On October 12, 2018, I was invited to share my expert opinion for an article in the professional IT publication IT Week (formerly PC Week). The topic was broad and highly relevant: an analysis of the Russian printing device market in 2018 and forecasts for the near future.
The article was published both on the portal and in the print version of the newspaper. For me, that was a special kind of pride — holding an actual newspaper with my name and my comment in it.
Why IT Week?
This is a publication read by decision-makers: IT directors, top managers, business leaders, system integrators, software developers, distributors. An audience that understands the market and knows how to count money.
What was the article about?
About how the printing market was changing in 2018. Experts discussed why customers were shifting toward more expensive and productive models, how they were saving on printing, and what would happen with import substitution.
My comment focused on the fact that in 2018, Russian customers were increasingly choosing not the cheapest equipment, but the optimal balance of price, reliability, and cost per page. I also noted that we have our own unique characteristics: for example, in Russia there is still high demand for models without Wi-Fi — for information security reasons. This is practically unheard of in other countries.
Why is this important to me?
I was invited as an expert — someone with their own perspective, based on real work with the market, clients, and partners. My words were printed on paper — and that was both thrilling and gratifying.
What did I take away from this experience?
The realization that my observations and conclusions can be of interest to the professional community. That I can talk about the market not only within my company but also at the level of industry media.
And I was once again convinced that I assess the printing market correctly, since my opinion aligned with that of the majority of experts and representatives of expert companies such as IDC.
