minute and a first print in 6.5 seconds – 9 seconds from sleep
mode.
Fenestrae has launched a cloud-based scanning service that
makes it possible for users to scan, share and edit paper
documents in Google Drive.
Udocx for Google Drive provides ‘out of the box’ integration with
scanners and MFPs from HP, Sharp, Xerox, Ricoh and Canon and
is fully integrated with Google Apps for Business, used by 5 million
users worldwide.
Udocx uses optical character recognition to convert scanned
documents into PDF/A files that can be searched, shared and
edited using any device that supports Google Drive. Documents
can also be automatically integrated into business workflows.
/
Scanning to Google Drive
Mixed results for European printer market
