I was interviewed for an interesting article yesterday about recent reported declines in the sales of printer hardware and supplies. The question was asked whether I felt this development was a direct result fo the recession or of some other factors that should be considered.
I am sure that the recession is playing a part in this development, as across the board, we are seeing organizations large and small, stretch out their capital resources and put off large expenses for equipment replacements. However, this is not universal. There are just as many company's that are making capital investments, in some cases specifically because of the recession. For those businesses, this represents a smart time to strategically invest in their business and take advantage of what may be a slower pace, to get things set just the way they want them so they will be able to respond immediately to increased demand in their marketplace. For those companies that are able to afford this approach, it is obviously very smart and strategic.
With regard to the discussion about printers, I think another aspect that is influencing this trend is the adoption of increasingly "Green" ideas about information technology. Certainly paperless office technologies lower the reliance on printed documents and will have an impact on the sales of printer hardware and supplies. Many printer manufacturers are responding to this by extending the traditional printer into a multi-function device that provides a range of services, which yields a more efficient piece of hardware and by extension, a better investment. The most savvy are also tying their hardware directly to their paperless technologies, to create a very compelling suite. Xerox has done an excellent job with this, by bringing multi-function capabilities to nearly their entire product line and tightly integrating the hardware into their Docushare document management software with an innovative piece of software called ScanFlowStore.
On the supplies side of the equation, Xerox has also been an innovator with their solid ink technology, which dramatically reduces the waste footprint associated with traditional printer toner supplies. Taken all together, I'm not surprised this is having an impact on printer sales. I think it's a natural evolution and the companies that understand this and are updating their offerings to address this, will be just fine.
If you'd like to read the article I was interviewed for, it's over on the ChannelInsider web site here.
