Managed Print Services Year in Review (2011)
You can almost hear the collective sigh being let out across the globe as manufacturers, channel partners and industry analysts prepare to close out another breakthrough year for the imaging industry. Most would probably agree that 2011 was a combination of exciting, fulfilling and challenging for managed print services, with no shortage of headlines and realizations. What were some of the things that made 2011 such a standout year for our industry?
To begin, global growth continued to be observed for managed print services across all regional markets. Emerging markets in Asia Pacific and Latin America continued to excite, while steady growth was seen in the more mature markets of Europe and North America. There are a lot of exciting prospects on the horizon with continued expansion, and the shift towards a services-based model in the industry has led to some significant changes in the market structure.
We’ve observed customers gaining power and becoming more demanding as they get more experience with MPS engagements. To react to that, many providers are seeing the need to ramp up their offerings and push more advanced services to the end user.
Many geared up for this change in customer attitude with significant acquisitions and partnerships, including Xerox acquiring NewField IT in Europe and numerous dealers in North America, HP acquiring Printelligent, Lexmark acquiring Pallas Athena, and OKI Data Americas announcing a partnership with Agiliant, just to name a few. This widespread ecosystem consolidation is already shaking up the market structure, but there are still questions as to whether these companies will continue to thrive as part of a larger whole.
Meanwhile, technology continues to progress at an astounding rate, with big opportunities in cloud computing, mobile print apps, “Smart” MFPs, and advanced monitoring software. Software developers seem to only need a problem to solve before a solution appears.
As we embark on 2012, take a minute to reflect on what you have learned as an individual, and how you can apply these things to better your team.
MPS Insights Pro subscribers can read a more in depth year-in-review article appearing in the January 2012 MPS Insights Journal which includes Photizo’s 2012 industry new year’s resolutions. Learn more about subscribing to MPS Insights PRO here.
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