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1. Virtual and Augmented Reality

While often associated with gaming, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have the potential to enhance collaboration among employees and improve engagement with customers through immersive and memorable experiences.

With virtual reality, users become part of a three-dimensional computer-generated environment. Augmented reality incorporates digital sensory inputs – sounds, scents, sites and haptic or ‘touch’ feedback - into existing reality to make the latter more meaningful and rich.

AR and VR will ultimately transform business operations, including everything from how meetings are conducted to how products are built and sold. For example, VR is already enabling remote workers to meet as seamlessly as they would in the same physical location.

In a retail context, AR will enable consumers to interact with a product – pick it up, turn it around, compare colors and check size – without travelling to a physical store. Customers will be able to see how a piece of furniture would fit into their home with an AR-enabled app – a function already offered by some home furniture retailers. Helping to bolster customer service offerings, companies could also use AR to walk their customers through a step-by-step tutorial on how to fix or build a product.

Looking ahead, Gartner predicts that AR and VR will merge features and function into mixed reality devices by 2020 — an important step forward in how consumers both interact with, and adopt AR and VR².

2. Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS)

The Everything-as-a-Service (XaaS) model is an essential ingredient in any digital transformation strategy. By adopting XaaS, companies can tailor their computing environments to shape the experiences they want for customers.

Cloud-based subscriptions are already fulfilling the needs of consumers across an array of market sectors, from personal care products to movies on demand. By keeping software and data in the cloud, workers can access content from anywhere, at any time.

Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) is one of the new XaaS delivery models gaining momentum. Designed for companies that want a new way to consume technology, DaaS combines innovative devices, lifecycle services and value-added expertise into an all-inclusive managed solution. With DaaS, customers only need to invest in assets they require, meaning they can scale device deployment up or down to accommodate changes in their workforce.

DaaS encompasses a range of technologies – from smartphones to workstations – ensuring subscribers have access to the latest models and eliminating problems caused by an aging fleet, such as slower performance. Deploying newer, more energy efficient technology also supports the environment and sustainability.

No longer burdened with the responsibility of managing and maintaining devices, DaaS enables IT departments to focus on strategic initiatives that better serve customers, meet competitive challenges and move the company ahead. At the same time, employees have the guarantee that devices are well supported and optimized whether they work on-site or remotely.

Another popular manifestation of the XaaS model is Managed Print Services (MPS). In an MPS environment, a provider delivers all aspects of an organization’s printing needs, including the hardware, supplies, maintenance and most importantly, meaningful data analytics.

Although MPS isn’t new, the capabilities offered by this technology have significantly evolved over the past few years. Whereas before, MPS providers offered operational data such as the number of pages printed and service calls, this information wasn’t all that useful to senior leaders or business transformation.

Today, with the help of expert cloud analytics partners, HP has transformed the MPS value proposition from a basic service to a strategic business tool. Companies can now gain powerful insights into print costs, printing behaviors and printer utilization to drive efficiencies and streamline business processes.

Intelligent fleet management helps reduce IT workload and costs, enhance employee productivity and enable users to print securely – wherever business demands. As a result, we are seeing astounding renewal rates of our MPS customers – upwards of 98 percent.

Third party data echoes this sentiment. Transparency Market Research (TMR) projects the global MPS market to reach nearly $95 billion by 2024³ while analyst firm Quocirca reports 72 percent of companies surveyed view MPS as an important driver in digital transformation⁴.

3. Mobile printing

As the consumerization of IT and millennial behavior continues to take hold in the workplace, demand for mobile printing is on the rise. In fact, in the absence of mobile printing support, employees may turn to consumer printing apps, thereby taking the control and print security out of the hands of IT.

While thousands of emails, documents and social posts are distributed and reviewed across smartphones and tablets, employees also require mobile printing solutions in and out of the office. According to IDC, 75 percent of users say the business value of mobile printing is comparable to PC printing, and another 15 percent say it's actually greater⁵.

The ability to print from a mobile device is convenient for workers on-the-go or moving between buildings on a corporate campus, with the ability to print documents from a range of locations.

Mobile printing also boosts productivity. When there is a need to print a document, acquire a signature or lead a meeting via the printed page, mobile printing eases the process.

In the office, employees want the convenience of sending a document to any standard or multi-function printer (MFP) on the corporate network. An email-to-print option allows employees to send documents as an email attachment from a device to a registered printer on the network. Additionally, they can submit a print job through a web browser to a printing portal.

While either option may be deployed over a public or private cloud infrastructure, when using mobile print in the enterprise, Quocirca recommends a private cloud approach with encryption and authentication methods employed to ensure document security and privacy. Alternatively, enterprise users can print directly over WiFi with direct-to-printer wireless capabilities supported either through an app or with print functionality embedded in the device operating system.

Owing to mobile technologies, the workplace can be anywhere from an office to an airport lounge, coffee shop or hotel room. Yet in this mobile environment, the always-connected employee needs access to the same applications and functionality on both mobile and desktop platforms.

4. Custom manufacturing via 3D printing

No longer just for prototyping, 3D printing is beginning to make small but significant inroads onto the manufacturing floor and production process across a diverse range of industries, according to PwC. The firm now forecasts the market value of 3D in manufacturing will rise from nearly $9 billion in 2017 to $30 billion by 2022⁶.

