Top Trends for 2012 There’s a school of thought that when talking about yearly trends in any industry, you can pretty much cut and paste last year’s trends and run with those. You know what I mean, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” We’re not going to cut and paste although if you look back at last year’s top trends article, you’ll see some familiar trends listed there as well. There’s no avoiding that as many trends have picked up steam over the past 12 months. What follows are 10 trends to watch for 2012. Some are big, some are small, some are old but still relevant, and some are new. 1. More Dealers are Learning How to Sell Managed Print Services There’s still plenty of confusion and angst when it comes to MPS and making the transition into that arena. Yet as more programs are introduced to the various channels and more consulting organizations show dealers the way, one thing’s for certain: by year’s end the number of dealers who are successfully selling MPS will be higher than it’s ever been. Sure that sounds trite and obvious, but as the number of tools and programs increase, and more dealers realize this is a do or die shift, it can’t help but happen. CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, recently published a study surveying 400 Managed Print Services providers and IT personnel in end-user companies. According to the study, the Managed Print Services industry will continue to grow because of its impact on reducing infrastructure costs associated with printing, improving productivity and environmental sustainability. The study also found that most companies expect their print volumes to increase or remain the same, and of the companies not currently using Managed Print Services, 35 percent are expected to adopt a MPS strategy over the next year. And with organizations such as Photizo Group and Strategy Development providing education and guidance, there’s a smarter population of dealers spinning the MPS story to their customers. 2. Managed Networked Services Become Increasingly Relevant to the Office Technology Dealer Thanks to the connectivity trend of years past, fear of the network has long since dissipated in many dealerships. What’s still a big fear and a huge obstacle is getting sales reps in front of the C-level types who drive those key business decisions down through an organization. With more OEMs such as Xerox, HP, and Konica Minolta seeing the value in managed network services and the emergence of new players such as Agiliant who are providing a proven game plan for dealers to play in this arena, there’s no reason for the dealer channel to fear this still emerging opportunity. 3. The Industry Delves More Deeply into Mobile Printing Applications With tremendous growth in mobile communication devices such as smartphones, Blackberrys, and tablet PCs, we’re starting to see a change in the way people print and where they print. Round and round and round it goes, where it’s going to end up is anyone’s guess. Some industry observers believe these trends will increase the need to print while others feel it will have the opposite effect. The question is how much will it really affect us? Will there be increased printing, decreased printing or a change of location as to where that printing is taking place. “This is a major trend playing out in its early stages,” says Jon Bees an analyst with Gartner Dataquest. Indeed, and these early stages are seeing device manufacturers introducing various applications that will enable printing from wherever and whenever. 4. Smaller Players Become More Valuable to Dealers in the Age of MPS Don’t forget the “P” in MPS and for plenty of MPS prospects, the “P” is all about printers and A4 devices. That’s why players such as Lexmark, Muratec, Kyocera, and of course HP, remain valuable providers to the dealer channel as they bolster their MPS programs. 5. Opportunities Abound for Providers of Remanufactured Toner and Remanufactured Printers Here’s another trend related to MPS. With the continued emphasis on MPS and MPS engagements, expect to see the channel seriously consider organizations that can provide them with remanufactured toner and remanufactured printers. This trend certainly explains why Muratec is also in the remanufactured printer and toner business. 6. Acquisitions Continue to Decimate the Independent Dealer Channel Sadly, the independent dealer channel continues to shrink even as the remaining players declare their independence. We wouldn’t count independents out, but expect to see more manufacturers bolster their direct channels through acquisitions. Organizations such as Global/Xerox will likely get even more aggressive in those efforts. It will be interesting to see what happens to those dealers who sell out. Will they eventually find themselves getting back into the business like many of their peers who had earlier sold out to Danka, IKON, and even Global? Time will tell and if past history is any indicator, it’s hard to walk away from this industry and stay away. 7. Hardware Sales Continue to Decline This is not so much a trend as a fact of life and managed print services isn’t doing much to help that decline. Wish we had better news here, but few in the industry realistically expect to see an uptick in hardware sales going forward. 8. A4 Becomes Increasingly Important to More Manufacturers’ Product Lines Here’s another trend driven by MPS. A4 MFPs remain a viable alternative to A3 devices, especially as manufacturers work to position these cost-effective offerings against standalone printers. Will standalone printers bite the dust in the near future? Gazing into the magic eight ball, the answer is ‘likely’ and you’ll be able to lay a lot of the blame for their demise on the emergence of A4. As far as the players who are driving this transition, Canon came out with their A4 office products last year as did Ricoh. We’ve also seen Kyocera introduce products that are more office oriented with the ability to run applications. Add to that devices from HP, Lexmark, Sharp, and others, and virtually all the OEMs have more or less credible A4 products. 9. The Industry Continues to Embrace Green and Sustainable Initiatives Whether the average U.S. dealer or U.S. OEM executive personally buys this concept or not, expect to see more green and sustainable initiatives promoted by manufacturers and championed by dealers. Not only is this trend a public relations goldmine, it’s a trend that resonates with various vertical markets, and considering the buying power of those vertical markets, dealers and OEMs will continue to leverage those opportunities this year. That said, it is somewhat surprising to see businesses who tend to fall on the conservative side of the aisle championing this trend, but the reality is, there’s gold in green, so why not? 10. The Economy and its Impact on the Industry Another year, another challenging economic environment, which is why this is a trend that remains worth watching. Being a presidential election year also adds fuel to the economic fire although there are plenty of pragmatists out there who feel that the state of the economy is more of a job for Superman than either political party. How will this affect the office technology, solutions and services industries? We’re not even going to hazard to guess. Instead we’ll just sit back and watch and hope for the best. After all, our livelihoods depend on it. Scott Cullen has been following industry trends since 1986.