Quocirca Predicts: Trend #5: The security services opportunity

December 5, 2019
Channel, Managed Print Services, Digital Transformation, Article, Trends

In 2020 market consolidation will continue as the global print industry landscape continues to face the forces of digital disruption. Erosion of legacy revenue streams driven by hardware commoditisation and the ongoing transition to digitisation are forcing industry players to consider new ways of remaining relevant to enterprise customers. While many have embarked on journeys to become digital workplace service providers, the market remains vulnerable to rapid shifts in digital technology, competitor activity and customer needs.

To remain relevant in the rapidly changing digital workplace, manufacturers and their partners should capitalise on five key trends in the coming year. This is the fifth and final article in Quocirca’s 2020 Print Predictions series.

Trend #5: Security will continue to drive competitive advantage

As leading manufacturers expand their service portfolios into adjacent markets, particularly IT services, their success in these new areas will hinge on generating higher levels of trust with their customers. Quocirca’s Print 2025 study reveals that security spend continues to increase and security expertise is a top supplier selection factor.

The ever-changing security landscape will demand intelligent multi-layered security solutions and services, and IT security teams will favour those suppliers with IT-centric security expertise. MPS providers should evaluate the managed security services (MSS) market which is expected to grow, driven by the increasing complexity of the enterprise IT infrastructure, particularly with the increasing threat surface made possible through hybrid and multi-cloud platforms. Within the context of an ongoing shortage of cybersecurity professionals, using the services provided by an MSS becomes a compelling proposition.

If MPS providers can partner in this market, there is a real opportunity to deliver value to existing customers. To address the new realities of the complex IT landscape, next generation MPS providers need new skills and expertise to drive new revenue streams. Beyond the standard MPS security assessments, MPS providers should be able to deliver remote monitoring and security intelligence to help accelerate remediation across heterogeneous environments. Those that can successfully deliver highly differentiated security offerings will be best positioned to gain a significant competitive advantage.

• Security continues to be at the top of organisations’ concerns. The move to cloud-centric platforms is making security more complex
• 63% of IT decision makers say that security is the most important area of investment for their organisation between now and 2025. (source: Quocirca’s Print 2025 Report, Second Edition 2019)
• 54% of IT decision makers says that the ability to provide security expertise, services and solutions will be an important supplier selection criterion by 2025. (source: Quocirca’s Print 2025 Report, Second Edition 2019)

Read Quocirca’s 2020 Predictions here:

Quocirca Predicts Trend #1 Cloud MPS Evolves

Quocirca Predicts Trend #2 Smart MFP as a Digital Enabler

Quocirca Predicts Trend #3 The Analytics Opportunity

Quocirca Predicts Trend #4 Product to Platform

To register for an Executive Summary of Quocirca’s Global Print 2025 Second Edition Report or to purchase a copy of our latest report, please visit the report page on print2025.com here.