Print research firm Quocirca outlined the ten key print industry trends for 2024.

Quocirca’s Print Industry Trends for 2024 provide insights and guidance on how manufacturers and channel partners intend to navigate the evolving AI-driven technology landscape.

“The coming year will be a time of change for print vendors and the channel, reflecting the changes their customers are undergoing,” said CEO Louella Fernandes. “It’s important the industry capitalises on opportunities and moves beyond its core business to build capabilities that meet customer needs.”

Quocirca’s ten key trends for 2024 are:

  1. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more prominent: 56% of organizations intend to invest more in AI and machine learning technologies in the upcoming year, but generative AI adoption is still hampered by ethical and security issues. In order to increase workplace productivity, print suppliers will need to carefully consider how they can integrate AI into their current goods and services. Vendors have the opportunity to leverage pre-existing expertise in intelligent document processing to develop AI solutions.
  2. The definition of the office has changed: Collaboration and connection will remain at the centre of the office’s evolving purpose; according to 37% of respondents in Quocirca’s Future of Work study, in-person collaboration is the office’s most significant advantage. Return-to-office policies will aid in the recovery of print volumes in some industries, but providing workplace technology that accommodates hybrid workers will present print suppliers with opportunities.
  3. Digitization is eroding print resilience: only 11% of organizations are currently paperless, but 75% are accelerating paper digitization initiatives. This will open up new possibilities for integrated digital workflow automation and tailored digitization solutions based on the customer’s digital maturity.
  4. The cybersecurity battleground is heating up: the threat landscape is expanding, and print infrastructure is still vulnerable, with 61% reporting a print-related data loss in the previous year. With organizations struggling to keep up with print security challenges, suppliers will need to expand their security service offerings and embrace AI-enabled security to assist customers in better detecting, protecting, and monitoring the print environment.
  5. MPS transformation accelerates modernization strategies: By 2024, organizations will have refreshed and redesigned their print environments to better support the hybrid workplace. Addressing cost challenges in hardware and consumables, as well as the need to reduce wasteful printing, will increase demand for next-generation MPS that assists organizations in operating a secure and sustainable print infrastructure. MPS continues to be a key enabler for digital transformation, assisting organizations in better integrating print and digital workflows, with 36% of organizations stating that it is very important to their digitization initiatives.
  6. Sustainability transparency drives progress: Customers are demanding greater transparency into the environmental impact of their print environment and print suppliers. 70% of organizations believe it is important that their print supplier offer a variety of sustainable products and services, while 69% believe it is important that print suppliers demonstrate how they are reducing their own environmental impact. This will open up opportunities for suppliers to provide more value-led sustainability focused assessments, and products and services to support their customers’ environmental goals.
  7. Print server sprawl continues to impact Cloud printing: Despite the move to cloud print management, organizations will continue to see print server sprawl. Cloud print adoption will be hampered by server sprawl and a fragmented market with many players. Suppliers must overcome the top adoption barriers, which are security (36%), and a lack of clarity about cost benefits (29%).
  8. Industry leaders embrace AI-driven innovation: Data will be important to gaining a competitive advantage in the mature print market, and we can expect leading vendors to improve their AI-driven analytics capabilities. This will be used primarily to improve predictive maintenance, but it will also be used to improve customer service, detect and identify security threats, and better analyze and predict print and scan usage to uncover opportunities for new products and services.
  9. MPS and managed IT convergence accelerates: More managed IT providers will move into print in 2024, and vice versa. More than two-thirds of respondents in Quocirca’s Managed IT Services 2023 study are open to using a single provider for IT services and MPS, anticipating cost and efficiency savings. However, MPS providers will need to do more to establish credibility in the IT services space, and partnerships will be essential in doing so.
  10. Marketplaces create new opportunities: As cloud adoption accelerates, B2B buyers are increasingly using cloud-based marketplaces, with Quocirca research indicating that 50% now use them for cloud print technology procurement. Marketplaces offer a chance to provide added value to customers, and channel businesses should consider diversifying their sales models to capitalize.

Source: Quocirca