Lexmark, Canon, and Xerox have recently posted lower earnings for the second quarter of 2012.  That’s really not surprising given the state of the global economy, and these companies have attributed their slow revenues to as far back as the Japan earthquake and the European economic crisis.

On the other hand, Ricoh and HP have introduced new printers.  Canon is investing heavily in Vietnam and the Philippines, while Ricoh is doing the same in South Africa.  This proves that there are always two sides of a coin, and that there are always opportunities in different parts of the world. Developing countries seem to be the market to invest in to boost hardware sales, or tap on inexpensive labor force.  In countries where printers are everyday household items, the trend is to offer new services that go together with the advancement in technology as in the case of cloud printing, or services that help cut down a company’s labor force as in the case of Managed Print Services.

The key to survival in the global market is to operate on both sides of the coin.  What is lacking on one side is a potential on the other side.  It is a constant balance between opportunity, innovation, creativity, and business savvy.  And of course, it is a race on who gets to do it first, and who gets to do it better.  As in any business, it’s always a toss-up…you either make it or break it, just choose wisely…heads or tails…or both?