Print & Imaging Summit Preview: Powering Print In Unsteady Times
With Gartner analysts estimating that approximately $96 billion of the worldwide print market spent—about 1 percent to 3 percent of annual revenue—still goes to office document printing, it's clear businesses still consider paper documents fundamental to their core organizational practices. Having to manage both the print and image functions that remain as well as the push toward a "paperless" office means striking a balance between the most up-to-date, efficient technologies and the kindest prices.
Entering its third year, the Summit kicks off Wednesday night at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, Fla., teeing up with an opening keynote by Gartner Managing Vice President Peter Grant. Grant will address, from a bird's-eye industry view, how to steer print through an unpredictable economy, punctuating the Summit's chosen theme of "Print Management & Investment Strategies for the 21st Century."
It's certainly a necessary stop for end users on the office and production print sides, who will be able to use the Summit for boardroom session access to vendors and also for one-on-one advice sessions with Gartner analysts as to how they can stimulate business and still get bang for their buck.
VARs should take note: Many of the hot discussion topics at this year's Summit—including how to cash in on fax savings, how to trim office printing costs and selecting the right vendor for your business—are also fundamental to how printing and imaging solution providers are planning their strategies for 2009.
Top vendor names in the market, including Xerox (with a World Premiere planned for Thursday morning), Ricoh, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, eCopy, PathForward and Pharos Systems will all be along for the ride. Friday night is also the Summit's annual Best of Printing & Imaging Awards Dinner, which will honor a range of vendors in four categories: Best Hardware Solution, Best Software Solution, Best Service Solution and Best Case Study Presentation.
Watch ChannelWeb.com for day-to-day coverage from the Print & Imaging Summit starting Wednesday evening and continuing through Saturday morning.