The following appears on IT-director.com
By: Louella Fernandes – Samsung Printing Solutions held its European Printing Partner Summit from 8th – 9th June in Budapest, Hungary, hosting over 250 attendees from 22 European countries. Under the theme of “The Next Big Thing in Printing Solutions,” Samsung showcased its product portfolio of smart printing solutions and printing hardware, as well as its Channel Managed Print Services (MPS) + Plus program.
Samsung positions itself at the heart of the paradigm shift in printing. The consumerisation of IT, the shift from paper to digital documents, the use of mobile devices and cloud services are all driving the need for more reliable, secure and collaborative workflow solutions. Expectations for anytime, anywhere access to information on any device is only set to increase as the millennial generation of workers reshape the technologies used in the digital workplace. As such, the print industry faces challenging times to keep up with digital convergence. In a commoditised hardware market characterised by shrinking margins and declining to flat page volumes, intuitive, mobile-led workflow solutions and services are the key to building new and long-term revenue opportunities.
Harnessing IoT for print
Samsung has made great strides over the past year to lead the market in software innovation built on an Internet of Things (IoT) strategy. Indeed, as a company Samsung is betting heavily on the IoT, with the smartphone increasingly becoming the gateway to other connected devices. Samsung has pledged to make all its devices, from TVs and sound systems to washing machines and fridges, IoT-ready by 2020. When it comes to print, leveraging IoT technology can transform field service and asset management. Smart multifunction printers (MFPs) report on their device status such as consumables usage, print usage and service data. Through continuous remote monitoring, device behaviour can be analysed to predict equipment malfunctions before they happen and so optimise device maintenance and servicing.