What lies ahead for the hardcopy peripherals (HCP) markets of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA)? IDC, a leading global IT research and advisory services provider, offers its top 10 predictions for the coming year.

"It's no surprise that slowing economies and shrinking demand in 2009 pushed companies to cut costs and scale back operations," says Mitri Roufka, IDC CEMA Research Director, Imaging & Hardcopy Devices. "And IT was no exception to this trend. Cost-control measures introduced last year will be lifted only slowly and cautiously in 2010. However, IDC does see signs of a return to more normal spending, including investment in non-critical IT projects postponed last year."

Renewed albeit uneven growth
IDC expects the CEMA HCP market to return to growth in 2010, with businesses and government leading the way. However, given the size of the decline in 2009, a region-wide recovery is not expected before 2011/2012, as many key markets – including Russia, Turkey, South Africa, and Ukraine – have been severely impacted.

Cost considerations to change HCP acquisition and usage patterns
In 2009, economic pressures changed end-user behavior, causing them to consider total cost of ownership (TCO) as well as purchase price when acquiring devices and/or supplies. This trend is expected to intensify in 2010, as users learn more about the full costs associated with document infrastructure, and how to control such costs.

The economic crisis has increased Internet purchases of HCP devices and ink/toner supplies, especially by home office/small office (SOHO) and small business users. IDC expects online sales to continue gaining share in 2010 at the expense of physical stores.

Large and very large businesses as well as government organizations will speed their adoption of managed print services (MPS) and document outsourcing services as they look to improve their bottom lines and manage costs more flexibly. Given the diversity of the CEMA region, however, levels of readiness to adopt outsourcing concepts vary considerably.

Continuing shift towards color laser and multifunctionality
Sales of laser devices will grow faster than those of inkjet devices in 2010 in the CEMA region. Laser HCP purchases will often be driven by the need to consolidate functionalities into one device, namely an MFP. Color laser technology (especially MFPs) will constitute the fastest-growing laser segment and will propel overall laser technology growth. At the same time, operating cost considerations will drive users to adopt tools that control color printing.

Sales of inkjet devices will continue to shift toward MFPs. IDC predicts that almost 80% of the inkjet devices sold in CEMA in 2010 will be multifunctional devices. The continuous introduction of enhanced, competitively priced models will continue to drive MFP sales, particularly to the SOHO segment.

Intensifying face-off between original suppliers and third-party consumables producers
The financial crisis and increased vendor prices for original consumables pushed demand toward third-party suppliers in 2009. HCP vendors are expected to increase their efforts to regain some of the market share lost to producers of compatible consumables, while compatible producers try to capitalize on the momentum gained during the crisis to further expand their business. End users could benefit, as the market expects new alternatives and price cuts.

To obtain the full version of the IDC CEMA Top 10 Hardcopy Peripherals Market Predictions for 2010 and information about IDC's hardcopy peripherals market research in the CEMA region, please contact Vladimir Tax, Marketing Manager, IDC CEMA (vtax@idc.com, +420 420 2 2142 3140).