![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Millennials-300x150.jpg\")
There\u2019s a distinct modus operandi when it comes to preferred communication choices among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Ken VandenHaute, vice president of sales for Cleveland-based Meritech, framed each segment in a manner which rings true.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe older generation is all about \u2018Come talk to me,\u2019\u201d he observed. \u201cThe (Generation Xers) want to use email. But Millennials are about social media and texting, they don\u2019t interact face to face as much. So the influence they have on how new hardware is manufactured is, how do we get the machines to do the same thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Meritech-VandenHaute.jpg\")
Ken VandenHaute,
Meritech<\/p><\/div>\n
While the Millennial generation, as a whole, is in the early stages of its professional career, the technologies it has grown up with are destined to play a role in not only communications but the tools they use to interact with coworkers and customers. VandenHaute feels the wave of personal assistant technologies in the home, such as Amazon\u2019s Alexa, that operate through voice commands, will invariably influence the manner in which hardware is designed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillennials will force technology to grow and evolve,\u201d he noted. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say where it can go, but if you can do it from your phone, you\u2019re going to see business technology going the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what do Millennials think about the manner in which hardware is being manufactured? We solicited the opinion of a Millennial sales rep, Jake Weber of Houston\u2019s Stargel Office Solutions, who believes his generation has wielded influence on several fronts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also starting to see Bluetooth\/mobile printing capabilities come standard,\u201d Weber added. \u201cThis allows Millennial employees the opportunity to work remotely and connect to the MFP from their wireless device.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Industry-Analysts-Slawetsky.jpg\")
Andy Slawetsky,
Industry Analysts<\/p><\/div>\n
Some would argue that the changes we see in hardware design and manufacture are a function of technological advances as opposed to catering to a specific demographic. Andy Slawetsky, president and owner of Industry Analysts and a Gen Xer who has his finger on the pulse of office technology advancements, believes the smartphone\u001b proliferation and affordability of displays are driving many of the enhancements we\u2019ve seen in the past few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the cost of getting a working TV in your house. You can pay as little as $100 and it has a receiver in it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re only talking a 9- to 10-inch screen (for MFP UIs) and smaller in some cases. The cost of the screen has come down considerably while the capabilities have improved. Everybody looks at the iPhone and says, \u2018I want my product to be that.\u2019 That\u2019s driving the push to customize and make the coolest thing as far as the user interface goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Slawetsky doesn\u2019t see an R&D shift to cater toward Millennials, he does anticipate changes in marketing to target them as products move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a distinct modus operandi when it comes to preferred communication choices among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Ken VandenHaute, vice president of sales for Cleveland-based Meritech, framed each segment in a manner which rings true. \u201cThe older generation is all about \u2018Come talk to me,\u2019\u201d he observed. \u201cThe (Generation Xers) want to use email. But Millennials are about social media and texting, they don\u2019t interact face to face as much. So the influence they have on how new hardware is manufactured is, how do we get the machines to do the same thing?\u201d While the Millennial generation, as a whole, is in the early stages of its professional career, the technologies it has grown up with are destined to play a role in not only communications but the tools they use to interact with coworkers and customers. VandenHaute feels the wave of personal assistant technologies in the home, such as Amazon\u2019s Alexa, that operate through voice commands, will invariably influence the manner in which hardware is designed. \u201cMillennials will force technology to grow and evolve,\u201d he noted. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say where it can go, but if you can do it from your phone, you\u2019re going to see business technology going the same way.\u201d So what do Millennials think about the manner in which hardware is being manufactured? We solicited the opinion of a Millennial sales rep, Jake Weber of Houston\u2019s Stargel Office Solutions, who believes his generation has wielded influence on several fronts. Several studies have shown that Millennials care more about appearance than prior generations. Having a modern and appealing office environment to attract young talent is more important than ever, Weber maintains. Technology upgrades. A number of recently-launched product lines feature distinct changes with user interfaces and wireless printing capabilities. Modern MFP interfaces are being designed to provide the customer with an app-based feel to the copier, similar to smart phones, tablets and other products. \u201cWe are also starting to see Bluetooth\/mobile printing capabilities come standard,\u201d Weber added. \u201cThis allows Millennial employees the opportunity to work remotely and connect to the MFP from their wireless device.\u201d Some would argue that the changes we see in hardware design and manufacture are a function of technological advances as opposed to catering to a specific demographic. Andy Slawetsky, president and owner of Industry Analysts and a Gen Xer who has his finger on the pulse of office technology advancements, believes the smartphone\u001b proliferation and affordability of displays are driving many of the enhancements we\u2019ve seen in the past few years. \u201cLook at the cost of getting a working TV in your house. You can pay as little as $100 and it has a receiver in it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re only talking a 9- to 10-inch screen (for MFP UIs) and smaller in some cases. The cost of the screen has come down considerably while the capabilities have improved. Everybody looks at the iPhone and says, \u2018I want my product to be that.\u2019 That\u2019s driving the push to customize and make the coolest thing as far as the user interface goes.\u201d While Slawetsky doesn\u2019t see an R&D shift to cater toward Millennials, he does anticipate changes in marketing to target them as products move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3288,208,940,1480],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26522,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26521\/revisions\/26522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}