Quocirca’s Cloud print services report for 2022 claims that the next few years will see a move to cloud printing and print management services.
The report looks at what will happen in the market between now and 2025, with it clear that a shift to the cloud is going to be one of the main developments.
Cloud services were flagged as the top investment area, and the shift to hosted comes at a time when 45 percent of customers have implemented remote print job submission options for hybrid workers.
Customers felt it was often more secure than on-premise options, as well as a way of helping to reach so-called sustainability targets.
A message for the channel emerged from the analyst house report, with it clear that being able to support cloud was a key factor in the customer choice of managed print services partner, with 38 percent stating it influenced the partner they opted to work with.
The research found that 40 percent of customers viewed moving to the cloud as the catalyst for starting to work with an MPS, underlining the importance of being able to support those users.
There was another challenge for MPS players that were enjoying a strong relationship with their customers because it appeared those that have gone all-in with managed print were lagging in cloud adoption compared with firms that had been more hybrid in their printing approach.
Quocirca research director Louella Fernandes said: “The combined drivers of the need to support the hybrid workplace with secure, flexible infrastructure, and to enhance sustainability strategies, have acted as a catalyst, and we expect momentum to continue. There is a clear opportunity here for MPS providers to support their customers through the transition,” she said. “However, the more traditional MPS providers may not have the necessary cloud expertise to act on this opportunity. Unless they invest rapidly in developing a cloud offering, they will find themselves at a disadvantage compared with competitors who are more cloud-ready.
“Certainly, with 40 percent of respondents saying that moving to the cloud is a top benefit of MPS, those providers that cannot meet this need will suffer.”
