The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a move to the cloud in the print industry, according to industry analyst firm Quocirca.
The report found 75 percent of those it surveyed had already used marketplaces including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, and just over half had been on platforms such as Amazon Business. Only 30 percent said they were still buying direct from a channel partner.
The trend towards cloud marketplaces is set to continue, with 88 percent of customers expecting further growth in the next couple of years.
When it came to print management, more than half were found to have already purchased services via a cloud marketplace, with the level of interest from mid-market and larger enterprises even higher.
Customers were starting to prefer cloud to traditional procurement methods. That trend was even more pronounced in smaller customers, which indicated that they liked the simplicity offered by marketplaces.
Azure was the most used marketplace, with AWS and Google Cloud coming in second and third respectively.
Quocirca director Louella Fernandes said the study had considerable implications for industries, such as the office print sector, that have so far relied on traditional channels and partnerships.
“The procurement process has fundamentally changed as the digital-native generation of IT decision-makers takes control As the office technology industry looks to recover and remain relevant in the cloud-centric, post-pandemic world, manufacturers, software vendors and channel partners must participate in the cloud marketplace ecosystem”, she said.
Fernandes’ advice to the channel was to ensure it was part of an “ecosystem” that had access to marketplaces. “To advance digital transformation in the print sector and enable vendors to capitalise on the wider cloud market opportunity, OEMs must strategically collaborate and partner with hyperscale provider marketplaces”, she said.
