I think we can all agree that the imaging and office technology industry is a volatile business. You’ve got big players, small players, and those in between. For all of them and the industry, things here are changing and evolving all the time. Round and round and round things go, where they’ll end up, it’s anybody’s guess. With that in mind, I asked various movers and shakers throughout the industry what companies should dealers, resellers, and the rest of us in the industry watch closely in 2013 and why? I was hoping to focus on five, but ended up with eight. The responses were mostly consistent although you’ll find a couple of surprises in here as well.
Samsung – They may not be there yet as a top second-tier player, but they’re rapidly moving in that direction. Consider that some substantial office technology dealers are signing on, including long-time Ricoh and Canon dealers. We can certainly attribute the latter to Tod Pike, who many dealers worked closely with back when he was at Canon. “Samsung is the one to watch – they are extremely aggressive with a very specific focus and they are implementing their plan,” states Frank Cannata of MRC.
“It is a fairly well known fact that Samsung puts financial strength behind any market they enter, and the MFP market will be no different,” predicts Tom Callinan of Strategy Development. “They hired a strong leader in Tod Pike and they are really focused on how devices will be deployed in the future based on technology. They can take this ‘clean sheet’ perspective due to the fact that they don’t have a high market share of devices deployed. So Samsung has the combination of strong leadership, deep finances, and lacks the strong legacy placement base of many of the industry OEMs, making them the perfect disruptive force in the industry.”
Those sentiments are echoed by Jon Reardon, an analyst with Infotrends. “They have market momentum and tons of cash, IP, and compelling products from a consumer perspective.”
Sharp – Sharp has had a big time image problem as a result of the company’s financial troubles, which are completely unrelated to their office technology business. That remains a profitable business segment. Still, it’s having an impact. While the rumor mill continues to churn out prognostications regarding Sharp’s future in the office technology business, there’s still a good chance that all of the doom and gloom that folks are predicting will blow over and business will continue as usual. “I guess I would mention Sharp [as a company to watch] in terms of what happens to their hardcopy business as they continue to struggle as a corporation to avoid bankruptcy and recover,” states Brian Bissett of The MFP Report.
Konica Minolta – How brilliant of a move was the acquisition of All Covered back in early 2011? That’s a rhetorical question. The All Covered Network continues to expand exponentially with more acquisitions being announced what seems like monthly. With the future of the industry pointing towards managed services Konica Minolta is well positioned to compete in this new environment. “Right behind Samsung is Konica Minolta who is equally aggressive and helping their dealers transition to a services model,” says Cannata.
At the same time, the recent acquisition of long-time Ricoh dealership DocuSource was a major coupe for the company and strengthens a strong direct channel.
“Although the article is ‘Companies to Watch,’ you have to mention Konica Minolta simply because of their leadership position in the industry and their strong momentum,” adds Callinan. “Rick Taylor has the company running on all cylinders and Alan Nielsen is doing a fabulous job with the dealer community.”
Toshiba – The inclusion of Toshiba on this list may be a surprise to some readers, but if you peer closely under the hood you might find a company that has a lot going for it.
“I’ve been impressed with Toshiba’s ability to focus on what the market needs and then craft an approach to that need that may or may not use Toshiba products,” says Strategy Development’s Callinan. “They not only talk about services, their actions indicate they live the mantra. This is evidenced by the fact that they sell Lexmark and HP printers in their MPS agreements. They realize that balanced deployment is key and they need to offer their customers a strong printer option along with their solid line of MFPs. I also like how Toshiba is combining their focus on service and their branch network to launch a national sales program focused to services, supported with their portfolio of products such as laptops and digital signage.”
HP – Speaking of financial issues and train wrecks, there’s HP, a company that’s become somewhat of a poster child for a technological power that has hit more than its share of bumps in the road of late. At press time HP was sponsoring an analyst event in Boston this week. It will be interesting to hear what comes out of that if anything. What’s interesting is that despite their troubles, no one seems to be throwing in the towel on them.
“There are too many good parts for them to keep spinning their wheels like this,” says Andy Slawetsky, president of Industry Analysts.
“HP has tons of IP, very compelling technology, ranging from their traditional core in servers, storage, networking, security, services, cloud and imaging; and an incredibly strong, smart and agile leadership/management team ( I think to a person the best in the industry),” adds Infotrends’ Reardon. “Meg Whitman is the executive to watch because she is believable, authentic and has a vision that is clear. Her impact is already being felt across the entire HP landscape from stakeholders to shareholders.”
Nuance – I’m not surprised that Nuance came up in conversation when assembling this list. “The firm has built a substantial print management, capture, and conversion business with strategic acquisitions that include eCopy, Equitrac, and SafeCom,” notes Ann Priede with Photizo Group. “They seem to have their finger on the pulse of the imaging industry, and their leadership position in voice recognition technology will serve them well in a world where mobility is playing an increasingly pivotal role.”
Memjet – Photizo’s Priede points out that Memjet has been on the fringes of the office printing market for a number of years. “But 2013 could be the year of the page-wide-array ink jet machine, in no small part thanks to HP’s launch of the Officejet Pro X. Memjet understands the benefits of this technology for office users, with respect to price/performance and operating costs, and is taking its message to the MPS community with its Parts Now partnership.”
Sindoh – They may be a long shot, but this Korean manufacturer of printers and MFPs is now trying to gain a foothold in the U.S. market. In a world where six degrees of separation is sort of the norm, the company has partnered with Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Lexmark over the years. As The MFP Report’s Brian Bissett writes, “Sindoh is an up and comer and one to watch to see if they gain any traction in the U.S.”
