Digital Transformation Is A Necessity: Act Or Perish

Plenty of research has been done into how the online world is changing, and what tools, skills, and strategies are needed by businesses of all sizes to compete in the new digital world. Canon did some major research throughout 2018 which led to the publishing of a widespread report on productivity, technology, and the role of office equipment in helping or hindering both.

Two major encouraging statistics came out for those involved in the printing industry.

1. 43% of all companies consider multi-functional printers a crucial piece of office technology
2. Nearly 1 in 3 businesses print more than they did a year ago

The companies doing well are going to embrace meeting the printing and equipment demands of companies as they evolve and change - not try to force old out-of-date solutions onto businesses who know better. The strategy of embracing modern printers and adjusting them based on the needs of the companies is a strategy that is obviously winning based on those numbers put out by Canon. A prime example of this is looking at printers that also work as copiers, scanners, and more. Having these as a digital solution is crucial because that's the way technology is going. The old one function printer that has a single use and isn't set up to work with modern computing systems and Wi-Fi is an obsolete tool and not only are they no longer in demand - but businesses using them won't be able to compete with the ones that adapt to digital.

So What Is The Outlook?

The outlook is great for businesses in the industry that make that shift. The ones that don't are going to struggle. For those working specifically providing these tools, the budget is there in the right circumstances.

For example, the Canon study also found:

• Up to 30% of IT budgets are going to focus on printing, scanning, copying, and other document related solutions
• 43% of the companies & organizations have said they plan on heavy investment in software and technology that will help them improve their productivity and/or workflow.

This can sometimes come in under other terms. For example, automation. Any time a company is using older printers or machines then any effort to streamline, automate, or improve workflow can be another way of describing the need for multi-purpose commercial printers.

Common Concerns To Moving Digital

There are a few concerns that came up again and again in that study. What was perhaps most interesting about that was how many were either unfounded or didn't take into account the benefits that upgrading the office could actually provide. In other words: the concerns were often not the barriers to upgrading that they were believed to be.

These include:

• Overall cost
• Training with new software or equipment
• Security issues & needs
• Time & lost productivity during implementation

While there are some legitimate concerns here, in the overwhelming majority of cases overall costs eventually go down, cost-benefit ratio shoots up, and the long-term benefits far outweigh all the concerns. Effective implementation is generally fast, and the benefits begin showing up sooner than most expect. When the big picture is taken into account, the shift to digitize makes even more sense. The companies that see that will prosper, the ones that lag behind will suffer. That's the way of the new digital business age. Find out more by visiting our blog. Contact us or call Advanced Business Copiers today with any questions that you might have.