I just returned from Orlando where I spent time at the Sharp and Toshiba dealer meetings. I’ll be presenting more detailed coverage on each of those meetings in next week’s issue of The Week in Imaging, but for now a brief observation.
Each of these companies shared a vision that was, as you might expect in 2013, a very different vision from the visions and strategies once relayed by your typical copier company back in the days of speeds and feeds. The focus at both of these events primarily centered around mobile, the cloud, and digital signage in all of its many iterations from interactive digital whiteboards to stadium-size displays that boldly take these two players where no other office technology/copier company has gone before (excluding the relatively new kid on the block, Samsung).
With a new breed of devices to sell along with mobile apps and cloud-based offerings it’s a great time to be in the office technology/imaging industry whether you’re a dealer, a vendor, or a journalist like myself who writes about what’s happening in the industry.
Next week I travel to Las Vegas for Konica Minolta’s dealer meeting where I expect to hear its vision for the future, a vision that will likely focus on mobility and the cloud as well. And maybe some other things too.
Yes indeed, the next wave has arrived. Let’s enjoy while it lasts.
Thanks for reading.
