More than three-quarters of Asia/Pacific businesses expect to reduce their print volumes over the next two years, according to researcher IDC. “The increased shift to hybrid work – coupled with digitalization initiatives – has caused organizations to re-think their reliance on paper documents and printers while finding solutions that enable mobility, security, accessibility and business resilience.”
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According to IDC's survey Accelerated versus Gradual Transformers in APeJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan), over 75% of organizations expect printed page volume to decrease over the next two years.
Close to half of all organizations (47.7%) also expect a reduction in printing devices.
“These trends suggest rapid maturity and adoption of document solutions as the region looks to digitize paper processes,” said the IDC.
Australia included in the list of ‘Accelerated Transformers.’
“Countries were divided into Accelerated or Gradual Transformers, depending on responses relating to likelihood of going completely paperless, timeline for WorkSpace transformation, and degree to which they say print volume and print devices decreasing over the next two years,” the IDC said.
Accelerated Transformers include India, Thailand Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Korea, while Gradual Transformers include China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
“Both groups will transform the WorkSpace to address a hybrid workforce, increasing the accessibility of print services through solutions or feature upgrades to enable work from anywhere,” said Kenneth Tham, senior market analyst for Imaging, Print and Document Solutions at IDC Asia/Pacific.
“India, Thailand, and Malaysia respondents indicating they would see print volumes and devices decrease to a larger degree than digitally mature countries like Australia and Korea.
“This suggests their short-term investments into document solutions will be focused on transforming business process while nearly eliminating the need for paper. On the other hand, Taiwan and Hong Kong were classified as Gradual Transformer despite being digitally mature countries – it resonates the legislative value printed documents still hold in these countries. Their document transformation initiatives will address the co-existence of paper and digital documents, ensuring data from all sources is captured and fed into core business systems.
“Accelerated and Gradual Transformers were examined in terms of how they would transform the WorkSpace, coupled with which document solutions would they use to augment business processes. Respondents were also asked on plans to digitize live / backlog documents, whether in-house or outsourced services will be used, and what factors will they prioritize when selecting a scanning vendor.”
International Data Corporation (IDC) is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets, with more than 1,100 analysts worldwide.
