Driven by the delivering the multi-functionality capabilities, segments such as the government, SME, and the education sector remain key contributors to the growth of MFDs today.
The dynamics of multifunctional devices market is changing rapidly. The industry has been registering mixed sales, as organizations are demonstrating controlled purchasing of print devices and opting for managed services.
Global vendors in MFDs are continuously streamlining their business models and strategies to survive and thrive. CIOs and IT managers are exploring the use of effective technologies as part of overarching technology adoption to maintain a profitable business model.
As per the views expressed by Bhaskar Joshi, Senior Marketing Manager- Office Imaging Solutions Division, Canon, MFDs today are fast changing the print device landscape in India as they offer an option of device consolidation, smaller footprint and most importantly reduce hardware cost and hence making it an intelligent device. Customers today do not want to invest on different devices and look for a product which can help them manage their printing infrastructure more efficiently.
“There are many features like advance box and mailbox which can help customers frequently print a document and store in the device itself and fire print as and when they want. Government, SMBs, and the education sector remain key contributors to the growth of MFDs. Laser MFPs are more skewed towards the small work group areas like the SMEs and SOHOs. MFDs are more consolidate and fit for a heavy print volume so these make a lot of business sense for larger industries but for small offices this might not be of a great advantage since the print run is less there,” he adds on.
According to V Balakrishnan-EGM Marketing Konika Minolta, MFD’s are one of those segments which are progressively being adopted and primary reason for the growth of MFD’s is its ability to augment the productivity, affordable printing, cheaper consumable cost, and easy managed print functionality. “Cloud printing services is another factor that has provided great market impetus and can be observed within the MFD market.
“SMB, and IT segment has also led to the growth of the Indian MFD market. Small and medium businesses are understandably low on investment and infrastructure. They look at making smart IT investments. MFD, capable of being productive, affordable, and compact, provide them value for money. With small and medium businesses growing rapidly and their increased preference for MFD, the market for MFD is also steadily increasing and our strategy would be to tap that segment,” he adds on.
According to Balaji Rajagopalan, Executive Director, Technology, Channels & International Distributor Operations, Xerox India, the market for multifunctional devices is growing constantly. The main factors triggering this increased adoption of MFDs are higher level of efficiencies, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), high quality prints, and ease of use.
“Multifunction colour laser printers possess true multitasking ability while also giving one the competitive advantage of color, when one’s work demands it. Few other advantages of these devices are its capacity to multitask and with a multifunction color laser printer, one can create, communicate, collaborate and go green,” he adds on.
The Growth Strategy
Canon has robust plans to strengthen its presence in the MFD market in India. We plan to extend our reach to D and E class cities to increase growth in sales of MFDs and also help partners move up the value chain. For the D and E class town we are focusing on the IT reseller market and are equipping them with regular training programs.
“Our focus is to integrate MFD with the solution and move away from the box selling model. Also, companies increasingly want to have the OPEX model so Canon is trying to be the 360 degree solution provider with the business services collaborated with the hardware. Our GTM strategy is to outplay the competition through our patented and innovative technology. Canon Inc holds 3.825 patents and this is our strongest weapon. Besides, we have built a strong channel across the country for unparallel sales and service to the customer. There are other factors like getting the right resources, integrated marketing which complete our go to market strategy,” explains, Bhaskar Joshi from Canon.
“We focus on providing product training to our partners and for laser MFPs we are aggressively focusing on VARs catering to enterprise, mid-market and government segments. Canon has shown double digit growth last year in Office Imaging Solution division. We have robust plan to continue our growth story in India, looking for a double digit growth this year as well. Canon is the market leader in A3 multifunction devices since last 7 years and we want to continue maintaining this position,” he adds on.
According to Balaji Rajagopalan from Xerox India, there are also a few noticeable trends which are catching up in the MFD market segment. MFDs these days are launched with added features like wireless printing, scanning in editable formats, and many more, that makes them a smart device rather than just a printing device.
“The MFDs are typically used by enterprises, but since the last couple of years, we have also seen the Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) starting to adopt these devices. SMBs are looking for high quality printers at affordable price points to address their needs and our wide array of printers are especially designed keeping that in mind.Streamlined performance, ease of use and compact design make our printers attractive for the SMB segment. So definitely we believe that the growth is expected to come from the SMB segment, while enterprises will also continue to use these devices at large. Our go to market strategy has always been through our channel partners and we are constantly training them to make sure they are well equipped and ready to go and tap the market aggressively,” he explains.
Challenges and Opportunities
Talking about the challenges and opportunities in this space, Bhaskar Joshi from Canon, “one of the challenges that we see is getting trained partners and education the customers. In smaller markets like D or E class, finding a partner who is ready to invest in the service set initially is a little concern as they are little bit wary of the cost. Also,getting skilled manpower in these small towns is a bit of a challenge, but since Canon provides support in setting up the service structure and helping them to recruit the people in those locations, we are slowly overcoming this challenge. Opportunity is the growth of India Inc. As companies will grow, so will their printing needs,” he explains.
As per the views from V Balakrishnan from Konika Minolta, the lingering economic uncertainties have led businesses to reduce costs and optimize their operations. This creates an opportunity for hardcopy vendors to promote their managed print services to a larger audience of small, medium, and large enterprises.
“There is paradigm shift in printer market setting in India as the new age printers are more than just a printing device; they are now one source solution devices. MFD reduce hardware cost options and gives you smaller footprints. Customers are now looking for products that are stable, efficient and at the same time affordable,” he adds on.
Channel Benefits
As far as Canon is concerned, the company is betting big on its relations with the channel community. “We are looking for expanding our channel base which has been the primary focus for us in 2014. We have around 220 channel partners focusing on Office Imaging Solution business. Our plan is to expand our channel reach from 220 to 280 partners by 2017. Canon also believes in training our partners to take care of the future technological trends like mobile printing, Wi-Fi etc.
We are recruiting new channel partners and at the same time enabling the channel partners in class B and C towns to take care of new technological development so that they are ready to serve our SMB customers. Canon has a unique practice in a channel business for printing device. We have a concept that sales and service is done by same partner so person who is selling the product should also have a service set up. As we are expanding, we are making it sure that we will not only give the sales partnership but service partnership as well to our channel partners. In smaller towns also we will follow the same concept of sale and service partner so that our sale and service backup for a customer is also strengthened and we reach each and every corner of the country,” explains, Bhaskar Joshi from Canon.
“In Konica Minolta, we consider our partner as an extended arm in the market. We provide our partners appropriate go-to-market strategy and regularly conduct road shows which help them understand the customers directly and built there trust. We understand partnerships are vital to ensure the largest portfolio of solutions suitable for all environments,” explains, V Balakrishnan-EGM Marketing Konika Minolta.