7 Takeaways from the Lyra Symposium

7 Takeaways from the Lyra Symposium

I’m fresh off the plane from Palm Springs, sitting in the Delta Lounge at SFO (my least favorite airport) and it’s time to try to put down on paper (figuratively speaking of course) what I am left with from the 2012 Lyra Symposium.

#1 Managed print services is the prom queen of the industry. Everyone wants to be her, date her and secretly….a lot of people hate her, but they would never say it out loud.

More than half of the Lyra’s 150 attendees were also signed up for the half-day MPS Forum, while some attendees flew in just for this. MPS was addressed in every presentation I attended, sometimes apologetically. The MPS table was the popular table, literally. On Monday and Tuesday Lyra hosted networking round tables. Due to popular demand Lyra had two MPS tables both nights. You couldn’t squeeze another chair in at my table. Those who had to opt for another topic, like office printing or mobility, strayed to MPS anyway.

So 75 percent of the attendees were infatuated with the prom queen, the other 25 percent were swearing under their breath. Why? Well, the MPS shift will cause a further erosion of hardware and is the most significant threat to the supplies industry.

#2 The industry has not rebounded from the recession. Presentations from Lyra Research and Cross Research showed poor performance from the industry. Many of the OEMs were optimistic for 2011, but the economy didn’t rebound like expected and a lot of goals were missed. Activity in 2011 was driven mostly by companies trying to take market share in a flat market.

#3 Mobile Print…we’re over it. Mobile technology was a hot topic…for those still stretching to make print relevant again. A few times I heard, “We have to make mobile printing easier for users so that they will use it—we have to develop applications so that people will want to print from their phones.”

What did the mobile audience have to say?

#4 Managed services…tell us more. One of the first things I noticed in the exhibitor showcase was OKI’s banner promoting their relationship with Agiliant. And during the MPS Forum Tim Brien, Director of MPS for OKI Data Americas, gave a short presentation on the partnership and what it will mean to the industry.

The OEMs moving to offer services was certainly a topic at the symposium, maybe even brought up more in the Q&A than in presentations. Shannon Cross, CEO of Cross Research explained Xerox’ just-released quarterly earnings. What did we hear, “services business rose 6 percent, technology business was down 5 percent.” When asked if she thinks OEMs will continue to acquire BPO and ITO companies, Cross responded, “Everybody’s trying to find an ACS, but they’re just not out there.”

#5 Color is the future? Cross concluded her presentation, “be cautious in 2012 regarding the imaging industry, and color is everything…” Companies with color exposure will have the most opportunity for growth she explained. However, during the presentation on office printing, we heard that operating cost for color is still too high and the expectation for users to switch from monochrome to color as hardware prices declined has not happened.

#6 Commercial Ink Jet Printing: Finally, some good news. Hardware growth rates will remain high as the market expands, growing from $1.22 B in 2011 to more than $2 billion in 2013. Total hardware shipments, worldwide, are expected to grow at a 13 percent CAGR from 2011 to 2015 and ink revenue will grow 40 percent CAGR over the same period.

#7 Lyra has an excellent team and I’m excited to work with them. The symposium was great and Lyra’s team of analysts are incredibly knowledgeable about the industry. We truly had great synergy at the event. I can’t wait to see our new organization evolve to provide the most comprehensive view of the imaging industry!

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