3D printing is not only making its mark in the healthcare industry but is also revolutionizing the market for prosthetics. The technology is delivering affordable solutions that can be customized for the individual. Previously, a commercially-made prosthetic could cost upwards of $60,000. Today, one can be made for a few hundred dollars. Additionally, PwC notes that 98 percent of hearing aids produced globally now are made with 3D printers.

With its potential to disrupt mass production and fulfill consumer demand for personalized products, 3D printing is ushering in the 4th industrial revolution. While the auto industry is still some years away from printing cars on-demand at local dealerships, manufacturers like Audi and BMW have sped up concept car production and parts replacement for certain components with 3D printers. This will ultimately redefine automotive service and aftermarket sales. Similarly, Airbus recently announced the use of 3D printed parts to service in-use aircraft.

In other industries, 3D printing will enable the creation of products to suit specific needs. For example, in the food and beverage industry, enabling the ability to create meals with ingredients to suit the dietary requirements of an individual has the potential to yield customized and new formulations from large-scale food production.

To date, food customization in large-scale production environments has been too time-consuming or costly. Now, the small batch production of a niche food item is possible as any food ingredient that can be puréed or turned into a paste can be used in 3D food printing. Not only can foods be produced to meet someone’s specific dietary needs, but 3D food printing may also be the future solution to feeding our growing global population.

On their own, each of these examples is extraordinary, but they also point to the much broader impact that 3D printing will soon have on commerce.

5. Endpoint Device Security

As companies embrace the rapidly accelerating digital transformation trend, data security concerns are heightening. The number of devices connected to corporate networks is increasing, as is the volume of business-sensitive information that those devices hold and share. This has made endpoint devices – like smartphones, laptops and printers – more vulnerable to attacks and exploitation. Hence, greater endpoint security is required.

Technology research and advisory firm Gartner says that “security teams have to stay current and proactive. They need to be aware of new technologies and the vendor landscape to determine what to adopt into their security programs. They also need to understand the latest security threats because the landscape is evolving rapidly and becoming more complex.” ⁷

In response to rising cyber security threats, transformative digital technologies and service providers are proactively offering new safeguards against data intrusions. MPS, for example, can help mitigate the cost and concern of data breaches. Increasingly hackers are targeting networked printers to access sensitive company information.

By injecting malware into unprotected or multifunctioning printers and copiers, which have their own hard drives and network connections, hackers can intercept printing jobs traveling over a network. To bolster network security, MPS providers are increasingly offering security assessments and secure printing services as part of their offering. Leveraging encryption for documents both being sent to the printer and received from another source can add an extra layer or protection for businesses.

DaaS providers can also add a layer of protection against vulnerabilities - by monitoring an entire fleet of devices to ensure alignment on current security policies including passwords, applications, malware protection and data access. DaaS also provides analytical insight on fleet inventory, location and condition, allowing providers to maintain better security. Since the DaaS delivery model includes fleet end-of-life disposal, companies have the assurance devices and data will not fall into the wrong hands, which could occur if an employee incorrectly disposes their device.

Device manufacturers are also building entry point security features into their products, such as HP’s BIOS protections that repel threats from malware and add the ability to wipe lost or stolen devices remotely. This is a key differentiator for hardware manufacturers.

Conclusion:

With the pace of technological change accelerating and the emergence of new technologies meeting human needs in unprecedented ways, companies need to stay abreast of the latest technologies.

Virtual and augmented reality, XaaS, mobile printing and 3D manufacturing are all emerging trends changing the way the world works. And as enterprises adopt these new technologies in their digital transformation, they need to ensure security measures and policies are in place to protect all endpoints.

Organizations should move quickly and embrace these new technological opportunities to maintain a competitive advantage and meet the expectations of all stakeholders. Digitization may be disruptive, but it stands to deliver enormous value. With expectations continuing to rise as we move toward 2020, companies cannot afford to be left behind.

Resources:

¹ “Life in the Digital Vortex: The State of Digital Disruption in 2017,” Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, June 2017. https://www.imd.org/globalassets/dbt/docs/digitalvortex2017

² Logan Strain, “Gartner’s Brian Blau Predicts Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality Will Merge By 2020,” wearablezone, December 15, 2016. https://wearablezone.com/news/brian-blau-gartner-virtual-reality-predictions/

³ Managed Print Services Market: Cloud-based Deployment to Remain Leading Contributor, predicts TMR,” Transparency Market Research, October 14, 2016. https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/global-managed-print-services-market.htm

⁴ Louella Fernandes, “Managed Print Services Landscape, 2017,” July 18, 2017. http://quocirca.com/content/managed-print-services-landscape-2017

⁵ New IDC Research Highlights How Smartphones and Tablets Are Changing the Way Users Print, Scan, and Manage Documents, BusinessWire, July 15, 2015. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150715005424/en/IDC-Research-Highlights-Smartphones-Tablets-Changing-Users

⁶ Five ways 3-D printing is changing manufacturing, PwC, April 30, 2017. http://usblogs.pwc.com/emerging-technology/5-ways-3d-printing-revolutionizes-manufacturing/

⁷ Amy Forni, “Digital Has Changed the Security Landscape,” Smarter with Gartner, April 11, 2017. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/digital-has-changed-the-security-landscape/